Hello all! I've been trying to get all my college stuff done so I can once again be FREE! Once I am, I'll be on here more. I miss it. Here's just an update of what I've been listening to lately.
African choral music
I've always been a fan of cultural music, and for one reason or another, Africa was always usually a place I could count on. I always felt a warmth when I listened to it. I've tried to find stuff that I've liked for quite some time, but never knew exactly what to look up. Now that I have a few artists, I can simply find artists related to the ones I know now. I'm genius. One of my favorite findings is a group from Kenya, aptly named the Kenyan Boys Choir.
Their voices are obviously impeccable, but they exude such a wonderful sense of joy and warmth, even in a song titled "Homeless". For those unfamiliar, this was originally written by a band named Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Ironically, I was never familiar with quite possibly the most well known African choral group. I can't be surprised.
Aside from choral music, I also came upon a wonderful album named Seprewa Kasa, dedicated to an instrument named the Seprewa. From what I understand it's just a one off, which is a shame, but I'll be okay. Unfortunately I can't track down any songs on YouTube, but you can check out previews
here. It's definitely one of the brightest albums I've heard in QUITE some time. Oh how much it makes me wish I was on the beach.
Techno
It's become an addiction I tell you. The relentlessness, the energy, the tone. It's perfect. It truly sounds as if it could be made by machines. There are, of course, other genres that do (obvious ones like Noise and Power Electronics come to mind). I think of those genres as almost being focused around machine sounds, whereas Techno sounds like a bunch of machines got together and made a band. It's listenable, melodic, and infectious. Earworms, earworms everywhere.
The Saddest Landscape
The Saddest Landscape were one of the last bands I found after doing some investigatating of Screamo. I listened to a lot of the big names, like Touche Amore, La Dispute, Pianos Become the Teeth, Pg. 99, and Funeral Diner. I enjoyed some of it, but wasn't truly compelled. After seeing the cover of You Will Not Survive, and hearing a bit about them, I gave them a shot. Unreal.
What I realized almost immediately, is that his screaming had more of a realness than some of the other bands. It's hard to explain. I think a big part of what I'm also perceiving is the massive amount of emotions put into it. I remember hearing The Temptation That is You for the first time, and being blown away. The way that his voice changes through the song, and ends with it sounding like he's shredding his vocal chords, felt like it was beyond music and technique. It's easily one of my favorite songs. Ever.
Normally I listen to a band for awhile, ease off, then go back to them. The thing about The Saddest Landscape is that they just never get old. I can always listen to them. I can honestly say I listened to all of their songs on shuffle every day I was going home from college for at least a month. I can't say this about ANY band. I cannot WAIT for their next album. It's gonna be amazing.