Røyksopp album art

Following Røyksopp for ten years is wildly rewarding. Prior to being fully connected via iTunes, I remember standing in a music store in the suburbs deciding which album to buy in the “world electro” section. Obviously if you follow these guys you know they blow that section away and deserve a title of their own. Even comparing them to their compatriots they’re usually lumped with in the Bergen Wave, Røyksopp defies grouping. So there I stood, rocking back in forth, several plastic-wrapped albums in-hand. Their cover art of The Understanding completed the purchase for me before I realized it. Hallelujah for art-lead discoveries of musical wonderlands.

My first exposure to Røyksopp in fact wasn’t The Understanding, but this is what I held in my hot little hands the day I realized I had found a new gravitational force in my musical experience. A follow up to their 2001 debut album Melody A.M., The Understanding’s album art was a far more magnetic and probably polarizing experience. By this time I had known that the two gentlemen responsible for these sounds were from a tucked away portion of Norway (which feels tucked already) and I appreciated the bleak & hallucinogenic qualities of the imagery chosen. Additionally, I had not noticed or been exposed to expressive type before and their in-situation alien appendage inspired letters had me totally hooked.

In fact looking at this album cover is not understanding, contrary to the title. But upon play it is. Is this dance music? Is it chill? How on earth does this fit in my life? It’s a little too loud for company, not quite meant for the dance floor, well produced but nuanced to the hilt. And why can’t I keep track of the vocalists?

The Understanding worked well for Røyksopp. Their global audience became self aware, but the top 100 crowd never really paid much attention. The quality of expression and imagery appropriately changed when in 2009 Junior was released. The track The Girl and the Robot was sung by Robyn and some argued it was the best song of 2009.

In 2010 the duo released Senior, which was their most nuanced album to date. In fact Senior was to play off Junior’s feeling of unbridled adolescence and respond to it with a sense of responsibility and restraint. Comparing the two album covers reveals that the two see themselves as aged, as well as their musical expression. The following clip shows a track from Senior and its odd, offbeat, and mildly disturbing, distinctively Røyksopp style.

Displaying the artist name in fire and the track title in graffiti would have made any of my typography teachers absolutely squirm in delight (you know who you are). I really enjoy how clean and primped these girls are despite being in a zombie apocalypse set in what looks to be Chernobyl. Thanks for what you do Røyksopp. And for hiring talented art directors for your albums.

Iqaluit cultural mural

Looks like Alexa Hatanaka, Patrick Thompson, and Jonathon Cruz took 9 days painting something incredible way up in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada recently outside the Qikiqtani General Hospital. I cannot believe the amount of detail shown here, and the cultural significance of the subjects. It’s so enthralling and intricate, I would love to be on a project like this. Associated with the project is this awesome firm based in Iqaluit called Nuschool. Iqaluit has a graphic design firm! I love this, I absolutely love this activity. Such excellent work.

The rendering of the enormous Bow Head Whale is unlike anything I’ve seen before. I’m pretty sure this was done with spray paint. From the artists:

“Myself, Patrick Thompson, and Jonathon Cruz spent the past 9 days creating this mural on the outer wall of the hospital in Iqaluit, Nunavut. It was an amazing time–we got lucky with many sunny days, ate raw bowhead whale and arctic char, painstakingly picked heaps of blueberries, had tons of support and helping hands from residents, grazed the beautiful landscape, and got nothing but positive feedback. Lots of work but totally worth it, so fun.”

Alexa Hatanaka has lots of other projects to check out. As does Nuschool.

USGS – Earth as art

Nothing like some perspective on the place we call home. Especially on the cusp of NASA’s great announcement coming up on Thursday about extraterrestrial life (I know, it’s hard to take that sentence seriously). The images are extraordinary but I absolutely love the captions. I like to dig further and search YouTube & Vimeo for videos of some of these obscure locations. I’m always pleased to find treasures and places I’ve never dreamed of. What a planet.

Thanks, USGS

Truly a river of ice, Antarctica’s relatively fast-moving Byrd Glacier courses through the Transantarctic Mountains at a rate of 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) per year. More than 180 kilometers (112 miles) long, the glacier flows down from the polar plateau (left) to the Ross Ice Shelf (right). Long, sweeping flow lines are crossed in places by much shorter lines, which are deep cracks in the ice called crevasses. The conspicuous red patches indicate areas of exposed rock.

Like sweeping brushstrokes of pink and green, the Belcher Islands meander across the deep blue of Canada’s Hudson Bay. The islands’ only inhabitants live in the small town of Sanikiluaq, near the upper end of the middle island. Despite the green hues in this image, these rocky islands are too cold to sustain more than a smattering of low-growing vegetation.
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As an example of searching the internet for some of these obscure locations, here is what family life in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut looks like. Just reading the caption above, the islands seem stark, bare, and bleak. But the human element is far more intimate and interesting:

Small, blocky shapes of towns, fields, and pastures surround the graceful swirls and whorls of the Mississippi River. Countless oxbow lakes and cutoffs accompany the meandering river south of Memphis, Tennessee, on the border between Arkansas and Mississippi, USA. The “mighty Mississippi” is the largest river system in North America.

White pinpricks of cloud cast ebony shadows on the Rub’ al Khali, or Empty Quarter, near the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The lines of wind-sculpted sand are characteristic of immense sand deserts, or sand seas, and the Rub’ al Khali is the largest desert of this type in the world. A highland ridge is just high enough to disturb the flow of the lines. In the center of that interruption lies the Saudi Arabian town of Sharurah.

Do you see a scary face looking back at you? The hollow-appearing eyes, narrow nose, and slash of a mouth are inundated patches of shallow Lake Eyre (pronounced “air”). Deep in the desert country of northern South Australia, Lake Eyre is an ephemeral feature of this flat, parched landscape. When seasonal rains are abundant, water fills the lakebed to some degree. During the last 150 years, Lake Eyre has filled completely only three times. When brimming, it is Australia’s largest lake.

music: Fang Island & Gobble Gobble

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Time for some music!

Alright let me just say I’m not a fan of house parties. The only exception are Ben’s house parties, because they are civilized by way of Bulleit Bourbon and other choice spirits. And excellent music, like this video above. I WANT to be in that room. I’m certain it smells to high heaven of human, but come on, live indie electro? This is QUALITY.
They’re called Gobble Gobble, which is seasonally appropriate. This song is Lawn Knives. I like the way they look, sound, and move. Orange headbands and tambourines. What is is about that MGMT/Ratatat/Midnight Juggernauts sound that is consistently valid? Playful youths? Lack of nuance? It’s why I can listen to Sleigh Bells for three days straight, the problem is though I then need to go on a long break before I come back. Each time I come back though, it’s there with open arms. I wonder if people grow out of this.

Myspace | Neon Graveyard free download

FANG ISLAND

Wait the 14 seconds before the song starts, it’s good. Perhaps you’ve already heard these guys. Man Man + Arcade Fire + Sleigh Bells – so pretty similar to Gobble Gobble but with a dose of euphoria similar to listening to Beach House. Seems to be the sound, the check balance to what is happening for the under 40 set at this moment. Appropriate for moments in 500 days of Summer, or automotive adventures, but not really the sound of growing up?

I have no idea what I’m talking about, here are the details: Site | Listen

Mike Bailey-Gates, age 16