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capuletangel · 2 years

Text

Slow Like Honey

Inspired By The Song; Slow Like Honey

Word Count: 2333

Story Summary: Ben Solo falls into a deep obsession with the local new baker, and Ben always gets what he wants.

Tags: DEAD DOVE; Stalking, Obsession, Creepy Ben Solo, Non-Con, Bittersweet Fluff, Misogyny, Major Character Death, Dark Themes and Eventual Smut. AFAB.

Also Posted To AO3 | Wattpad

Masterlist

Chapter One; Ben Is A Patient Man

Ben had always gone to the bakery, Lazy Loaf. Though not because he wanted to. God, no. His mother sent him once a week to get bread, maybe some sweet rolls if she asked for them. Always the same bitter old woman that served him, never offering a smile, never asking if he wanted anything else, just him buying bread and leaving.

He’d always appreciated soft spoken women, looked out for them—but after high school it went dry, only catching a brief look at a girl at a grocery store. The sightings were rare. Especially in rural texas. Leaving Ben hungry. Desperate for affection.

A long ten years had passed since high school, and he remained the same hungry man he’d been in senior year. She reminded him of how much he craved. Her weakness made Ben aware of it.

Stern and distasteful. Husky tone from all the cigarettes she’d shoved into her lungs, excessive frown-lines burnt into her face via the insufferable Texas sun, subpar bakes if you asked for Ben’s opinion and a crooked smile which revealed her cramped rotten teeth.

He’d never have gone if his mother hadn’t wanted him to. Ben would find any excuse to not visit it, resisting bile that raised in his throat at the mere sight of the wretched hag. And that was Ben being polite.

But then, the baker passed. Good riddance, Ben thought. Leaving the bleak store empty for a few months. Fading away in its cul-de-sac, surrounded by other derelict stores.

A good three months before new sage green paint layered the front of the shop, in contrast to the former beige. Delicate, trendy font spelling out ‘LOAF’ instead of the former cheesy name written in the boring, dated, comic sans font. The inside is decorated with a display, organised — cared for, soft wall lamps and a sight for sore eyes.

Poor Ben’s eyes thumped at the sight of a girl. A woman, if you will. Small, kind, sweet. Confused when he first saw her. Wondered if he were so desperate he’d formed a hallucination. If he’d gone insane from being so touch starved. So abandoned by the lack of feminine touch.

Her cheeks were rosy, plush with youth. A coating of flour smudged over her left eyebrow. Dressed in a sweater which hid underneath a linen apron, thin blue stripes contrasting against the off-white fabric. Soiled with splashes of food colourings, batters and icings, some faded — some fresh. Hair clipped up into a messy bun. A tender smile.

Instantly wrapped around her finger. She would smile at him, holding the most beautiful grin he’d ever seen. She wishes him a good day and laughs — flushes at his jokes. Nothing like the stale old woman who worked there for years beforehand. The woman who reminded him more of a man rather than any lady.

No, she was a delight. To talk to. To look at. To know. He found it hard to take his eyes off of her. Adorable. With her delicate voice, her coquettish blushed cheeks, and her bakes. Her bakes were to die for.

Far better than the previous owners. Ben found himself going bi-weekly, instead of just on his mother’s command. He’d get two Danish pastries each time. He’d go to the store hungry, but not for the baked goods. Graced by her presence. The cadences of her small talk and the dainty hands which seemed so fragile, yet made such pretty patisseries. Award worthy.

“Will that be all?” she would ask him, and he smiles every time she does. She knows his order like it’s the back of her hand, but she always insists that he should experiment, try something different. But, he refuses each time, and she still says it without fail.

She’s teasing him, he thinks. Flirting. Flirting in such an innocent way.

He looks like a mess compared to her, his dirty plaid shirts and stained jeans from working on the ranch. Huge, overly large hands that could crack her if he wanted to, but he didn’t, he reminded himself.

He wanted to see her in one of his flannels, imagining how they’d reach her mid thighs. How the material would drown her. Cover all of her, he’d be the only one to see what was beneath the material. He’d make sure of it. Protect her, even if it meant he’d have to capture her.

Of course, he doesn’t go into the bakery every day. That’d be creepy. Ben isn’t creepy. Ben is a nice guy. He just likes to see her. He wants to guard her.

Ordering the same thing each time, two Danish pastries. He isn’t sure why. Perhaps they remind him of when he first met her; they were the first things he bought. She always tells him he should change it up, that the buns are just as good, but Ben doesn’t like change, so he tells her maybe next time.

She just moved into town. He wondered why she’d come here — to this broken-down town in rural Texas. It must’ve been fate, he thought. There was no other explanation. A gift from a higher power for all the struggles he’d encountered over the last twenty-eight years. A present, just for him. But, he is also for her. A hulk of a man, though Ben was also soft. He’d hold her, soothe all her worries. Ben would take care of her.

She told him she was from Seattle. He knew little about Seattle. God, he’d barely even left Lakeridge.

He’d been to Houston a few times, and a small town near Waco for a shipment issue. She talked about how she missed the city, missed the rain, and her friends. She’d come down to live with her father — he was ill and she wanted to live a simple life with him until he passed.

That made him even more entranced by her. She cares about people and sees the best in them. She wants to nurture them. Ben wants to be nurtured by her. Have her hands run through his hair as he cuddled her. Whisper sweet nothings until they fall asleep in each other’s arms. The time would come, he knew that. He was hopeful. But most importantly, he’s patient.

Ben is a patient man. He reminds himself each time he walks into the bakery. He is a patient man. Ben had always struggled with the concept of patience, but he’d wait for her. He would wait a lifetime if it meant one day she’d be his.

She isn’t like the other girls he’s been with. She would understand his needs, understand that he cares, understand that he’d die for her. And besides, she doesn’t want any other male attention. He can see that. He knows that. He knows her. He’s always been excellent at reading people.

She wears the same sweaters for everyday of the week, organised. Like Ben. But she’s quirkier than him. Ben wears tattered flannel shirts over and over again. But, she wears unique sweaters.

Monday is a brown chunky knit. It hangs so loosely that it shows her left collarbone, and if he’s lucky, her bra strap too. When he first saw it, he had to tear his eyes from her, instead forcing himself to act as if he was interested in another loaf of bread. Imagining how soft her skin was. How she’d feel beneath him. How she’d taste.

Tuesday is a multi-colour knit. It hangs off of her in such an adorable way; she has to roll the sleeves up so they don’t dangle over her hands. That’s another thing that drives Ben into a frenzy. How tiny she is, compared to him. He works with his body all day. Heaving heavy equipment, which built up an impressive amount of muscle. She came up to his chest. So meek for him.

Wednesday is a cream cotton, she wears a turtleneck underneath it.

Thursday is another multi coloured knit, but it’s jagged and thick. She made it herself. She told him. He couldn’t contain his smile when she told him that. So feminine, baking and knitting for fun. He knew he wasn’t wrong about her. She had a nurturing energy about her, a natural caretaker.

Ben’s mother Leia wasn’t like that. He’d always craved it as a boy. Wishing that his mother could be gentle and ladylike. But she was stern. Ben broke that out of her. Eventually.

