You get fed up with how algebraic pop music is. It’s almost a mathematical formula. You get somebody who looks like this, and then you make them make a certain sound with their mouth. Leaves you to wonder what the whole point is…? Anyway. After that they perform at these places. Then you end up with a situation where every inch of Lady Gaga is worth however many millions of dollars its worth, and there’s a copyright on somebody’s posterior. It’s ridiculous you know? I’m sick of it anyway. I’ve been trying to find exceptions lately, exceptions to the formula of mass music. This is the Blisswave. These are the exceptions.
1. King Krule
Something about this gritty young Brit resonates. You look at a picture of him and it doesn’t look like this voice should come out of a person like that. Well it does, and I just can’t get enough of how real it all is. His lyrics are simple and poetic. Most songs have a similar background guitar riff that adds to the soulful vibe of the whole presentation. All of it comes out his deep love for creative synthesis. He likens the sound of his band to “a meat grinder” where you put songs in: “they’re the meat” and then his brain grinds them into music. It’s crude, but the sort of Krulian logic that just about makes sense given his eclectic sound.
2. Kishi Bashi
People rave about Lindsey Stirling and I hold up Kishi Bashi as her antithesis. I mean, on the one hand, Lindsey is talented–but all she seems capable of doing is making viral hits, twirling about in just the sort of well-planned choreography that the introduction to this article despises, and mimicking other people’s work. Kishi Bashi has an equal-if-not-greater mastery of the violin, does not insist on needless frolicking, and instead uses his feet to record small samples that build on each other and eventually jive with his bizarre lyrics in a weirdly pleasing symphonia of sound. The most riveting example of this is “I Am The Antichrist to You.” The beginning part of the above video, and at certain parts throughout, are improvisations. That’s mad talent.
3. Son Lux
Truly a hypnotic artist. I saw him live in SLC, and it was the weirdest–but probably the best–experience I’ve had with live music. His keyboard is customized with these crazy choir samples that he’s learned how to play at just the right moments. I think it’s technically classified as Trip-hop, but he’s not really that easy to put into a genre. Maybe somebody like Massive Attack, but nobody does what Son Lux does like Son Lux does it. Favorite tracks are Easy, Alternate World, Flickers, Lost it to Trying, and Enough of Our Machines. I like it all, honestly.
4. Youth Lagoon
Youth Lagoon is from Idaho. I’m not really sure if that means anything to you. As far as his music is concerned, his excellent voice work and surreal accompaniments lend themselves to a strangely satisfying simplicity. They’re clean and soft and liberated. At the same time, listening to Youth Lagoon doesn’t lend itself to exclusively happy feelings. He’s also got a kind of echoing melancholy to him that stands in well when you need something genuine. My favorite track is “17.”
5. Metronomy
If you’ve already clicked play and you’re listening to the music while you read my description of it, my guess is your foot is tapping. Something about the shakers they use, and the way their voices harmonize, and the pitch of their music. It takes place on a higher than average note–for the most part anyway. Some of their songs are maybe a little strange, at least to me. Maybe not as weird as King Krule up there, but definitely a notable exception. Their sound is cold, but not in an unappealing, unemotional way. The quirky, weird timbre of it has a unique feeling that I haven’t found anywhere else. Favorites are “The Look,” and “Everything Goes My Way.”
That’s all for this week of the Blisswave. If you want to email suggestions for future themes, or have requests for music you’d like to see featured, email me at ethantrunnell@gmail.com. The only promise I can make is to consider your suggestion. We’ll catch you later. Until then, feel free to bask in the Blisswaves.
Ethan Trunnell
Blog Writer – Aggie Radio
