PRIESTESS – Landscapes
Genres: Experimental Electronic, Synthwave, Alt Pop
Similar artists: FKA Twigs, Fever Ray, Portishead, Little Dragon
Traditional rock music had a lot of good things going for it. But, few of the artists involved in it were willing to risk their success and move with the times. One of the problems with rock musicians is that most of them are a bit stiff in their playing and conservative about the tones that they use. Furthermore, it requires a great number of hours of practice even to attain that mediocre level.
Electronic music, on the other hand, has progressed. The top talent in this world has always embraced technology. And indeed, the most cutting-edge tools for making music have been designed to please the electro-musicians first and foremost. It is then no surprise that the most daring music also embraces these elements.
PRIESTESS’ Landscapes is a recreation of traditional, mysterious, ritualistic sounds with the assistance of modern tools. It’s a song built around patterns and textures that move inwards and then away from each other. And, if the authors’ wishes are to become a reality, it is music meant to cover their audience fully, a new kind of church. PRIESTESS is music that requires devotion but, one would imagine, rewards the faithful.
Mantocliff – ocean
Similar artists: FKA twigs, Ibeyi, Kelsey Lu, Sevdaliza, Björk
Genre: Dream Pop, Alt Pop
Thick, rigid materials are used to describe modern music. Some of them even help provide names for entire genres. There’s hard-rock, and there’s metal. People talk about loving gravelly voices.
The truth, however, is that just like plastic, modern music is extremely versatile and easy to shape to one’s lying. Just like plastic, these qualities and others also make it easy to discard.
Modern music can easily and brilliantly take on many contrasting ideas. From sounds belonging to folklore to tense, modern synth noises, there is very little that cannot be incorporated into a modern rock tune.
Not everyone, however, has a clear enough vision and interesting enough ideas to push the boundaries of what pop music can withstand.
Mantocliff’s ocean is sonic expiration that turns its notes on conventions. There is no clear structure being used here, and every production trick is fair game. The result is an intoxicating, daring piece of music. Mantocliff pays its tributes to its heroes but has learned from them about always needing to move further.