Friday is a green fluffy material. He wants to cuddle her in it, nuzzle into her chest, he finds himself leaning in sometimes when she wears it. He wants to feel her tender touch.

She is classic. Unchanging. He likes that.

She isn’t after attention. She’s herself. She laughs at Ben’s jokes. When she tilts her head back, some hair falls out of her bun and falls in front of her face. Ben wants to tuck it behind her ear for her. But, he resists, he’ll do it one day. And he’ll follow it with a soft kiss, and she will blush and kiss him back so tenderly.

Thursday is his favourite day. That’s when she’s happiest. Of course, she is always happy to see Ben. She wears her hand-knitted sweater, and it makes him feel so light. He can’t wait for her to knit him something. Even if it was the ugliest thing he’d ever seen, he’d cherish it. Cling to it. But it is closely followed by Monday. Her skin does something to him. She does something to him.

He knows she is desperate for him. Just as desperate as he is for her, but she wouldn’t make a move because she thinks Ben would say no. He knows she feels that way because of how shy she is. Submission runs off of her.

“Hey kid,” he hums as he sees her, swiftly running his eyes over every inch of her, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide the semi he gets from the excitement of her presence.

Whenever he sees her, it’s like time is standing still. He basks in her presence. He wants to stand in that bakery for hours, watching her knead bread, glaze buns, and decorate the small cupcakes she makes. Watching as she smiles as he talks to her. She blushes easily.

“Hey stranger,” she flashed him an angelic smile. Sometimes Ben wonders if she is an angel, so delicate and talented. “I have no idea what you’ll order,” she taunts. She’s so horny for him. He knows it. He almost doubles over as she speaks, but he plays it cool, raising an eyebrow and playing along with her flirting.

“What do you think would best suit me, ma’am?”

“Well, I’d love to encourage some experimentation, we have cherry turnovers this morning—fresh out of the oven—fruit tarts, eclairs, apple strudels, but...” she’d already made her way over to the danish pastries, sliding two into a brown paper bag, “I think that you’re a classical man, unchanging, old-fashioned... so I’m going to make the brave decision of handing you some danish pastries, is that completely outspoken?”

Ben looks at her with fake disgust, clutching a hand to his chest, taking the bag she passed him and peering inside with a grimace. “I can not believe that you would lower me to a danish pastry.”

There it was, that laugh. Tilting her head with a delightful giggle as her lips parted, a smile reaching her eyes.

A piece of her hair detached from the up-do, dangling in front of her face, which she tucks behind her ear, looking up at Ben with an expression that made his semi turn into a full erect one. So tempted to have brushed it away with his own fingertips, feel her skin beneath his fingertips, inhale her scent—which was vanilla and lavender.

“Thank you,” he says, giving her a five-dollar note that had been crumpled in his fist due to lust and bewilderment. Wondering if she knew what she did to him, but shook off those thoughts. Of course she does. She means to. She wants to. Just as he wants her to.

It isn’t unrequited, they just both struggle with words. Two awkward people finding an interest in each other will always be difficult. But he’ll wait for when the time is right. He is a patient man. And she doesn’t want to make Ben uncomfortable. She is only twenty, after all. Still young. She feels like he’ll be disgusted. But she’ll learn he won’t. She’ll learn.

“Is that a new jumper?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the dark orange wool. It had small specks of white running through the yarn. He had never seen it before. She wore cream cotton one on Wednesdays. It upset him. She wasn’t sticking to her routine jumpers.

“Oh, this?” She smiles, running a hand over the sweater, rubbing the sleeves under her dainty fingers, “I made it the other day—I spilt something over my old cream one which was oddly a godsend, I’d just finished making this thirty-minutes before, do you like it?” God. Ben thought. He didn’t mind the change when it came to knowing she made it herself. It turned him on.

“Yeah, it’s nice—the colour suits you.” The words flew out of Ben’s mouth before he could catch them. Tensing, would she think that’s creepy?

“Thank you. Orange has always been one of my favourite colours.”

Ben nodded stiffly. It was getting harder and harder to not touch her. To ignore the ache in his groin. He is a patient man, he reminds himself. Tearing his eyes away from hers. “Thank you,” he ushered, holding up the bag, almost like it was a toast.

The bell jingled as he opened the door to leave, giving her a tight smile as he turned his head to look at her again. “Have a good day, Ben!” she called.

Even his name on her tongue made him spiral. He couldn’t wait until she was screaming it.

#ben solo x reader #ben solo x you #adcu fanfiction #adcu smut #adcu community #dead dove do not eat #dead dove #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #ben solo fanfiction

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letterboxd · 4 years

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Best of Sundance 2021.

From pandemic-era stories, via portraits of grief, to the serendipitous 1969 trilogy, the Letterboxd crew recaps our favorite films from the first major festival of the year.

Sundance heralds a new season of storytelling, with insights into what’s concerning filmmakers at present, and what artistic innovations may be on the horizon. As with every film festival, there were spooky coincidences and intersecting themes, whether it was a proliferation of pandemic-era stories, or extraordinary portraits of women working through grief (Land, Hive, The World to Come), or the incredible serendipity of the festival’s ‘1969 trilogy’, covering pivotal moments in Black American history: Summer of Soul (...Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Judas and the Black Messiah and the joyful Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.

The hybrid model of this year’s Sundance meant more film lovers across the United States—a record number of you, in fact—‘attended’ the prestigious indie showcase. Our Festiville team (Gemma Gracewood, Aaron Yap, Ella Kemp, Selome Hailu, Jack Moulton and Dominic Corry) scanned your Letterboxd reviews and compared them with our notes to arrive at these seventeen feature-length documentary and narrative picks from Sundance 2021. There are plenty more we enjoyed, but these are the films we can’t stop thinking about.

Documentary features

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (AKA Questlove)

One hot summer five decades ago, there was a free concert series at a park in Harlem. It was huge, and it was lovely, and then it was forgotten. The Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 brought together some of the world’s most beloved Black artists to connect with Black audiences. The star power and the size of the crowds alone should have been enough to immortalize the event à la Woodstock—which happened the same summer, the film emphasizes. But no one cared to buy up the footage until Ahmir-Khalib Thompson, better known as Questlove, came along.

It would have been easy to oversimplify such a rich archive by stringing together the performances, seeking out some talking heads, and calling it a day. But Questlove was both careful and ebullient in his approach. “Summer of Soul is a monumental concert documentary and a fantastic piece of reclaimed archived footage. There is perhaps no one better suited to curate this essential footage than Questlove, whose expertise and passion for the music shines through,” writes Matthew on Letterboxd. The film is inventive with its use of present interviews, bringing in both artists and attendees not just to speak on their experiences, but to react to and relive the footage. The director reaches past the festival itself, providing thorough social context that takes in the moon landing, the assassinations of Black political figures, and more. By overlapping different styles of documentary filmmaking, Questlove’s directorial debut embraces the breadth and simultaneity of Black resilience and joy. A deserving winner of both the Grand Jury and Audience awards (and many of our unofficial Letterboxd awards). —SH

Flee Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Flee is the type of discovery Sundance is designed for. Danish documentarian Jonas Poher Rasmussen tells the poignant story of his close friend and former classmate (using the pseudonym ‘Amin Nawabi’) and his daring escape from persecution in 1990s Afghanistan. Rasmussen always approaches tender topics with sensitivity and takes further steps to protect his friend’s identity by illustrating the film almost entirely in immersive animation, following in the footsteps of Waltz With Bashir and Tower. It’s a film aware of its subjectivity, allowing the animated scenes to alternate between the playful joy of nostalgia and the mournful pain of an unforgettable memory. However, these are intercepted by dramatic archive footage that oppressively brings the reality home.

