The sound of the city at night
Yet another meandering story written for We♥Music by Gus
e-mail // vox
When I was 16, life was a fresh place with many wonderful things to offer. I was working an after school job at a video store, and had just been freed from my parents umbilical with that penultimate moment of our teenage years.
I had just bought my first car.
Even five years ago I was a gigantic music dork (albeit with a completely different taste in music -- whereas now I am more prone to have Camera Obscura at high levels in the car, then it was probably something more like The Ataris). And then, much like now, the car was the place to listen to new music. After work I would zip over to the mall and pick up whatever new album was the buzz at the time, and cruise the freeway back home with the windows down and the stereo turned up.
My palette was mostly punk rock and those fringe indie-punk bands that were slowly making themselves more and more prominent with the "younger scene." And as is the case with listening to punk music all alone in your very own(!!!) car at the age of sixteen, you're quite prone to excessive speeds on wide open roads. Even more so when you're just getting off a crappy job at midnight on a Friday.
This all changed the exact moment (and I remember that moment well) that I opened up a Virgin sampler CD I had received in conjunction with my very own (!!!) first cell phone. The band names were all new to me and my then unrefined (ha) musical preference. There were titles by Ozomatli, Remy, Spiritualized, and Zero 7. Everything had a beat, and everything was very electric. In my caveman logic, I could not compute fast speeds with the laid-back groove of Spiritualized. My whole world was crashing down around me, and I quickly fumbled to get that CD out and put some Anti Flag in.
Until, of course, those spacy, ubiquitous synth sounds came pouring out of my car's speaker. I'd liken it to baptism, but it was far more sanctified an event than that. I was not then -- nor am I now, really -- a beat junky. But there is something almost hypnotizing about Zero 7's 2001 single "Destiny." As the crush-worthy vocals ooze out of Sophie Barker's kiss-ready lips (believe me, you can almost see it as you listen), you feel instantly very... alright. The world disappears behind a wall of downtempo beats that layer up a cascade of fluttering flutes, synths, and those seraphic vocals.
It was meditation. I stopped driving the freeway and started taking routes that brought me through downtown just so I could fully experience this song. I stopped driving so fast, and started going a bit slower. When this song was on, it demanded the compliance of the world. Everything moved in harmony with this masterpiece single. If a city could have a sound, this is what it would sound like. The traffic lights provided a perfect backdrop for the UK duo's ingenious beats and soundscapes. Even now, when things get heavy, I'll dig this track out and head for the lights of the city.
Every band is allowed a moment of stark genius; this is Zero 7's. While the remainder of this CD is nothing short of absolutely stellar, it is this one track that stands out above every other. It's been featured in everything from commercials, websites, movies, and television shows. It's that ambient sound that gets stuck in your head, but you never know its name. Well, now you do. And if you did before, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
I had just bought my first car.
Even five years ago I was a gigantic music dork (albeit with a completely different taste in music -- whereas now I am more prone to have Camera Obscura at high levels in the car, then it was probably something more like The Ataris). And then, much like now, the car was the place to listen to new music. After work I would zip over to the mall and pick up whatever new album was the buzz at the time, and cruise the freeway back home with the windows down and the stereo turned up.
My palette was mostly punk rock and those fringe indie-punk bands that were slowly making themselves more and more prominent with the "younger scene." And as is the case with listening to punk music all alone in your very own(!!!) car at the age of sixteen, you're quite prone to excessive speeds on wide open roads. Even more so when you're just getting off a crappy job at midnight on a Friday.
This all changed the exact moment (and I remember that moment well) that I opened up a Virgin sampler CD I had received in conjunction with my very own (!!!) first cell phone. The band names were all new to me and my then unrefined (ha) musical preference. There were titles by Ozomatli, Remy, Spiritualized, and Zero 7. Everything had a beat, and everything was very electric. In my caveman logic, I could not compute fast speeds with the laid-back groove of Spiritualized. My whole world was crashing down around me, and I quickly fumbled to get that CD out and put some Anti Flag in.
Until, of course, those spacy, ubiquitous synth sounds came pouring out of my car's speaker. I'd liken it to baptism, but it was far more sanctified an event than that. I was not then -- nor am I now, really -- a beat junky. But there is something almost hypnotizing about Zero 7's 2001 single "Destiny." As the crush-worthy vocals ooze out of Sophie Barker's kiss-ready lips (believe me, you can almost see it as you listen), you feel instantly very... alright. The world disappears behind a wall of downtempo beats that layer up a cascade of fluttering flutes, synths, and those seraphic vocals.
It was meditation. I stopped driving the freeway and started taking routes that brought me through downtown just so I could fully experience this song. I stopped driving so fast, and started going a bit slower. When this song was on, it demanded the compliance of the world. Everything moved in harmony with this masterpiece single. If a city could have a sound, this is what it would sound like. The traffic lights provided a perfect backdrop for the UK duo's ingenious beats and soundscapes. Even now, when things get heavy, I'll dig this track out and head for the lights of the city.
Every band is allowed a moment of stark genius; this is Zero 7's. While the remainder of this CD is nothing short of absolutely stellar, it is this one track that stands out above every other. It's been featured in everything from commercials, websites, movies, and television shows. It's that ambient sound that gets stuck in your head, but you never know its name. Well, now you do. And if you did before, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Recent Comments