Thursday! Hey! How’d you get here so fast? I’m actually in a little shock that it’s almost the weekend. I can’t say I’m upset about it though because this track from German electro duo Modeselektor is burning up my headphones this morning. I woke up irritated today and was both surprised and a little ashamed of how I started my day. I knew I needed something to change my mood. Naturally I put on my headphones and tuned out the world as I walked through the morning streets of Manhattan. This track was next on my current obsession playlist and after listening to it once, I hit the repeat one button and kept of riding the sound until I reached my destination.
This week has been all about escapism for me. My thoughts centered around sounds ability to generate space. It truly is an environmental experience. The little world your headphones create is as small or as vast as you want it to be. A room can feel open or claustrophobic depending on the music is playing. Each music artist is a space maker and we as listeners are sonic nomads. Some tracks bring you to an autumn space, some take you to space, others make you feel like you’ve crawled under your sheets and shut out the world. Music is imagined space made “real” by listening.
Modeselektor has created a space that’s both ethereal and grounded. The running synth and tap-tap-tap’s in the background keep the track in motion. Miss Platnum’s chopped and screwed vocals take us up and down, sideways, and through a medley of syncopated rhythms and beat switch-ups. I feel like I’m in one of those zero gravity rooms and someone is flipping me around before leaving me to float a bit before they spin me around again. Oddly, this feeling is perfect for walking. This is the first track I’ve heard by Modeselektor and I’m itching to listen to more of their 2011 release, Monkeytown. In the meantime, I plan on staying in Modeselektor’s Berlin until I welcome in the weekend tonight, and even then I’ll most likely still be living in their space.