New(er) Artist Quick Look – Cloudkicker
I’m continuing to explore Bandcamp, and wow, the sky really is the limit to what you can discover on this service. So, in a continual tweaking of my approach to writing for this blog, I’ll go ahead and start filling in with small posts introducing new artists I personally find intriguing, and stick with one full length album review a week (for now).
Today’s new artist is actually one guy, but you’d be surprised to know that from hearing the tracks. Cloudkicker is Ben Sharp, an artist based out of Columbus, Ohio. The music of Cloudkicker is very groovy, syncopated, technical, and atmospheric experimental metal. There are never any lyrics; Ben focuses on pure mood with each track. In researching Cloudkicker, I find a lot of references to bands like Meshuggah as immediate influences.
Let me sidebar and share my opinion on genre classifications. I think for the sake of making it easier to sort out and develop emerging sounds, the genre labels developed throughout the centuries have been a necessary evil. However, I believe we have reached a point, especially this far into Internet culture, where we can stop directly linking one artist to another in a futile attempt to classify.
As I’ve said repeatedly, music is the language of emotion. The best music is made in the moment, free from expectations. Sounds can be carefully crafted, and there’s nothing wrong with having a vision or wearing your influences on your sleeve. However, the fact that I can flip to one website and instantly hear, for free and in its entirety, the music of an artist I’ve never seen tour and whom my friends have never heard of, means that I don’t have to worry about or even consider where one artist or another in particular is coming from. I can appreciate the music for what it is and allow that to speak to wherever I am personally and emotionally. It creates a unique dialogue, again, free of expectation.
The short of it: don’t expect me to spend too much time trying to dig up comparisons. I’d rather just listen.
Check out Cloudkicker. It’s great ambient music to just lose yourself in, and, despite the odd tunings and angular time signatures, is still very relaxing. I’d attribute this to Ben’s patience in building songs over time and maintaining a steady groove throughout each track. As usual, you can get his music at a name your own price model on his Bandcamp page. The following cut is from his February 2010 release, A New Heavenly Body, and is entitled “A Hymn to the Projectile”.
Headphones, please.
Our Lady of Perpetual Tone 