Justin Bieber – U Smile (8x slower)

Justin Bieber, experimenal ambient prodigy? :)

The first time I heard of Justin Bieber was last summer in the morning before I went to work. I was living in New York, and because it took me almost an hour to get to work in New Jersey everyday, I woke up fairly early and watched some VH1 music video show. There was this little kid on TV with Usher standing next to him. I was confused to say the least, but I just left it at that.

Skip over the Bieber fever that has been 2010 thus far, and we arrive at this: a version of Bieber’s song “U Smile” digitally slowed down 800%.

J. BIEBZ – U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis

As you could probably guess, you can’t make out a single lyric of the song. But what’s astounding is how well this song would fit alongside songs by artists like Stars of the Lid, Fennesz, or Gas. The track is thirty-five minutes long and plays like an incredibly crafted ambient or experimental micro-sounds record.

I have been listening to more pop music lately, and after hearing the original version of this song, I’ve gotta admit that there’s something to it. After all of my trying to ignore this kid, I guess it’s finally time to go grab the Bieber album…

(via NPR’s All Songs Considered Blog)

Coachella 2007: Circa Survive

Circa SurviveLet me point out firstly how odd I find it that Circa Survive is even playing at Coachella (a post-hardcore band amongst the indie/electro-nation?) That said, I really do live Circa Survive and don’t have a problem with them playing.The Circa Survive arises some odd feelings in me, so I will first go over the history that I know of. The band started after the lead singer, Anthony Green, left a little band named Saosin (where he was also the lead singer.) He left on very odd terms. At an airport, while he was waiting for his next flight to go meet the guys of Saosin, he called to let them know that he had a change of heart decided that he didn’t belong anymore. Saosin has since moved on to singer Cove Reber.Leaving the drama behind, Anthony Green is what made/makes both bands what they were/are (but Cove was a good replacement.) His voice is very powerful and ethereal simutaneously; it really is amazing to listen to. He can hit notes that other punk singers only dream of being able to hit without tearing apart their vocal chords. His singing style is fairly agressive, meaning that he does scream… but only once in a while. He is not a scream singer in any way shape or form. To put is simply, I love Green’s voice.Circa Survive has released only one studio album to date, but a new LP is due very soon. Their sound is very open and ambient. The guitar ruffs aren’t choppy; they fade off into the distance being overlapped by the oncoming riffs. The vocals do the same. Their song construction is anything but conventional. While most songs do have the verse/chord progression, the many variant Circa takes on this makes for a nice change of pace. It will be very interesting to see where the new LP takes Circa. It might launch them to where Saosin is now, above Saosin, or it could mark the end of a fairly new group.Sorry for the constant Saosin comparisons, but Saosin is one of my favorite bands right now…