Balder Gernot – He Is The Time
People need stories, myths, and legends. And all of these can’t be about regular activities, can’t put the protagonist in a bad light, and, certainly, can’t exactly be all true.
A lot of modern folks, bored with the comfort and the boredom that life can afford them, want to be heroes. But it’s not enough to just be the hero of your own story. No, most of them need to be main characters in a tale that’s been developing for hundreds of years.
That’s dangerous stuff, of course, if your first instinct once you decide that you’re a hero is to write a blog, start a political party, or begin gathering signatures. However, if that energy is used for creating art, then it is put to good use.
Balder Gernot’s “He Is The Time” is grandiose music, the kind you might expect to be played during the intro to a Hollywood movie about space exploration. Part hard-rock, part synth-pop, the music’s driven by a relentless, robotic groove and by Gernot’s shaman-like vocals. This is myth-building as well. It’s the creation of a personal musical brand.
La Chuka – Ciclos
There’s rock music that takes you on a journey, and there’s pop music that gives you a quick fix. It’s easy to understand why one of these is more popular than the other. With attention spans contracting, interest in art decreasing as well, and the internet apps praying on people’s dopamine addiction, many musicians have switched to creating content, not songs.
That’s a drag, and not only because the truly creative musicians will not receive the kind of support that they need and deserve. It’s also not just because we, collectively, will fail to recognise the next great band with the potential to play in stadiums around the world. It’s most important because you and I, the listeners, will lose out on experiences that nothing else can offer us. Putting your imagination in the hands of a rock band that can provoke it and calm it back down is something we’d miss if we didn’t have.
La Chuka’s “Ciclos” works like a magic trick that requires you to close your eyes and believe in order to help it come through. The song takes influences as far-ranging as 70s progressive rock and Latin American folklore. But those are bound together in a manner in which modern pop audiences will immediately understand. The last component is voluntarily getting on board with the quest. La Chuka talks about a hunt for freedom and all of the cycles through which we all pass on our way to that destination. This is not music that offers a quick fix but rather a profound experience.
