Thursday, October 10, 2013

Musique d'auteur

So a person who watches night-time comedy content produced by Comedy Central is bound to see a lot of advertisements for adult beverages. Most ads are just icky.  Few rise above the scuffle.  One company, though, long known for its iconic print ads, does so consistently.  The ad I saw this weekend while catching up on the Colbert Report on hulu was as visually and musically arresting as an ad could be.

So I went hunting.

The music in the ad is by Woodkid, an artist new to me.  And WOW.  Let's just say this: remember how I have spent previous posts gushing over The National and Mumford and Sons?  Let me now gush for Woodkid.  His real name is Yoann Lemoine; he is French; he has already done a lot of film work with lots of big artists whose names trigger instant recognition but who I really don't listen to.  But now he is doing his own thing and it is amazing.  There are a couple of EPs, Iron and Run Boy Run, followed by a debut album, The Golden Age.  There are music videos for Run Boy Run, I Love You, and Iron.  The work is just so impressive taken as a group that I'm breaking with my usual self-imposed limit of one video per post.  This just doesn't seem like the time for moderation.  Shall we take a look?

Woodkid - Iron





Woodkid - Run Boy Run





Woodkid - I Love You






There are also "Quintet" versions of I Love You and Iron.  

Woodkid - I Love You (Quintet version)





Woodkid - Iron (Quintet version)





And finally, there is the title track of the album, which I find so intriguing.  Not that I don't find the rest of the album intriguing/arresting/necessary, it's just that I want to revel in the similarity of the staccato horn work starting at 1:34 with the brass in Bjork's Wanderlust.  Different but similar.  It's really such a driving, urgent sound.

Woodkid - The Golden Age (and the rest of it).  Downloadable on Amazon.




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