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Posts tagged Bjork
Dirty Projectors: “Gun Has No Trigger”
It’s been a while since art rock super troopers The Dirty Projectors released some new material. Coming off their 2009 critically acclaimed Bitte Orca and their collaboration album with the none other than Björk on Mount Wittenberg Orca in 2010,DP has enjoyed quite a bit of love and attention from college radio and indie music blogs alike, but it seems like they went underground for a while- or rather above ground on the music festival circuit. Yet finally as March 2012 comes to a close The Dirty Projectors have given us a sneak peak of what they have in store for their next studio album in the form of “Gun Has No Trigger.”
Grimes: Visions
When I saw Grimes open for Austra last year, I saw a meek DIY artsy girl dressed in a grungy t-shirt and dark tights wail into a microphone while expertly mixing complex tracks to produce a seriously rhythmic dance spell. Now, as 2012 has unraveled before us, Claire Boucher, the Montreal-based mastermind behind Grimes, has become the “it girl” of the indie music blogosphere. Much more than just a buzz band, Grimes has sky-rocketed in popularity thanks to the success of her previous albums (Geidi Primes, Halafaxa, Darkbloom) as well as her signing onto 4AD records to release her latest album Visions. Now when I look at Grimes, I see a meek DIY artsy girl dressed in slightly less grungy t-shirts and dark tights that has created some of the most imperative and compelling songs in quite some time (or at least since the beginning of the year).
Of Monsters and Men
In retrospect, with a name alluding to the famous novella written by one of my favorite authors (John Steinbeck), it was inevitable that I would explore the music of the band Of Monsters and Men. This six-piece indie/folk band is just the latest Icelandic group to emerge from the small, remote island that seemingly produces more internationally-acclaimed musicians than it should, joining the likes of Sigur Rós, Björk, Emiliana Torrini and the last artist I interviewed, Ólöf Arnalds.
Bjӧrk: Biophilia
Over four years after the release of Volta in 2007, Bjӧrk’s latest album Biophilia built up quite the hype as Bjӧrk fanatics followed her every move, from the gradual release of each track as part of the world’s first app-album in collaboration with Apple to the impressive live performances as part of the Manchester International Festival, in which she introduced her new tracks with instruments such as a tesla coil, a bespoke organ and a pendulum that produces musical rhythms from the earth’s gravitational pull. Now as the entire album has been released, it is no surprised that Bjӧrk has once again completely transformed her stylistic accomplishments with an impressive display of instrumental compositions, conceptual design and sheer bravado.
WQHS interviews Icelandic songstress Ólöf Arnalds
On April 18th I had the opportunity to interview ÓlöfArnalds before her concert at First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. Having just arrived on a bus from New York City that had broken down along the way, Ólöf was famished and parched. So we sat down at a local cafe in Rittenhouse Square for a couple of drinks while I interviewed her; after she tried – and loved – my beer, we transitioned straight into the interview.
