Tripping the Hop

This one is for you Miss K, for making me believe that curating randomness isn't that bad an idea.

In class yesterday, we were asked to do something called "Focus Writing" which is quintessentially writing without lifting your pen off the paper till you are told to do so. Usually for a span of 2 minutes or so, the only sound in the auditorium is of pen nibs scratching on paper; one of these Focus Writing Assignments was to write about our first love, so while most wrote about their first crushes, and the film actresses that made their hearts flutter, I wrote something to the effect of "my first love was my music"

With this, I think it is only apt to start this journey with my latest find, Lykke Li, a rather talented Swedish artist whose songs contain "a wide variety of instruments, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos." (Woohoo)

Did I mention she looks like a dream?

Anyway, moving on, here is a very beautiful live rendition of what is currently her top track, it's called "I follow rivers"

I find the whole cowbell on the drumkit bit super fascinating, speaking of drummers, there is this rather oddly shot amateur clip of Sahil Sarin (No clue who he is, or how I stumbled across this video) and if anyone can recognize what he plays at the end of the video, I will love you endlessly. (Insert goey kiss emoticons here)

The laaaaast little bit almost sounds a little Pirate of the Caribbean-ish, Anyway, moving back to why this post is called Tripping the hop.

Not this kind of tripping.

This is an ode to one of the lesser known but pretty kick-ass genre of Trip-Hop;

Somehow the smooth overtones of Li reminded me of another amazing band that I have come to love, Portishead; I heard this British band for the first time in 2012 (Thank you Shachi) just before coming to MICA and instantly fell in love with the haunting voice of Beth Gibbons. Kick back to this incredibly sexy live version of Glory Box from Roseland NY;

The mix of jazz and hip-hop beats into such an ultra trippy music makes for a perfect make-out backtrack. And if you aren't into "all that", give this a listen, same concert, different track.

I'm still trying to find some music that invokes the same kind of emotion that this track does, but till it does I'm going to let Portishead be what defines perfect Trip Hop to me; More music soon.

Cheers!