Vaz - Let It Rest
A sister duo hailing from Sweden, Vaz’s “Let Rest” plays with addictive pop urgency. As they coo and hoot over staccato drums and an echoing chorus, their voices climb in harmonic desperation - exploding in a satiated finale.
♪ File under: electronic, music, swedish pop
♫ High Park - Kara
Longing - a pining that overwhelms and engulfs your functions. Striving for completion - the sense that you will become whole once again. Emotions - that are all too unfamiliar - seem to flood your processes - overheating - overcomputing. And as your system is slowly laid to rest - I take solace in the affirmation that tomorrow the procedure begins again.
Heartbreakingly gorgeous, High Park’s “Kara”, is like a subtle affirmation and into unwarranted adoration. Wailing synths cry out yearningly as they accompany begging, ascending vocals. And upon completion - when it finally breaks after never quite reaching a tumultuous points - you can sense a hint of comfort and acceptance.
Get it here.
♪ File under: dark, electronic, all is full of love
♫ K1llRGVP - Rewolfer
It becomes so familiar - that brutal, pulsating bass, the ascending smoke like vocal that seems to float above all chaos, the dragged out sludgy samples - yet it’s this style that I have so grown accustomed to that is both somewhat conventional genre yet, to me, remains fresh and new. The set standards which have become amicable with your check-list, something which you accept as part of your taste, your style, is highly sought after. Desired. Like a musical scavenger hunt. When it all fits, when every piece of that puzzle falls into place, you cannot help but become enamored, enthralled, engrossed.
Soon begins the cut and reworked sampling, imps that gleefully frolic throughout the instrumentation rest like madness - only to resurface when unrestrained - when pandemonium is most tumultuous - and lulled when inky lullabies soothe and pacify.
Aphotic, atramentous anthems for fiendish creations.
BNDCMP | FCBK
♪ File under: dark, electronic, 666
My Heart Dissected: Music Which Resided In My Atrial Chambers (2010)
Note: This entry is full to the brim of streaming audio but should create a pretty picture of my atrium. The second half of 2010 will always be remembered as the time I began “Unholy Rhythms”. For the first half of the year, I mainly just listened and explored. Due to my bout of unemployment, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. What better way to spend the day than searching and logging everything I liked.
I decided to not create a Top Albums/Songs of 2010. Besides the fact that narrowing them down is too difficult for me, it just isn’t how I think. I’ve decided to compose a list of artists that really defined the year for me. It isn’t too comprehensive, but here are just a few artists that really stood out. They all resonated deep within - I danced like crazy, sang along at the top of my lungs, or just grinned helplessly - creating rich and wonderful associations with music that will last a lifetime.
*▼† Oh, my soul: The Year of Witch House/Grave Wave/Drag †▼
► The first time I heard †‡† (rrritualzzz) I was floored. I literally felt as if my heart stopped - the world could have ended, for that matter. There was nothing else around me except for the pulsating, throbbing sounds that clapped almost sinisterly repeatedly in my ears. It lead me to uncover a world I felt captivated by and became completely immersed in. Over the months, I couldn’t get enough of oOoOO, Salem, and then ✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝. ✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝ brought a new element to the game - taking cues from classical movements and stirring things up ever so slightly. It was exactly what I had been waiting for and I couldn’t get enough.
I’m excited to see if the genre evolves over the next coming year. My hope is that it grows and morphs into something unexpected.
* ~♥ Oh, my loves: These Artists Made My Heart Soar ♥~
♫ Tobacco - Unholy Demon Rhythms
♫ How To Dress Well - You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Going
► From Jònsi to Twin Shadow to Zola Jesus, all these artists made me either cry, laugh, or just feel alive. I was lucky enough to see most of these acts live this year and some I will see in 2011. I even shed a few tears during some of these performances (Jònsi during “Sinking Friendships” and Zola Jesus during my anthem “Sea Talk”). Despite all of that, my favorite artist of the year, hands down, was Gobble Gobble.
