Jordano Martinez – Craters
Similar artists: Radiohead, Thom Yorke, Steven Wilson, Gorillaz
Genre: Alt Pop
Maybe our ears long for sounds that work together in harmony because there is so little of it that we naturally hear. Certainly, it is in short supply naturally, particularly if you live in a city as most of us do. The best one can hope for in such a situation is that the drill from the construction sites will hit upon a beat and that the angry screams from cabby drivers will offer a melodic counterpoint.
Jordano Martinez’s music sounds like someone cleverly arranged those sounds into pop music. To most other ears, they would seem to possess no rhyme or reason. But if pop is to represent as many of the world’s inhabitants as possible, it ought to express, lovingly, an interest in the things that they all have in common. One of those is the dissonance that is all around us.
A great songwriter is able to craft great pieces out of any sound, and this is what Jordano Martinez tries to prove with “Craters.” Sure, this is a pop song. But it owes less to Taylor Swift than it does to, say, Stravinsky or Schoenberg. Just like the classical composers of the late 19th Century believed, the era of atonal, dissonant sounds was upon us and needed to be embraced. Martinez just took that and turned it into a pop tune of sorts.
Lara Aufranc – Je Veux Déborder
Genre: R&B/Soul, Rock/Punk, World Music
There are enough times in life when people find themselves truly frightened but also excited. Such experiences might make us want to shout, scream, and even turn back and coward in fear. They’re enough to make the heart strike an irregular beat, and the head go dizzy. Yet, for all the power and importance they hold, not many songs are written about this or capture the experience.
Lara Aufranc looks to change this with a brand of excentric pop that is both direct and mysterious. That first panic attack has created many artists. But it is not always enough to sustain their enthusiasm. The fact is that, sadly, once working on music becomes a routine, emotion gets tossed aside in favour of technique. It’s a dangerous road to tread on, and it leaves us without the aforementioned types of songs.
Lara Aufranc’s “Je Veux Déborder” is both an eccentric, impassioned art project and a rhythmically precise pop-rock song a la Goldfrapp. It’s a dancefloor tune for people who often have panic attacks and frequently fall in love. It aims to capture something vital about the human experience. And, as it turns out, pop music is an excellent place in which terror and excitement can coexist.