“Remarkably singular, yet that is what makes it so universal,” writes Paul. “So many ugly truths about the immigration experience—the impossible choices forced upon people, and the inability to really be able to explain all of it to people in your new life… You can hear the longing in his voice, the fear in his whisper. Some don’t get the easy path.” Winner of the World Cinema (Documentary) Grand Jury Prize and quickly acquired by Neon, Flee is guaranteed to be a film you’ll hear a lot about for the rest of 2021. —JM

Taming the Garden Directed by Salomé Jashi

There’s always a moment at a film festival when fatigue sets in, when the empathy machine overwhelms, and when I hit that moment in 2021, I took the advice of filmmaker and Sundance veteran Jim Cummings, who told us: “If you’re ever stressed or tired, watch a documentary to reset yourself.” Taming the Garden wasn’t initially on my hit-list, but it’s one of those moments when the ‘close your eyes and point at a random title’ trick paid off. Documentary director Salomé Jashi does the Lorax’s work, documenting the impact and grief caused by billionaire former Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili’s obsession with collecting ancient trees for his private arboretum.

“A movie that is strangely both infuriating and relaxing” writes Todd, of the long, locked-off wide shots showing the intense process of removing large, old trees from their village homes. There’s no narration, instead Jashi eavesdrops on locals as they gossip about Ivanishvili, argue about whether the money is worth it, and a feisty, irritated 90-year-old warns of the impending environmental fallout. “What you get out of it is absolutely proportional to what you put into it,” writes David, who recommends this film get the IMAX treatment. It’s arboriculture as ASMR, the timeline cleanse my Sundance needed. The extraordinary images of treasured trees being barged across the sea will become iconic. —GG

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World Directed by Kristian Petri and Kristina Lindström

Where Taming the Garden succeeds through pure observation, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World relies on the complete participation of its title subject, actor Björn Andrésen, who was thrust into the spotlight as a teenager. Cast by Italian director Lucino Visconti in Death in Venice, a 1971 adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novella about obsession and fatal longing, Andrésen spent the 1970s as an object of lust, with a side-gig as a blonde pop star in Japan, inspiring many manga artists along the way.

As we know by now (Alex Winter’s Showbiz Kids is a handy companion to this film), young stardom comes at a price, one that Andrésen was not well-placed to pay even before his fateful audition for Visconti. But he’s still alive, still acting (he’s Dan in Midsommar), and ready to face the mysteries of his past. Like Benjamin Ree’s excellent The Painter and the Thief from last year, this documentary is a constantly unfolding detective story, notable for great archive footage, and a deep kindness towards its reticent yet wide-open subject. —GG

All Light, Everywhere Directed by Theo Anthony

Threading the blind spots between Étienne-Jules Marey’s 19th-century “photographic rifle”, camera-carrying war pigeons and Axon’s body-cam tech, Theo Anthony’s inquisitive, mind-expanding doc about the false promise of the all-seeing eye is absorbing, scary, urgent. It’s the greatest Minority Report origin story you didn’t know you needed.

Augmented by Dan Deacon’s electronic soundscapes and Keaver Brenai’s lullingly robotic narration, All Light, Everywhere proves to be a captivating, intricately balanced experience that Harris describes as “one part Adam Curtis-esque cine-essay”, “one part structural experiment in the vein of Koyaanisqatsi” and “one part accidental character study of two of the most familiar yet strikingly unique evil, conservative capitalists…”. Yes, there’s a tremendous amount to download, but Anthony’s expert weaving, as AC writes, “make its numerous subjects burst with clarity and profundity.” For curious cinephiles, the oldest movie on Letterboxd, Jules Jenssen’s Passage de Vénus (1874), makes a cameo. —AY

The Sparks Brothers Directed by Edgar Wright

Conceived at a Sparks gig in 2017 upon the encouragement of fellow writer-director Phil Lord, Edgar Wright broke his streak of riotous comedies with his first (of many, we hope) rockumentary. While somewhat overstuffed—this is, after all, his longest film by nearly fifteen minutes—The Sparks Brothers speaks only to Wright’s unrestrained passion for his art-pop Gods, exploring all the nooks and crannies of Sparks’ sprawling career, with unprecedented access to brothers and bandmates Ron and Russell Mael.

Nobody else can quite pin them down, so Wright dedicates his time to put every pin in them while he can, building a mythology and breaking it down, while coloring the film with irresistible dives into film history, whimsically animated anecdotes and cheeky captions. “Sparks rules. Edgar Wright rules. There’s no way this wasn’t going to rule”, proclaims Nick, “every Sparks song is its own world, with characters, rules, jokes and layers of narrative irony. What a lovely ode to a creative partnership that was founded on sticking to one’s artistic guns, no matter what may have been fashionable at the time.” —JM

Narrative features

The Pink Cloud Written and directed by Iuli Gerbase

The Pink Cloud is disorienting and full of déjà vu. Brazilian writer-director Iuli Gerbase constructs characters that are damned to have to settle when it comes to human connection. Giovana and Yago’s pleasant one-night stand lasts longer than expected when the titular pink cloud emerges from the sky, full of a mysterious and deadly gas that forces everyone to stay locked where they stand. Sound familiar? Reserve your groans—The Pink Cloud wasn’t churned out to figure out “what it all means” before the pandemic is even over. Gerbase wrote and shot the film prior to the discovery of Covid-19.

It’s “striking in its ability to prophesize a pandemic and a feeling unknown at the time of its conception. What was once science fiction hits so close now,” writes Sam. As uncanny as the quarantine narrative feels, what’s truly harrowing is how well the film predicts and understands interiorities that the pandemic later exacerbated. Above all, Giovana is a woman with unmet needs. She is a good partner, good mother and good person even when she doesn’t want to be. Even those who love her cannot see how their expectations strip her of her personhood, and the film dares to ask what escape there might be when love itself leaves you lonely. —SH

Together Together Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith

Every festival needs at least one indie relationship dramedy, and Together Together filled that role at Sundance 2021 with a healthy degree of subversion. It follows rom-com structure while ostensibly avoiding romance, instead focusing on how cultivating adult friendships can be just hard, if not harder.

