I make a point of not listening to the charts anymore. I just find the music there to be overplayed generic and unimaginative in many ways. These days, my tastes tend to be more eclectic and I think I've just found a band that sum up my tastes... Wintergatan.
Over the last few years, some of my favourite musical acts have come out of Scandinavia; I don't know what's in the water up there but acts like Little Dragon, MØ and Lykke Li keep popping up and it seems like there are more and more everyday creating beautiful, unpretentious music. The likes of Say Lou Lou, NONONO, Elliphant and iamwhoiam create music that transcends genre stereotypes that you can't help but groove to. The ability of these musicians to so powerfully deliver their emotive lyrics while also creating good music cannot be understated.
A few hours ago, I stumbled across Wintergatan and the last few hours have been a blur of musical bliss... Possibly my favourite new act, I have no idea how I didn't come across this act before 11 am today. From Sweden, here's an act that cares just as much about the materials with which their music is made as the music they go on to create with said materials. Finding innovative ways to create music that has roots in pop, rock, electro and trad with a little dash of eclecticism would be their mission statement if they bothered to have one.
From their last project, creating a music box capable of playing complex tunes in time to a full five million piece band (I exaggerate but you get my point) to the current project in which the band's frontman, Martin has created the most amazing machine; a Marble Music Machine over eighteen, yes EIGHTEEN months that is supposed to create music using nothing but marbles... My brain is a little hurt from thinking about the complexities of listening to music made in such a fashion before even thinking of how such a machine was constructed!
Watch the trailer to the upcoming video above; it was originally meant to be released today but well if you've been waiting 18 months, another day won't kill you...
Let me know what you think of the project...
I am Timi