Oh Land

Nana Øland Fabricius known simply as Oh Land is our latest musical crush, Danish singer-songwriter born in Copenhagen and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. I'm not a music critic so don't expect a solid review, all I can say is that I can relate to her music and I love to listen to her when I'm chilling. We also love her style. Check her out if you aren't already a  fan. Because she's pretty awesome. 

Musical Crush: Grimes

Claire Boucher aka Grimes is my newest musical crush. She's one of the most extraordinary artists I've ever encountered and her musical style is almost impossible to define. In The Guardian's words 'By sounding like a little like everything you've ever heard, the whole sounds like nothing you've ever heard'. She describes her style as 'ADD music'.

He musical influences are: Marylin Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Cocteau Twins, Skinny Puppy, Swans, How To Dress Well, Enya, TLC, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Alphex Twin, Outkast, Jedi Mind Tricks, Dungeon Family, K-pop, Drake, The Weeknd, medieval music and some industrial artists. Influences outside of music are: Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, Lars von Trier, Werner Herzog, Gaspar Noe, Gregg Araki, Hieronymus Bosch, Akira, Ninja Scroll, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Master and Margarita and The Idiot.

She has released three albums: Geidi Primes, Halfaxa and Visions all of which have received considerable attention. She was first on both NME's '20 Most Exciting Bands of 2012' and Gorillas vs Bear's Cool 2k11 lists. Visions was among Stereogum's '50 Most Anticipated Albums of 2012'. 

According to her, first album had lots of intention and meaning behind it while the others were more 'accidental'. 

Claire studied Russian literature and later neuroscience in Montreal's McGill University but got kicked out because Grimes became serious and she didn't have much time for studies. 

She says the hardest part was getting used to performing because she's super introverted and is more of a recording artist rather than a performer. 

She is absolutely different from everything I or anybody else ever listened to and that's exactly what I like about her. You should definitely check her out if you already aren't a fan of her.

Band Crush: She & Him

Everything involving Zooey Deschanel is super awesome. It's a fact.

I discovered She & Him about two years ago and haven't stopped listening to their music since then. For anyone who hasn't heard, She & Him is an indie duo with Zooey (vocals, piano, ukulele) and Matt Ward (production, guitar). They've released three albums so far Volume I (2008), Volume II (2010) and A Very She and Him Christmas (2011).
Zooey has been making music for a long time but never thought of pursuing music career until she met Matt Ward. She had bunch of home demos but never had an ambition to become a music celebrity. One day she sent her demos to Ward who later persuaded her into recording her songs properly. That's how their band was formed.
Listening to She & Him brings happy, sunny mood and makes your life better in general.
Have a nice day everyone! Brighten it up with some good music.

Band Crush: Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys has been one of our favorite bands for a long time. If you haven't heard of them (shame on you), it is a British indie rock band formed in 2002. I've been into their music since 2006 when they released their first studio album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. I actually read an article about them in a Georgian music magazine (which no longer exists) and decided to check them out. I loved them so much that I couldn't stop listening to their album for the whole summer. Alex turner is a genius and if I remembered half of my studying materials as well as I remember his lyrics maybe I would be more than an average student.
So I became obsessed with the band and all their albums are my favorites now. I also loved Alex Turner's first solo album Submarine which is a soundtrack of the movie with the same name.
I could write about my love to the band forever but I don't think anyone would find it readable so now I'm gonna list some of our favorite songs of Arctic Monkeys.

My Current Obsession

I've always been maniacally addicted to music. I have a huge list of bands I love and all of them are closely related to the different phases of my life and the most memorable occasions. I often become obsessed with a particular band and listen solely to their music for months until I get fed up and switch to something else. I've been like this for all my life.
Today I'm going to tell you about my current obsession which is definitely not short-term. It's an American band Incubus and their lead singer Brandon Boyd. Their music is great, lyrics are inspirational, live performances are amazing. My ipod is literally stuffed with their songs and videos. There is a song for every possible mood I might be in. I'm listening to them everywhere every time.
The most amazing thing about Incubus is that none of their albums are the same. They're constantly evolving and offering their fans absolutely new music experience. Their new album If Not Now, When? was released on July 12 and I'm already in love with it. Band is actually on tour now but nowhere near Georgia :( I really hope to see them live someday. I wish I was in Indonesia right now.

I think that Incubus is one of the greatest bands we have today and it's really important that they've been working together for so many years. I also think that Brandon Boyd is one of the rock's greatest vocalists. He is a pure perfection to me :) Amazingly attractive and talented in so many ways. He has written two books (which I hope to get soon) and has made beautiful pieces of art.

On July 6, 2010 Brandon's first solo album The Wild Trapeze was released. The songs are amazing. I'm sharing one of my favorite songs from the album which I find really inspiring.

I'll share more of their music, pictures, Brandon's art and quotes here.

This post is slightly unrelated to the other posts we've made but as we've said in the beginning this blog is about everything that comes to our minds and my mind is absolutely occupied by Incubus right now.
Hope you enjoy the post.
Anna

Music has always been my back door to life. It is important for people to find something that excites them. I like the concept that if you do what excites you, you will be rewarded generously, whatever form reward takes, which is not necessarily money.
Brandon Boyd

I am tapping into a place in you that is unexplored, and very dangerous, but I think essential to the creative life of an artist.
Brandon Boyd

Insecurities are about as useful as trying to put the pin back in the grenade.
Brandon Boyd

Someone will inevitably find something wrong in almost everything, so do what it is that you do best and remember to have enough tolerance for two."
 Brandon Boyd

“I treat Art more like a Lover with whom I am sharing an egalitarian relationship.
In music, I have moments of equality, but I am more of a selfish brute when expressing in song.
I will never sit down and draw or paint if not overwhelmingly compelled. But I grab my guitar and play even if I am not in the mood. Maybe I should be more of a brute in general.”