Writer-director Nikole Beckwith warmly examines the limits of the platonic, and Patti Harrison and Ed Helms are brilliantly cast as the not-couple: a single soon-to-be father and the surrogate carrying his child. They poke at each other’s boundaries with a subtle desperation to know what makes a friendship appropriate or real. As Jacob writes: “It’s cute and serious, charming without being quirky. It’s a movie that deals with the struggle of being alone in this world, but offers a shimmer of hope that even if you don’t fall in fantastical, romantic, Hollywood love… there are people out there for you.” —SH

Hive Written and directed by Blerta Basholli

Hive, for some, may fall into the “nothing much happens” slice-of-life genre, but Blerta Basholli’s directorial debut holds an ocean of pain in its small tale, asking us to consider the heavy lifting that women must always do in the aftermath of war. As Liz writes, “Hive is not just a story about grief and trauma in a patriarchy-dominated culture, but of perseverance and the bonds created by the survivors who must begin to consider the future without their husbands.”

Yllka Gashi is an understated hero as Fahrjie, a mother-of-two who sets about organizing work for the women of her village, while awaiting news of her missing husband—one of thousands unaccounted for, years after the Kosovo War has ended. The townsmen have many opinions about how women should and shouldn’t mourn, work, socialize, parent, drive cars and, basically, get on with living, but Fahrjie persists, and Basholli sticks close with an unfussy, tender eye. “It felt like I was a fly on the wall, witnessing something that was actually happening,” writes Arthur. Just as in Robin Wright’s Land and Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come, Hive pays off in the rare, beaming smile of its protagonist. —GG

On the Count of Three Directed by Jerrod Carmichael, written by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch

It starts with an image: two best friends pointing guns at each other’s heads. There’s no anger, there’s no hatred—this is an act of merciful brotherly love. How do you have a bleak, gun-totin’ buddy-comedy in 2021 and be critically embraced without contradicting your gun-control retweets or appearing as though your film is the dying embers of Tarantino-tinged student films?

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s acerbic directorial debut On the Count of Three achieves this by calling it out every step of the way. Guns are a tool to give insecure men the illusion of power. They are indeed a tool too terrifying to trust in the hands of untrained citizens. Carmichael also stars, alongside Christopher Abbott, who has never been more hilarious or more tragic, bringing pathos to a cathartic rendition of Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’. Above all, Carmichael and Abbott’s shared struggle and bond communicates the millennial malaise: how can you save others if you can’t save yourself? “Here’s what it boils down to: life is fucking hard”, Laura sums up, “and sometimes the most we can hope for is to have a best friend who loves you [and] to be a best friend who loves. It doesn’t make life any easier, but it sure helps.” Sundance 2021 is one for the books when it comes to documentaries, but On the Count of Three stands out in the fiction lineup this year. —JM

Censor Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, written by Bailey-Bond and Anthony Fletcher

The first of several upcoming films inspired by the ‘video nasty’ moral panic over gory horror in mid-’80s Britain, Prano Bailey-Bond leans heavily into both the period and the genre in telling the story of a film censor (a phenomenal Niamh Algar—vulnerable and steely at the same time) who begins to suspect a banned movie may hold the key to her sister’s childhood disappearance. Often dreamlike, occasionally phantasmagorical and repeatedly traumatic, even if the worst gore presented (as seen in the impressively authentic fictional horrors being appraised) appears via a screen, providing a welcome degree of separation.

Nevertheless, Censor is definitely not for the faint of heart, but old-school horror aficionados will squeal with delight at the aesthetic commitment. “I’m so ecstatic that horror is in the hands of immensely talented women going absolutely batshit in front of and behind the camera.” writes Erik. (Same here!) “A great ode to the video-nasty era and paying tribute to the great horror auteurs of the ’80s such as Argento, De Palma and Cronenberg while also doing something new with the genre. Loved this!” writes John, effectively encapsulating Censor’s unfettered film-nerd appeal. —DC

CODA Written and directed by Siân Heder

A film so earnest it shouldn’t work, with a heart so big it should surely not fit the size of the screen, CODA broke records (the first US dramatic film in Sundance history to win all three top prizes; the 25-million-dollar sale to Apple Studios), and won the world over like no other film. “A unique take on something we’ve seen so much,” writes Amanda, nailing the special appeal of Siân Heder’s coming-of-ager and family portrait. Emilia Jones plays Ruby, the only hearing person in her deaf family, at war between the family business and her passion for singing. While Heder is technically remaking the French film La Famille Bélier, the decision to cast brilliant deaf actors—Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant—makes this feel brand new.

But it’s not just about representation for the sake of it. A sense of authenticity, in humor as much as affection, shines through. With a script that’s 40 per cent ASL, so many of the jokes are visual gags, poking fun at Tinder and rap music, but a lot of the film’s most poignant moments are silent as well. And in Ruby’s own world, too, choir kids will feel seen. “I approve of this very specific alto representation and the brilliant casting of the entire choir,” Laura confirms in her review. Come for the fearless, empathetic family portrait, stay for the High School Musical vibes that actually ring true. —EK

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Perhaps the most singular addition to the recent flurry of Extremely Online cinema—Searching, Spree, Host, et al—Jane Schoenbrun’s feature debut ushers the viewer into a haunted, hypno-drone miasma of delirium-inducing YouTube time-suck, tenebrous creepypasta lore and painfully intimate webcam confessionals. Featuring an extraordinarily unaffected, fearless performance by newcomer Anna Cobb, the film “unpacks the mythology of adolescence in a way that’s so harrowingly familiar and also so otherworldly”, writes Kristen. Not since Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse has there been such an eerily lonely, and at times strangely beautiful, evocation of the liminal spaces between virtual and real worlds.

For members of the trans community, it’s also a work that translates that experience to screen with uncommon authenticity. “What Schoenbrun has accomplished with the form of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is akin to catching a wisp of smoke,” writes Willow, “because the images, mood and aesthetic that they have brought to life is one that is understood completely by trans people as one of familiarity, without also plunging into the obvious melodrama, or liberal back-patting that is usually associated with ‘good’ direct representation.” One of the most original, compelling new voices to emerge from Sundance this year. —AY

Judas and the Black Messiah Directed by Shaka King, written by King, Will Berson, Kenneth Lucas and Keith Lucas

It was always going to take a visionary, uncompromising filmmaker to bring the story of Fred Hampton, the deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, to life. Shaka King casts Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, and LaKeith Stanfield as William “Wild Bill” O’Neal, the FBI informant whose betrayal leads to Hampton’s assassination. Both actors have never been better, particularly Kaluuya who Fran Hoepfner calls “entrancing, magnetic, fizzling, romantic, riveting, endlessly watchable.”

Judas and the Black Messiah is an electric, involving watch: not just replaying history by following a certain biopic template. Instead, it’s a film with something to say—on power, on fear, on war and on freedom. “Shaka King’s name better reverberate through the halls of every studio after this,” writes Demi. A talent like this, capable of framing such a revolution, doesn’t come around so often. We’d better listen up. —EK

Pleasure Directed by Ninja Thyberg, written by Thyberg and Peter Modestij

A24’s first purchase of 2021. Ironically titled on multiple levels, Pleasure is a brutal film that you endure more than enjoy. But one thing you can’t do is forget it. Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature follows a young Swedish woman (Sofia Kappel) who arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of porn stardom under the name ‘Bella Cherry’. Although Bella is clear-eyed about the business she’s getting into, Thyberg doesn’t shy away from any of the awfulness she faces in order to succeed in an industry rife with exploitation and abuse. Bella does make allies, and the film isn’t suggesting that porn is only stocked with villains, but the ultimate cost is clear, even if it ends on an ever-so-slightly ambiguous note.

