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Wib 3

 

To be honest, this is one of the hardest types to categorize out of my repertoire. The WIB for this week is based mostly off of the Swedish band Wintergatan. They have a general air of electronic, but also incorporate instruments ranging from homemade music boxes to slide projectors. The eclectic range of instruments allows for a wide range of sounds across one album, but generally I’d describe the vibe from this feeling as simple happiness. If I had to write a review, I’d probably just write a (:

It’s hard to say what genres are being blended. You have occasional moments where the music builds to a “drop,” but the drop does not resort to heavy “wub-wub” effects like dubstep, club, and other genres. It also rarely increases the volume, relying instead on cool instrumentation and melodies to transition between sections. Since Wintergatan is doing something so different here, it’s easy to classify them as “progressive” and “experimental,” which I love as a prog fan. Yet they limit most of their songs to under five minutes, and they have incredibly catchy tunes. All of the doodles you hear are so expertly crafted that you can’t even tell you’re going to a new genre section until you’re already in it. When they do go long with their songs though, expect something truly epic; “Paradis” is a veritable symphony for the ears that even uses heavy guitar at the end.

In essence, this massive melting pot of genres is so successful that it defies classification. This, I believe, is something that more artists should strive for. It’s hard to make a new statement and a new genre in 2013, but Wintergatan has done it. And that’s why I believe Swedish experimental electronic post prog classical bleep bloop polka will blend so much that the genres are no longer separable.

-Kai Fukutaki

KSPC Blogger