Such a corny title....I'm sorry....
Ok! Once again it's been ages since I wrote anything on this and despite my wanting to, you probably won't hear anything from me for another year. One of the last posts I made detailed a trip to Berlin to visit art schools that I took in July 2014 - a time when I was committed to going to art school and becoming a fully "qualified" artist. A lot has changed since then! I changed my mind from wanting to study in Germany to wanting to study in France, and then from going to university immediately after finishing my A Levels to taking a gap year (which also involved me changing my mind numerous times regarding what I wanted to do). Then I had a moment of madness in September and applied to Goldsmiths through clearing to study History of Art - and by some fluke, got in. Of course, now I face a whole new bunch of problems and I don't have any idea of what I'd actually like to do once I have my degree, but I've put those on the back burner for the time being.
Anyway, now I'm back living in London (and only a stone's throw from where I grew up, can you believe it) I might actually have some interesting things to write about on here. Stay tuned for them! At the moment I seem to spend most of my spare time in galleries eating chocolate cake and the other day I had the fantastic idea of starting a comparison/review series on them (although really it's just an excuse to eat more cake) which will be appearing shortly. Other than that, I don't really know what will be appearing and with my numerous attempts to change this blog around all failing, I think it's time to just go with the flow and write about whatever I feel like. Maybe there'll be more serious political posts, or maybe it'll still be all about the latest records from Scandinavia. (Exciting things are happening in that department currently: I might finally be going to Denmark and Sweden in 2016!). With a large amount of cool shops at my disposal and the wonderful thing that is the student loan, I'm sure there'll be posts about interesting knick-knacks that I pick up - which is something I don't think I've ever written about but I've always wanted to. And of course, lots of posts about exhibitions and galleries (and not just the cafes...)
I also still want to change the name of this blog, however I'm yet to find anything that sounds nice and professional and cultural. Suggestions are welcome, send them in on a postcard etc. etc.
Friday, October 9
Monday, March 30
New Sounds from Denmark: Harmony - Vinnie Who
After months and months of waiting, it's finally here! Yes, the third album from the wonderful Vinnie Who was released today, March 30th, and what a wonderful album it is. When 'Seven', the first single from 'Harmony' was released back at the end of 2014 I sincerely hoped the rest of the album would stand up to it's brilliance and it wouldn't be the only decent track. It was a fear I had until the second single 'Only Dreaming' was released a few weeks ago, but of course, it was equally as strong as the first single and my fears were diminished. The two singles rapidly became part of my repeat playlist, and the amount of times I've listened to them over the past few weeks is probably ridiculous, but they're just so good it's hard to not get hooked on them.
'Harmony' has a very different sound to the first two albums and I would go as far to say that this is probably the best of the three. It has a overall more sophisticated sound, with more melodic segments and well, more harmonies. It's hard to describe the sound without using a million adjectives, but if 'Then I Met You' is the album for the party, 'Harmony' is the album for the morning after. It's smooth, comforting, and drenched in sunlight. It also manages to have a glorious cinematic quality that I really can't describe. It sounds like when you're awake at four o'clock in the morning in the summer and the sun's just beginning to rise, or when the sun's just beginning to set and you're sat in a garden with your friends drinking a beverage that makes you feel all fuzzy and warm inside. It sounds like warmth and happiness. Especially 'Funtime', the fourth track. The whole album has quite a calming quality to it as well, even the more up-tempo 'Only Dreaming' has the power to send me into such a relaxed state that I could probably fall asleep in the right conditions. Not in a bad way, you understand. If I were to name my least favourite track, it would probably be 'Swimming', not because of any faults in the musicianship, it's a perfectly fine song, but just not my thing really. Maybe it's because I can't swim - I don't know. However, at a mere three minutes and nine seconds, making it the shortest track on the album, it doesn't do much to hinder my enjoyment of the other songs.
Unsurprisingly I give 'Harmony' a solid 10/10 in every category. Would I give it album of the year status? Quite possibly yes, but as we're only three months in it's hard to say what the next nine months will bring. We've already seen very strong works from Sleater-Kinney and Pond, making 2015 an incredibly good year for music. With a new Blur album on the horizon, and a new Suede offering in the works, I have high hopes for the rest of the year. Whether 'Harmony' will stand up to them is a question I'm not willing to ask. I sincerely hope it does though, and I urge everyone to listen to it as soon as possible. I also hope the album gets the recognition it deserves outside of Denmark, and I would really love to see a gig in the UK at some point...*hint hint*.
'Harmony' is released on Fake Diamond Records and is available to listen to on Spotify, purchase in iTunes, and on CD in all Tiger stores worldwide. The vinyl will be available in Tiger stores from April 17th.
'Harmony' has a very different sound to the first two albums and I would go as far to say that this is probably the best of the three. It has a overall more sophisticated sound, with more melodic segments and well, more harmonies. It's hard to describe the sound without using a million adjectives, but if 'Then I Met You' is the album for the party, 'Harmony' is the album for the morning after. It's smooth, comforting, and drenched in sunlight. It also manages to have a glorious cinematic quality that I really can't describe. It sounds like when you're awake at four o'clock in the morning in the summer and the sun's just beginning to rise, or when the sun's just beginning to set and you're sat in a garden with your friends drinking a beverage that makes you feel all fuzzy and warm inside. It sounds like warmth and happiness. Especially 'Funtime', the fourth track. The whole album has quite a calming quality to it as well, even the more up-tempo 'Only Dreaming' has the power to send me into such a relaxed state that I could probably fall asleep in the right conditions. Not in a bad way, you understand. If I were to name my least favourite track, it would probably be 'Swimming', not because of any faults in the musicianship, it's a perfectly fine song, but just not my thing really. Maybe it's because I can't swim - I don't know. However, at a mere three minutes and nine seconds, making it the shortest track on the album, it doesn't do much to hinder my enjoyment of the other songs.
Unsurprisingly I give 'Harmony' a solid 10/10 in every category. Would I give it album of the year status? Quite possibly yes, but as we're only three months in it's hard to say what the next nine months will bring. We've already seen very strong works from Sleater-Kinney and Pond, making 2015 an incredibly good year for music. With a new Blur album on the horizon, and a new Suede offering in the works, I have high hopes for the rest of the year. Whether 'Harmony' will stand up to them is a question I'm not willing to ask. I sincerely hope it does though, and I urge everyone to listen to it as soon as possible. I also hope the album gets the recognition it deserves outside of Denmark, and I would really love to see a gig in the UK at some point...*hint hint*.
'Harmony' is released on Fake Diamond Records and is available to listen to on Spotify, purchase in iTunes, and on CD in all Tiger stores worldwide. The vinyl will be available in Tiger stores from April 17th.
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