Touching as it does on ambition, friendship and betrayal in the sex business, Pleasure is often oddly reminiscent of Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls. Or rather, the gritty film Showgirls was claiming to be, as opposed to the camp classic it became. There’s nothing campy here. Kappel is raw and fearless in the lead, but never lets the viewer lose touch with her humanity. Emma puts it well: “Kappel gives the hardest, most provocative and transfixing performance I’ve seen all festival.” “My whole body was physically tense during this,” writes Gillian, while Keegan perhaps speaks for most when she says “Great film, never want to see it again.” —DC

Coming Home in the Dark Directed by James Ashcroft, written by Ashcroft and Eli Kent

A family camping trip amidst some typically stunnin—and casually foreboding— New Zealand scenery is upended by a shocking rug-pull of violence that gives way to sustained terror represented by Daniel Gillies’ disturbingly calm psychopath. The set-up of this thriller initially suggests a spin on the backwoods brutality thriller, but as Coming Home in the Dark progresses and hope dissipates, the motivations reveal themselves to be much more personal in nature, and informed on a thematic level by New Zealand’s colonial crimes against its Indigenous population. It’s a stark and haunting film that remains disorientating and unpredictable throughout, repeatedly daring the viewer to anticipate what will happen next, only to casually stomp on each glimmer of a positive outcome.

It’s so captivatingly bleak that a viewing of it, as Collins Ezeanyim’s eloquent reaction points out, does not lend itself to completing domestic tasks. The film marks an auspicious debut for director and co-writer James Ashcroft. Jacob writes that he “will probably follow James Ashcroft’s career to the gates of Hell after this one”. Justin hits the nail on the head with his description: “Lean and exceptionally brutal road/revenge film … that trades in genre tropes, especially those of Ozploitation and ’70s Italian exploitation, but contextualizes them in the dark history of its country of origin.” —DC

The World to Come Directed by Mona Fastvold, written by Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard

Mona Fastvold has not made the first, nor probably the last, period romance about forbidden lesbian love. But The World to Come focuses on a specific pocket in time, a world contained in Jim Shepard’s short story ‘Love & Hydrogen’ from within the collection giving the film its name. Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby are Abigail and Tallie, farming neighbors, stifled by their husbands, who find brief moments of solace, of astonishment and joy, together. What shines here is the script, a verbose, delicate narration that emanates beauty more than pretence. “So beautifully restrained and yet I felt everything,” Iana writes.

And you can feel the fluidity and elegance in the way the film sounds, too: composer Daniel Blumberg’s clarinet theme converses with the dialogue and tells you when your heart can break, when you must pause, when the end is near. “So much heartache. So much hunger. So much longing. Waves of love and grief and love and grief,” writes Claira, capturing the ebb and flow of emotion that keeps The World to Come in your mind long after the screen has gone silent. —EK

Related content

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival lineup by Letterboxd rating

Letterboxd’s ‘Official’ Top 50 of 2021

Awards Season 2020-2021: our awards-tracker list

Letterboxd’s Festiville HQ: our home for up-to-the-minute festival coverage

#sundance #sundance film festival #sundance 2021 #sundance2021 #questlove #summer of soul #black woodstock #shaka king #judas and the black messiah #letterboxd top 50 #best of sundance 2021 #letterboxd

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Best Romantic Movies on Netflix

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Romance movies are not that different from horror movies. Both are incredibly hard to pull off, are heavily watched during a cold time of year, and hopefully end with every character covered in blood.

With that in mind we present to you a list of the best romantic movies on Netflix. Because romance deserves it, damn it. Virtually every song ever written is a love song but poor romance can’t get a fair shake at the movies. Whether it be a rom-com or just a straight-up soul-enlightening/crushing romance, our list of the best romantic movies on Netflix will get you back in touch with your cold, dead heart.

Set It Up

Set It Up is Netflix’s most accomplished original romantic comedy yet.

Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell star as overworked assistants Harper and Charlie. Harper is an assistant to Kirsten (Lucy Liu) the woman behind a sports media empire. Charlie works for finance maven Rick (Taye Diggs). Harper and Charlie realize that their respective workloads might lesson if their bosses were more focused on their love life and less focused on work. So they…set them up.

Set It Up is a fun, novel high-concept romance movie positively filled with chemistry on all sides.

Outside In

We embrace every kind of love on our list of the best romance movies. Sometimes that includes some questionable, and some would say “icky” kind of love. So…Outside In is a teacher-student romance. But don’t panic! It’s ok.

Jay Duplas stars as Chris, a man who was wrongly imprisoned at age 18 and who is relased at age 38. When Chris is released, he immediately meets up with his old high school teacher, Carol (Edie Falco), who was his penpal when he was in prison. He wastes little time before he declares his love for her.

Despite its subject matter, Outside In is a mature, well-handled exploration of love and what it means to love someone for themselves as opposed to what they do for us.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

With a name as long as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the movie better be good to justify how many times we poor cultural commenters must type it out. Thankfully Guernsey is quite good!

Based on a book by the same name, Guernsey is a historical love story set in 1946. Lily James stars as British writer Juliet Ashton. Juliet begins exchanging letters with residents of the islands of Guernsey, which was under German occupation in WWII (so like two years before the movie starts). While there she meets the dashing Dawsey Adams (Michael Huisman) and romance begins to blossom.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an excellent, watchable classical romance

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Oh hey! Another Netflix original with a long title based on a book. Like the Potato Peel Pie Society, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is another effortlessly enjoyable romantic romp – this time of the teen variety.

Lara Jean Song Covey (Laura Condor) experiences every young person’s nightmare when private love letters to five boys she has or has had crushes on suddenly and mysteriously become public. But fear not. This is a romance movie, not a horror movie. So this sudden reveal has to go well for Lara Jean, right? RIGHT?!?

To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You

The To All the Boys team returns for a sequel that teaches kids the harsh lesson that there’s no such thing as happily ever after! OK, so that’s a bit harsh, but To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You does bring back its characters for another round of romantic angst.

Movies

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Review

By Delia Harrington

Movies

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Review: A Pleasurable Netflix Rom-Com

By Delia Harrington

Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is now officially Peter’s (Noah Centineo) girlfriend. But before they can relax and enjoy their lives together, an old flame of Lara Jean enters the frame. That’s right, John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher) is here and he wants to steal your girl, Noah Centineo.

The Danish Girl

2015’s The Danish Girl tells the story of a kind of love nearly unprecedented for its early 20th century time. Eddie Redmayne stars as artist Lili Elbe, who was born Einar Wegener and is believed to be one of the first individuals to receive sexual reassignment surgery. The film follows Lili’s journey and her love with wife Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander).

When Gerda asks her husband to stand in for a female subject in her painting, Einar does so and quickly comes to terms with the gender identity he’s been suppressing. The newly confirmed Lili and Gerda navigate this new dimension of their relationship and Lili continues her work as a subject for Gerda’s now very much in demand paintings.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Beauty and the Beast

2017’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast isn’t the best depiction of the classic fairy tale ever but that’s ok. It doesn’t have to be. All Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast really needed to be was a fun little dip into nostalgia with sumptuous visuals and a believable romance. On that front, everything goes according to plan.

