Talk about Science – these two have wonderful Chemistry! It’s time for your new post!
Pictured: Georgia Ellery (Lead Vocals/Violin) and Taylor Skye (Backing Vocals/Producer/Flute) (2019) (via BBC News)
Good afternoon to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke – making my trip back home to my family and sitting on the train as I write – writing about today’s track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! “The music duo defying description” is a quote that Kev Geoghegan, a BBC News journalist, used to describe the subversive melodies of Jockstrap, a duo from Guidhall, London comprised of Georgia Ellery on the vocals and the violin, and Taylor Skye on the production, cello and flute, who met each other while studying at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama in 2016. Interestingly, the duo are signed to Warp Records – the home staple of ambient electronic and techno artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, especially in the mid to late 1990’s! The latest release from the duo is “Acid” – a new single which oddly mixes a string-based arrangement from Ellery with a vibrant, experimental electronic pop production compostion formed by Skye. It’s weird, but it’s wonderful! Let’s listen to “Acid” below.
OK, let’s face it! Jockstrap’s “Acid” is a record which masses of people aren’t going to “get” – in a traditional context – but, I feel the curiosity of the string format and the wonky melodies of the track are what makes it sound really appealing to me! It’s a fantastic track to keep to yourself a little bit. Georgia Ellery is beautiful on the violin and she provides stunning vocals: “Smash some papers of acid/And I’ll smash it if you need something more to blame”, before Taylor Skye joins the equation with a buzzing synth-line, eventually forming a crescendo of metallic trickery and jarring electronic glitches. He also adds some solid, reflective male backing vocal harmonies, dueling with Ellery: “What am I to you?” – before the violin strings fade to a tripping-out, sharp line of soft-techno psychedelia: “Acid dream/My whole life”, a Damon Albarn-esque vocal that makes it sound a little like 2D from Gorillaz might enter the fray at any moment. Ellery’s vocals are heavily manipulated in one section: “Love forever, ever/Frankly never broken/Together, ether”, with the classical Cello sections of the track leading us to a gorgeous ending, as a elegant, analogue-produced line of electronica fizzles to a halt. I really enjoy how the classical mixes with the modern electronic in this track, which plays out as a washed-out, vintage love ballad under a strange influence of glazed folk-tronica. It wouldn’t feel out of place in the next Jordan Peele horror film and it would suit a horror-based, 1950’s-periodic cinematic environment very nicely due to it’s subversive, modulated production. Overall, I think it’s a very strong and inventive track. I would describe it as “imperfectly perfect pop”!
Pictured: Georgia Ellery & Taylor Skye in a press shoot to promote the release of “Acid” (2020) (via DIY Mag.com)
Thank you very much for reading this post! – Keep safe and healthy! It’s time for my weekly Scuzz Sundays feature tomorrow, which is the time of week where I take you on a leisurely stroll down a memory lane of late 90’s to mid 00’s emo, pop and punk tracks, as popularized by the defunct Scuzz TV freeview music video channel in my childhood days. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/
One Track At A Time 