SPAZZKID IF NOT YOU THEN WHO [VIDEO]

At the time of writing this, I've just come out the bath having listened to Spazzkid's live set on e-venue SPF420 (that's a place where people can stream a live performance of themselves to people all over the world). It was really relaxing. The style of his positive-vibed sounds and samples combined with his slow yet groovesome pace really went well with relaxation time in the bath. You could call it "bathwave" but I'm not sure if it will catch on. If it does, then Spazzkid has the rights to be Godfather of bathwave. If it doesn't, we'll pretend I never came up with it.

Anyway, all of this aside, just today Spazzkid has released a new video for a song off his most recent album, Desire (願う), called 'If Not You Then Who'. It's a glistening waterfall of a song, dealing with the feelings of loss and longing that go with a broken heart. That's what it sounds like to me anyway. The romantic plucked strings of the guitar sail gently beneath the vocals that lament their own fortune. But it manages to sound beautiful, no matter how sad the feelings behind it may be - a beat soon drops in with waves of distorted bass synth. Soon you're bopping along, forgetting that sadness.

The video is pretty cool too. It's freaky, with footage from Japanese sci-fi film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), that seems to spookily match up with the dynamic changes in the song. Despite the prettiness of the song, the scare-factor in the video is still inescapably there. Maybe that jarring effect gives a perfect illustration of the feelings of coming out of a relationship.

Pretty weird, huh? That metal arm thing reminds me of how the guy's arm in Akira begins to get all weird. One influenced or inspired the other perhaps.

Back to the song. That beat is given some well-placed limelight on its own with the subbiest of basses from around 3:40 for a few seconds. It's only a little bit, but it's enough to come up for a breather - so to speak. That beat sounds damn good on its own (maybe he just wants to show it off?). It's something that Spazzkid seems to do very well in quite a few of his songs. These little dynamic changes don't appear to be much, but I'm sure the amount of thought that goes into where they go, what's going to be involved, what to take away, how long they last, etc. etc. - the result is of course very much appreciated. At least it is by me.

The koto, plucked Japanese instrument, is a lovely touch. It's the kind of instrument that always seems to summon elegance, wherever it may be used, and in this case it's no difference. It adds a timeless appeal, making it sound quite mature at the time. He doesn't have to "rely" on synth, but even in this case those scattered synth chords are really very nice, giving it a trance-like edge. Very nice. Weird vid, but oddly works.

You can go and download 'If Not You Then Who' for free if you like :)

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