When I first heard Gobble Gobble, I didn’t know whether to scream (happily) or break out in a fit of giggly joy (giddy). I cannot even remember how I found them, but nevertheless, they found their way to my heart. For the remainder of the year, whenever I felt down Gobble Gobble was my remedy. I had the honor of seeing them perform in August and that completely spoiled me. No other show I would see for the remainder of the year would come close to what I witnessed that night. Those sweaty, dayglo, neon electric shamans worked the crowd into a frenzy and I was transformed. That night will always remain in my memory as one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in SF and my life. For this and for many other amazing reasons, Gobble Gobble is my number one artist of 2010.
* ♥ Oh, my heart: Artists To Watch ♥
► Despite listening to a lot of dark electronic music, I still had room in my heart for psychedelic, folk-pop, or quiet music with softer elements. While I may not have listened exclusively to these bands at any point, I still *loved* them immensely.
♫ We Are Trees - Sunrise Sunset ~ Holy Spirits - Bridges
♫ Wintercoats - The Overture ~ Nightlands - 300 Clouds
We Are Trees, Holy Spirits, Wintercoats, and Nightlands, all created some deeply profound and memorable music of 2010. This was music to get lost in, music to fall in love to, or just music to watch the fog roll in. It was music that moved me and for that, I am eternally grateful.
There were many, many great artists this year: Piresian Beach, Martha! Mother, Mutual Benefit, Unououmedude, Clive Tanaka, Teen Daze, and Ra Cailum to name a few. Know that each of you are loved in my heart and I look forward to your growth and continuing musical output.
♥ Before I close out this post, I want to thank the following people for making 2010 truly memorable: Leaving Scene, DTS, Yvynyl, Cactus Mouth, Headunderwater, Gobble Gobble, Libelle, Ricky Eat Acid, Thinkorsmile, Smokedontsmoke, Morgan, and everyone involved in my mixes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy holidays, everyone. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
Over thousands of miles of way, I gave you my heart over fiber optic lines. I eagerly awaited the notification of your arrival daily - scheduling my day around when I got to meet you digitally again. Rising extremely early just to maximize our time, we would often talk about nothing for hours. When sleep finally battered our bodies, we had no choice but to succumb. Each day the cycle would begin, waking up after very little sleep in hopes of conversation, sleeping only when it was completely necessary. We came to know each other in this way, of our quirks and hang-ups, our voices and psychical selves, of a love so strong that it would break our hearts to say good night every day. In the new age of a dawning digital world, we had a grandeur love affair complimented only by our visitation.
“Telnet Erotika” is the newest Vektordrum EP under the pseudonym/persona of VEKTROID. Deciding to toy with the “chillwave” movement and reform it into a throwback to classic computer culture, it is an immensely lo-fi, beat-tastic body of work.
Get it at bandcamp.
(Seen earlier at Headunderwater).
♪ File under: chillwave, electro, ms-doswave
Influenced by the sounds of Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, with a touch of Phil spector, Shimmering Stars creates timeless, lo-fi dream pop. Guitars strum and jingle, the vocals soar and ascend, while the drums beat-beat like the sound of your heart. They take you back to first crushes, lost loves, and restless nights contemplating just how you’re going to work up the nerve to talk to *that* person. These songs glisten and glimmer, sweetly encompassing the sound of falling in love.
Shimmering Stars will be releasing a 7” on France’s Almost Musique label in October.
♪ File under: dream pop, lo-fi, I think I just fell in love
Ricky Eat Acid - You Get Sick; You Regret Things
I am not going to post a single track from Ricky Eat Acid’s further delve into the ambient world, “You Get Sick; You Regret Things”. To do so, would be unfair to you and unfair to this particular body of work. I implore each and everyone of you to take some time out and listen - to get lost in your own thoughts and day dreams - creating scenes from imaginary films in your head. For a period of time, no matter how brief, you float in and out of scenes of comfort, elation, and renewal. Joie de vivre.
♪ File under:ambient, day dreams
I want to take a time out to focus on one of my favorite remixers out there: DCLXVI. I am enamored with his ability to take a track and turn it in into atmospheric art: full of anticipation, phantasm, and allure. Most of his works sound fuzzy, they remind me of listening to the radio as a child - straining to make out the sounds through all the static. There is something inviting about his remixes, you long to explore the inner workings of the song, like you would a forest. Each track is engrossing, allowing you to completely distance yourself from the physical world. In a word: spellbinding.
Grab his latest, “Remixes 2”, and more at bandcamp.
♪ File under: ambient, remix, dambient