Weekend Undercurrent
A meditation on things that tickle my brain, sometimes cerebral, sometimes warm.
Those who have had the (dis)pleasure of being exposed to the chaos that is my Liked Songs playlist would have also been acquainted with a strange, ephemeral melancholy electronica that puts an end to my heavy song switching.
I use songs as a soundtrack to transport myself, and those I love, to a place I either feel I long for but can’t recall or a place where my exuberance is expressed without restraint, or sometimes to just feel an embrace no physical sensation can bring.
The long, echoey riffs of AROBTTH Coldplay return me to a state of nostalgia. The stretched electric synths of U2 inject a unique ecstasy like no other. And the strong crooning of Tom Odell or Sufjan Stevens tears at the sinews of my heart, and caress them back ever so slowly.
Veridis Quo
Every time the algo decides I could use less lyrics and more music, I turn the volume up and let each cascading note occupy space - space between my ears, space within the chamber of the car, space between us.
No song commands my attention much like VQ - a song that serves as a multi-lane highway, with each path a journey through each of the destinations above. This original version brings about misplaced nostalgia, exuberance and warmth in equal measure.
Veridis Quo - Amped up
Daft Punk was my first exposure to EDM in any shape or form - a genre I understood only by it being thrust upon me (through bass-heavy club speakers or badly tuned Grab rides). This remix pulls the user along through a continuum of sound, and forces you to move even a small part of your body in the process. What a rush of 2000s optimism, space -agedness and nostalgia.
Veridis Quo - Slowed down.
Ensembles have long fascinated my (albeit limited in range) eardrums. The freshness, liveliness and overall humanity of instruments on a stage, being played live have long left me in awe of both the ability for beautiful sound to come forth, in perfect timing and in harmony. The wonderful contrast and limited irony of how well the discography of two android DJs play on an orchestra has always been an incredible revelation to a fan of both genres. This rendition amps up the warmth, with a touch of the whimsical - like a protagonist around in a field of robot sheep.
post-script
"Veridis quo" is actually a wordplay on the Latin phrase "Quo vadis?", literally, "Whither goest thou?" or "Where are you going?". The greater meaning of the phrase is, "To what purpose?"