Love At First Listen

Sometimes you fall completely in love with music on first listen. It can be a dazzling guitar solo, the exemplary vocal harmonies, the powerful lyrics, or the amazing orchestral backing tracks. And, before you know it, you're in love with the song, the artist, the entire album.

The general public may not recognize these two ladies, but to indie music fans worldwide, BOY, composed of Swiss singer Valeska Steiner and German bassist Sonja Glass, are bona fide superstars. The two met years ago at a music camp in Hamburg, and the friendship that prevailed over the years has produced Mutual Friends — the duo's debut album.

I remember staying for a bit more at the bar, the first time I heard Drive Darling. I was immediately hooked. From the in-wall speakers behind me it came; a song I can describe only as pure, unadulterated music. I had never seen BOY perform before but I admired them instantly. And I loved that I didn’t know anything about them even more.

And when we arrive

The hardest of goodbyes

You will dry my eyes

Somehow you're always by my side

The one who holds my kite

And watches over all my flights

BOY writes and sings catchy, straightforward pop-folk songs about life and relationships. There's one about a waitress, one about waiting by the phone, and another about moving to a big city. I am swept by their song's lyrical integrity, their austerity, the organic sound of real instruments, along with the delicate unraveling of the splendid musical arrangements.

Drive Darling is not just a song. It's a story, a beautiful yet sad story.

Comments

This guy makes suits of armor for mice and cats

Calgary-based multi-media artist Jeff de Boer creates suits of armor… for cats and mice. He started designing and building these meticulously crafted metal pieces over 30 years ago as a little side project on his sculpting class at the Alberta College of Art and Design, where he majored in jewelry design. The side project eventually turned into a full time job. Jeff's work is inspired by Medieval times, Ancient Rome, the Renaissance Era, and Japan's Edo period. He uses different metals for his sculptures, but mostly bronze and copper. Though his creations look wearable, the artist has never really tried putting them on mice, though he did get scratched by one of his cats while doing so. While most of Jeff's work is done on a commission basis, he occasionally have pieces available for sale. Check out more of his impressive sculptures on his website and follow him on Facebook .

Sayaka Ganz creates amazing art menagerie from discarded plastics

I could never get enough of Sayaka Ganz . The Japanese-born artist saves the planet from plastic, at the same time creates brilliant animal sculptures. Raised under the Japanese philosophy of Shintoism, she hopes to bring greater awareness to the condition of our environment through her art. When creating sculptures, Sayaka organizes the reclaimed plastic objects into color groups, constructs a wire frame, and then carefully attaches the fragments of waste until she creates the shape she has envisioned. Her work has been exhibited in many places around the globe, among them Parma, Tokyo, Denver, New York, and San Francisco to name a few. Sayaka's Reclaimed Creations is currently on view at the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University in Maryland. She regularly posts on Facebook, so be sure to like and follow her page for updates.

'Apophenia' by Luis Lopa

If you're into large-scale, color-intensive, and multi-layered art pieces, Luis Lopa 's work is an absolute delight. The Filipino artist, who works primarily in acrylic, paints beautiful contrast of textures, shapes, and lines with pops of vibrant colors reminiscent of kaleidoscopic patterns, but soothing to the eye. Luis graduated from the University of British Columbia with a major in Visual Arts. He started off his career in Vancouver, where his illustrations appeared on t-shirts, ski sets, and the walls of various galleries. Now, he's back in Manila and is currently working on finding his spot in the local art scene. Luis draws inspiration from all forms of visual culture, from books and films to cartoons and fashion. His recent solo exhibition, Apophenia, showcased not only his raw and spontaneous visual power but also his open-minded versatility. You can check out the photos here .

finding cain

Search This Blog