Movies

Emma Watson on Beauty and the Beast: ‘I’m Very Grateful That This Character Exists’

By Don Kaye

Beauty and the Beast Disney+ Prequel Series Set with Luke Evans and Josh Gad

By Joseph Baxter

Emma Watson stars as Belle and Dan Stevens is her beast. Belle heads off from her small French town to the Beast’s castle to rescue her father. What follows is Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie. But sexier. Beauty and the Beast really does look good and Watson and Stevens have just enough chemistry to make this a worthwhile romantic experience.

50 First Dates

50 First Dates has a somewhat disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score. Ignore that. It’s probably partially due to many critics’ distaste for at least one of the actors in the above screengrab. Not that they can be blamed. The presence of Adam Sandler or Rob Schneider in any comedy is rarely a good sign. In 50 First Dates‘, however, it’s not an issue at all.

50 First Dates is a legitimately funny and romantic romantic comedy. Drew Barrymore stars as Lucy Whitmore, a woman with short-term memory loss. Due to a car accident, every day she wakes up believing it is October 13, 2002. Sandler’s character Henry Roth meets her in Hawaii and the two must overcome this bizarre condition to establish a lasting relationship.

Carol

Todd Haynes, director of Carol and Far From Heaven knows longing. And if there’s an element that makes for an excellent romantic movie experience its longing. That desperate sense is baked into nearly every frame of Carol. Based on a 1950s romance novel, Carol is the story of a young photographer (Rooney Mara) and an older woman going through a divorce (Cate Blanchette) undertaking a forbidden affair.

Forbidden because, you know, ’50s. And that’s where the longing comes in. Nothing is more romantic or sexier than a forbidden romance. Carol channels that romantic energy into something mature, fascinating and heartbreaking.

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook is all about how generally terrible it is to be a Philadelphia Eagles fan. OK, fine – it’s only a little bit about that. This star-studded 2012 film from David O. Russell is more about the challenges in finding love when one isn’t sure they even love themselves.

Bradley Cooper stars as Pat Solitano Jr., a young man with bipolar disorder living with his parents after being released from a psychiatric hospital. Pat is determined to win back his ex-wife and to that end enlists the help of young widower Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence). The two become closer as they train for an upcoming dance competition and share their respective damages with one another.

Silver Linings Playbook works because Lawrence and Cooper have a real crackling chemistry. And they both just happen to be devastatingly, almost supernaturally attractive.

Runaway Bride

From stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts to director Garry Marshall to conspicuous usage of enormous cell phones – Runaway Bride is an intensely ’90s film. And to the rightly organized mind, that just makes it the platonic ideal of a low-stress romantic comedy.

Roberts stars as Maggie Carpenter, an alluring young woman who has made a habit of leaving multiple fiancé’s at the altar. Gere is Ike Graham, a New York columnist seeking to tell the definitive story of this “runaway bride.” Runaway Bride is a charming experience that will make you think long and hard about how you really like your eggs prepared.

Loving

It feels reductive to call Loving a “romance” movie, as its more of a historical exploration of the very real, very tragic legacy of American racism. At its center, however, the film is about love.

Loving tells the story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), a mixed-race Virginia couple challenging their state’s law against interracial marriage in the Supreme Court. The details of the Lovings struggle for basic human rights are astonishing. Edgerton and Negga’s empathetic performances make sure the film never loses sight of the humanity at play amid all the legal drama.

Always Be My Maybe

Everyone always talks about “the one who got away”, but what about “the one who was always kind of around”? 2019’s Always Be My Maybe tells of one such story.

Ali Wong (who wrote the film) stars as Sasha Tran and Randall Park stars as Marcus Kim. Marcus and Sasha grew up next door to each other and also embarked on a brief, ill-fated relationship in their teenage years. When Sasha returns to San Francisco to open a restaurant, she discovers that romantic energy remains between her and Marcus. But is that enough to spark love in the busy, chaotic adult world?

Always Be My Maybe has a lot to say about family and growth. It also features a truly winning performance from Keanu Reeves playing…Keanu Reeves.

The Kissing Booth

There’s an interesting dynamic at play in teenage romantic comedies. Oftentimes, the worse they are, the more watchable (and rewatchable) they become. The Kissing Booth is a prime example. Based on a book by the same name from Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth isn’t exactly celebrated for its realistic portrayal of American teenagers.

Thanks to charming lead performances from Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney, however, that doesn’t really matter. The Kissing Booth is all about how one girl’s first kiss turns into an emotional minefield of teen angst. That alone is enough to support 105 minutes of pure high school drama…and two sequels!

The post Best Romantic Movies on Netflix appeared first on Den of Geek.

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wrennix062 · 4 years

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Let's get personal:

• 6 of the songs you listen to most?

You’ll Be Back (Hamilton), Car Radio (TØP Vessel), Soldier Poet King (The Oh Hellos), IDK You Yet (Alexander 23), Lemons (Brye), S.L.U.T (Bea Miller)

• If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Thomas Sanders

• Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

"Her smile faded, her chest tightened, and heavy blanket of anguis smothered her smallest joy."

• What do you think about most?

Whether or not the world exists

• What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Goodnight

• Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

With

• What's your strangest talent?

Uhm, I can identify any bird based on a picture (not that great a talent)

• Girls... (finish the sentence) Boys... (finish the sentence)

Girls are handsome. Boys are beautiful.

• Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Not that I know of

• When was the last time you played the air guitar?

Earlier tonight (i was listening to the phineas and ferb theme song)

• Do you have any strange phobias?

Agoraphobia (fear or large spaces/rooms, I always hated gym class)

• Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

One of those round flat LEGO dots

• What's your religion

I don't have one specific, though I lean towards a philosophy known as the Dao De Jing

• If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Birding

• Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind.

• Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

Twenty Øne Pilots

• What was the last lie you told?

That I practiced piano

• Do you believe in karma?

It depends.

• What does your URL mean?

Pidgeon refers to Pidge Gunderson from Voltron Legendary Defender, 11206 is my favorite number

• What is your greatest weakness and strength?

Weakness - Emotions Strength - Music/Art/Writing

• Who is your celebrity crush?

Bex Taylor-Klaus

• Have you ever gone skinny-dipping?

• How do you vent your anger?

Writing angst

• Do you have a collection of anything?

Tiny screwdrivers

• Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Honestly it doesn't really matter. As long as I'm able to talk to them and hear them, I'm good.

• Are you happy with the person you've become?

More or less.

• What's a sound you hate vs a sound you love?

Hate - hail on my window or roof Love - pencil tapping

• What's your biggest "what if"?

What if the world as we know it doesn't exist and we are all living an illusion surrounded by other illusions that act as if they understand reality?

"I think, therefore I am."

• Do you believe in ghosts? What about aliens?

Ghosts, more or less. Aliens, absolutely. There is a vast and ever growing space beyond our knowledge, there is no way we're the only planet capable of harboring life.

• Stick your right arm out. What do you feel first? The same with your left arm.

Right - my nightstand Left - my wall

• Smell the air. What do you smell?

