Here's something new. This is a great fresh sound that hooked me instantly like an enchanted I-don't-know-what - there's just a certain vibe going on in this song that makes it utterly wonderful and a true joy to listen to. Yes yes yes. This is 'Boredom and Freedom' by a duo from Bandung, Indonesia, who go by the name of Bottlesmoker. But in real life they are called Anggung Kuy Kay (Angkuy) and Ryan Nobie Adzani; together they have been making music since 2005 and are famed for having paved the way for themselves with a completely DIY approach to music. Making use of things as diverse as old mobile phones, xylophones, Nintendo DSs - and through circuit-bending to literally create their own instruments - the pair made more than a few waves on Indonesia's music scene, then-dominated by hard up-tempo house and techno. Not positive waves, mind you. Seriously. Their music, in fact, "wasn’t permitted to play in local radios because of the instrumental concept" - major wtf.
Enter: The Internet. And like some 'it was all a dream' ending, things turned out very well for Angkuy and Nobie. They released their first album via Myspace in 2006 and since then have seen quite a following grow around them, gaining the attention of several record labels along the way. Fast forward to now and they are generally accepted in Indonesia, which is great - but I've just realised I can't really do their story, as it were, justice. So go read about them here.
Anyway, Bottlesmoker have just released (like two days ago) a new album entitled Hypnagogic that you can download for free. Yes for free. It's part of their creative-commons-what's-yours-is-ours-let's-spread-good-music-everywhere attitude towards, um, music. Head on over to dystopiaq, who is the netlabel releasing this new record. Why aren't I talking about the whole album? Why am I just talking about one song? Because I'm just downloading it myself actually. I need to write about this one song first. Yep - 'Boredom and Freedom' will give you more than enough of an idea of what to expect: amazingness. Listen.
Beginning as I suppose a piece of music that evokes boredom - not because it actually sounds boring, far from it; it perfectly provides atmosphere of boredom with ambient drones, echoing 8bit bleeps and a slow lethargic beat. Soon we're going up-tempo, blasted into a euphoric playground of sounds, the preparation of a colourful rocket becoming airborne and exploring the sky: freedom. The bubbling instruments blur and soar past one another, taking your ears to a very happy place for a few minutes. Melodic, experimental, almost videogame in its fun nature, the sound of Bottlesmoker is nearly as amazing and feel-good as the story of Angkuy and Nobie's journey from rejection to pioneers of and inspiration for independent music in Asia itself.
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Like Bottlesmoker on Facebook
Listen to Bottlesmoker on Soundcloud
Hear more Bottlesmoker on Myspace
Visit Bottlesmoker's official site
Follow Bottlesmoker on Twitter
Check Bottlesmoker on Tumblr
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