thursday wake up call

Gorgeous Song ... probably one of the best songs I've heard this year! — "Old Skin" by Ólafur Arnalds, featuring vocals by Arnór Dan and orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly (video directed by Magnús Leifsson.)



"Old Skin" is from the upcoming album, For Now I Am Winter, out on April 2nd through Mercury Classics.

song of the moment

Hear the first track off of Jónsi's (Sigur Rós) solo album, Go! (via Gorilla vs. Bear) To add extra OMGs to this highly anticipated 2010 release, the album is a collaborative effort with the brilliantly talented Nico Mulhy!

Jónsi: Boy Lilikoi [wicked-cool song]

i shot at the poor boy's soul

Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Doveman, and Final Fantasy — August 27, 2008 @ The Music Hall, pt. i

Nico Muhly is one of the most brilliant, talented artists in music today; and as I have mentioned before, Sam Amidon's voice is absolutely gorgeous and All Is Well is the best album of 2008!
Read my post on Nico Muhly’s Mothertongue here and Sam Amidon’ All Is Well here.


Nico Muhly brushes Doveman’s hair during "The Only Tune"

nico muhly: mothertongue

Mothertongue, Nico Muhly’s second full-length, features three fascinating pieces that are broken into multiple movements. The first movement in the opening/titled piece is a string of broken Meredith Monk-like voices uttering random numbers over minimal instrumentation. This vocal style continues through the second movement. As the voices create this illusion of pedestrians exchanging dialogues in a busy street, there is a sense of lost that carries through to the third movement. The final movement is painted by thundering distorted noises and xylophone raindrops while frantic and uneasy emotions continue through the recurring voices whispering random numbers.

Although it is accompany by the beautiful and cheerful sounding harpsichord in the first two movements, "Wonders" is mostly overcast by the sad horn theme and gloomy vocals. Overall, the second piece has a Scott Walker’s The Drift feel as it projects a very dark and rather crappy atmosphere.

"The Only Tune" consists of three fantastic movements that blend Muhly’s minimalist style with tradition folk music. Revolving around the theme of a girl who murders her sister in the river, Muhly uses beautiful melodies and Sam Amidon’s delicately gorgeous voice to contrast the horrifyingly violent lyrics. The complexity of Mothertongue is undesirable; it is multi-dimensional, genre bending, and beyond brilliant.

Mothertongue: IV. Monster [super-wicked-cool song]
Wonders II. The Devil Appeared in the Shape of a Man [wicked-cool song]
The Only Tune: I. The Two Sisters [super-wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Visit Nico Muhly’s MySpace here
Buy Mothertongue here