My dogs

• What's the worst place you have ever been to?

A mental hospital, visiting a family member. (No, it wasn't an insane asylum, this family member was dealing with suicidal thoughts and tendencies.)

• Choose - East or West coast?

East.

• Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

I am all genders and none, but of my opposite sex would be Shawn Mendes

• To you, what is the meaning of life?

There is none. You wake up, do things daily, go to sleep, and repeat until you die. You aren't meant to do things differently, some people are just considered better than others and actually make an impact.

• Define Art.

A way for others to interpret an individual's self expression

• Do you believe in luck?

Yes. The universe doesn't treat people the same all the time.

• What's the weather like right now?

It's storming outside, lots of thunder and lightning and rain.

• What time is it?

At the time of writing this question, 12:10 am

• Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

No, I don't drive.

• What was the last book you read?

"The Mysterious Benedict Society"

• Do you like the smell of gasoline?

Absolutely not.

• Do you have any nicknames?

One of my friends refers to me as Remus because I remind her of Remus from Sanders Sides

• What was the last film you saw?

"After The Dark" otherwise known as "The Philisphers"

• What's the worst injury you've had?

Between spraining my wrist and getting a two inch split on my scalp

• Have you ever caught a butterfly?

No, but I have held one and walked with it without it flying away

• Do you have any obsessions right now?

Chemical Engineering, learning Italian, Philosophy

• What's your sexual orientation?

Asexual - Panromantic

• Ever had a rumor spread about you?

Yes

• Do you believe in magic?

Not really, no (but I do believe in the paranormal)

• Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

The only person I know has done me wrong gaslighted me and made me believe it was my fault, so no

• What's your astrological sign?

Aquarius

• Do you save money or spend it?

Depends on if we're talking about video games or real life

• What's the last thing you purchased?

Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha

• Love or Lust?

Lust is fake. I will always and forever choose love

• In a relationship?

Nope

• How many relationships have you had?

Four

• Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

• Where were you yesterday?

At home

• Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

An old toy vault that I got at a book fair

• Are you wearing socks right now?

• What's your favorite animal?

It's between a lion, a snake, or a coral polyp

• What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

Use a super cheesy dad joke, it always makes everyone laugh

• Where is your best friend?

At home

• Give me your top five favorite blogs on Tumblr

Idk I don't really follow any blogs

• What is your heritage?

Italian, Danish, Norwegian, English

• What were you doing last night at 12:00 am?

Writing fanfiction

• What do you think is Satan's last name?

Grovum (don't ask me why)

• Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

I tried, I hated it

• Are you the kind of friend you want to have as a friend?

Not really, no

• You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss told you that if you are late on more time, you get fired. What do you do?

If I'm late all the time, it means I don't wanna be there. I'll search for my dream job, but right now there is an innocent life at stake and I can do something about it.

• You are at the doctor's office and she has just informed you that you have one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone that you're going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) I tell my closest family and friends. I want them to be there for me, but if I tell anyone I'm not close with, they will only pity me.

b) I will spend the rest of my time eating chocolate, drinking coffee like it's soup, and blending waffles, because doing something weird is doing something fun.

c) Not at all. Death is an inevitable concept. I would be sad, I would be angry, but I would not be afraid. There isn't a point to being scared of something you can't avoid.

• You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

I choose love. Living life without loving another person, whether it be romantic, platonic, or familial, would be torture. And for me, love is the same as trust, but trust is not the same as love.

• What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

"Sincerely Me" from Dear Evan Hansen

• What are the last four digits of your cell phone number?

9286

• In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Equality.

• How can I win your heart?

Chocolate, a Ferris wheel ride at night, and accepting my sexual orientation.

• Can insanity have more creativity?

No. Creativity is always in the back of your mind. The same is with darker creativity. Insanity just brings it to the forefront or makes you act on it.

• What is the single best decision you have made in your life?

I decided that self harm doesn't help. I'm glad I did, or I could have landed myself in a hospital.

• What size shoes do you wear?

8 1/2

• What quote would be written on your tombstone?

"Life is a locked door. Death is the key.

Death is a locked door. Life is the key."

• What is your favorite word?

Infinitesimal

• Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word heart.

Red mixed with black and white.

• What is a saying you say a lot?

What can you do when you live in a shoe

• What is the last song you listened to?

"Heavydirtysoul"

• Basic question, what is your favorite color?

Green

• What is your current desktop picture?

Hogwarts castle

• If you could press one button and make anyone in the world explode, who would it be?

*thinks to self* does my sleep paralysis demon count..?

• What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on?

It's not a matter of which question, it's a matter of who's asking it

• One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn the light on to find you are surrounded by mummies. The mummies arent really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do?

Offer them some toilet paper, maybe they're here because the ones at the supermarket are still sold out.

• You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they grant you a superpower if your choice. What is that power?

Shapeshifting

• You can re-live any point in time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half hour experience would you like to experience again?

My first time watching the first scene in IT.

• You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Fighting with both of my best friends

• You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

None. I'm asexual.

• You just got a free plane ticket anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Venice, Italy

• Do you have any relatives in jail?

• Have you ever thrown up in the car?

Yes

• Ever been on a plane

• If the whole word we're listening to you right now. what would you say?

F**k Donald Trump

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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 4 years

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Myrkur: the strange and surreal journey of Amalie Bruun

From hanging out with Martin Scorsese and Billy Corgan to appearing in a Michael Bolton video, Myrkur's Amalie Bruun is a black metal star like no other

An old painting hangs on the wall of the compact, one-storey house an hour’s drive out of Copenhagen that Amalie Bruun calls home. It depicts a blonde girl lost in reverie as she walks a grass path high above a fjord: a scene that’s elemental and ethereal at the same time.

The picture, by noted Norwegian landscape artist Hans Dahl, belonged to Amalie’s late grandmother, a refined woman who smoked cigarettes from an ivory holder and drank gin and tonic on a Friday morning. Amalie’s mother used to say that it was Amalie in the painting. It’s not hard to see why.

“I had a connection to it from before I can remember,” says Amalie today, as we sit at a dining table in a living room that’s one part uncluttered Scandinavian stylishness, one part hygge-style cosiness. “The album sounds like the painting looks.”

The album she’s referring to is Folkesange, her third as Myrkur, the one-woman project she founded in the mists of the early 2010s.

Where Myrkur’s past releases have bridged worlds – black metal, post-rock, blackgaze, classical – Folkesange is different. This is traditional Scandinavian music played on traditional Scandinavian instruments, sung predominantly in Danish. There are some covers, some originals, though there’s not a trace of metal in the music or the vocals. It’s all there in the title: Folkesange. Folk Songs.

That Amalie Bruun is releasing an album of sometimes beautiful, sometimes melancholic Scandinavian folk music really shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed her journey. Partly because that aspect of who she is has always been present in Myrkur’s music – all she’s doing with Folkesange is separating it out.

But mainly because Amalie Bruun has lived more lives than most other people. That, as much as anything, is what puts her out there on her own.

Two life-changing things have happened since Myrkur’s last album, 2017’s expansive and brilliant Mareridt, both inextricably linked.

One: Amalie Bruun got married. Her husband, Keith Abrami, is a fitness instructor and drummer with American death metal band Artificial Brain. The pair became romantically involved after Keith began playing as Myrkur’s touring drummer.

Keith is around, though he stays in the back bedroom today. This is because he is attending to the second life-changing thing that has happened to Amalie recently: the couple’s nine-week old son, Otto.

If Mareridt was the product of the vivid nightmares its creator endured before making it, Folkesange was defined by pregnancy and the impending birth of her first child.

She describes motherhood as joyous, though in her case the elation is edged with sadness. She discovered she was pregnant soon after she started writing the new album. “But I miscarried,” she says simply.

We ask if she’s OK talking about this. She nods, and explains that the miscarriage pushed her deeper into making Folkesange. A few days after entering the studio with producer (and Heilung co-founder) Christopher Juul, she discovered she was pregnant again. And that’s when the emotion really hit her.

“I was totally out of it, but in a beautiful way,” she says. “I wasn’t my normal human self. I become something else.” She laughs. “Very nauseated.”

She noticed that her vocals were different. “I never felt so in tune with singing as I did then. I had this power and this clarity, which was crazy. But it was the exact place to be, recording folk vocals with this new life growing in you.”

There were worries, of course, as well as other emotions. One of the songs on the new album, Gudernes Viljie (English translation: ‘The Will Of The Gods’) is about the miscarriage. “There were conflicted feelings, dealing with both this new life and this guilt feeling of this other life that never happened,” Amalie explains. “It was never a heartbeat, but you still feel like a mother. It was very intense.”

Amalie Bruun grew up listening to Scandinavian folk music. It resonated with her on a different level. “With my spirit,” she says. “It’s like in England: you have that singer-songwriter folk tradition, it’s historically ingrained. It shapes who you are, even if you don’t know it. Because it’s folk music, it’s told by people for people. So it’s inherited into the spirit of a population.”

Half of Folkesange’s 12 tracks are her versions of songs that she grew up listening to, while the others are her originals, though you’d be hard pushed to tell which is which. “This is a record that I wish had existed when I was young,” she says. “And it doesn’t exist, so I wanted to make it.”

Music, folk or otherwise, is in her blood. Her father, Michael Bruun, is a retired musician. He was semi-famous as a pop singer-songwriter in Denmark in the early 80s. “But he was not interested in fame,” says Amalie. “He’s shy and misanthropic.” Does she take after him? She smiles. “I do. Sometimes I wish I didn’t but I do.”

Her mother, by contrast, was a Jungian psychologist. “She tried her best not to bring her work home, but she did. You get analysed every day.”

As well as folk music, Amalie loved classical music as a child. She learned piano as a toddler, took up violin at five, and eventually attended music college as a teenager. “I wasn’t pushed into anything. It was all my choice. I was never interested in anything else.”

The first metal record Amalie Bruun fell in love with was Transilvanian Hunger, Darkthrone’s sub-lo-fi black metal masterpiece. Before that she’d listened to the stuff teenagers listen to: Nirvana, Björk, that kind of thing. Aside from her older brother’s Metallica and Judas Priest records, she’d never listened to much metal.

“Usually that transition takes years, right?” she says. “But all of a sudden I hear Transilvanian Hunger. It reminded me of classical music.”

“The Starter Pack” is how she jokingly describes Transilvanian Hunger today. “If you like that, a lot other black metal sounds really pleasant. A lot easier on the ear.”

When she was 22 years old, Amalie Bruun bought herself a one-way plane ticket to New York and started another life. It was the city’s rich and romantic musical history that drew her there: the poets, the punks, the freaks, the superstars. She arrived with no cellphone and nowhere to stay. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” she says. “But that’s what New York is. You just go there and see what happens.”

She found a place to stay with friends of friends from back in Denmark, and walked all over the city, giving her demo CD to venues. “Just piano music,” is how she describes what she was doing. “Me singing little melodies.”

She played anywhere that would have her, in front of whatever crowds were there. “Oh, it wasn’t the cool people,” she says. “It was definitely uncool. But it was never about fame. I just wanted to go out and earn my stripes a little bit.”

In the early 2010s, she met guitarist and co-vocalist Brian Harding, and they put together Ex Cops. Based in oh-so-trendy Brooklyn and playing shoegaze-inflected alt-pop, they basically screamed ‘hipster’.

She recoils at the suggestion. “I fucking hate that,” she says vehemently. “I hate the whole hipster thing.”

Ex Cops were ultimately small fish in a big indie rock pond – their main claim to fame was that their second album was executive-produced by Smashing Pumpkins major domo Billy Corgan. Amalie liked being in Ex Cops, but she liked the music industry a lot less. Or at least the part of it she where she found herself.

“I would be in the studio, working on ideas I had written and people would say, ‘Let’s just let Amalie get it out of her system,’” she says. “I was so offended by that. There were comments on what I would wear, whether or not I could have armpit hair in photos. It takes away your agency as a musician and as a woman.”

There were two Amalie Bruuns while she was living in New York. Or rather, there was one living two separate lives.

There was one Amalie Bruun who was making music with Ex Cops and dipping her toes into the world of modelling – she appeared, raven-haired, in a Chanel advert directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese – and, even more bizarrely, alongside 90s crooner Michael Bolton dressed as Forrest Gump in a video by spoof R’n’B group The Lonely Island (Bolton was dressed as Forrest Gump, not her).

Then there was Amalie Bruun the black metal fan. She mentioned her love of the genre in Ex Cops interviews, even if she sounded almost apologetic about it. “I was,” she concedes. “People thought it was too weird.”

Few people picked up on the references anyway, let alone knew that she was quietly working on a project of her own in the shadows: Myrkur.

She had been writing folk melodies on the violin for years. Gradually she added more and more metal elements. Once in a while she dared play it to other people.

Eventually word reached underground metal stronghold Relapse Records, who released her self-titled debut mini-album in 2014. Back then her identity was a mystery: she was as much apparition as musician. “I wanted the music to speak for itself,” she says of her anonymity, as if it’s the most obvious thing ever.

But mysteries don’t stay mysterious for long these days. When someone joined the dots and uncovered her other life as one half of a trendy Brooklyn indie-pop band, the keyboard warriors went into swivel-eyed overdrive. She was a fake. A poser. Worse, a woman – one who’d dared gatecrash the testosterone-heavy sausage party that is the black metal scene.

“I was blissfully unaware of it,” she says of the negative attention she initially attracted. “Then it was, like, ‘Why am I being hated by people who don’t know me at all. At least get to know me.’” She shrugs. “It didn’t affect me much. I was there to play music, not fuck around with all that stuff.”

She has a theory: that people objected to the fact that she’d worked with Kris ‘Garm’ Rygg, frontman with former black metal avant-gardists Ulver. “Honestly, what really pissed off a lot of people in the beginning was that I did work with some of the Scandinavian black metal artists that they look up to. I think that was very annoying and provocative to that crowd.”

Not that she was a woman? She thinks carefully.

“I think it’s the fact that I didn’t follow the rules of how women in metal should behave. I’m not the first woman in metal, I just did it a little bit more my own way.”

Anyway, she says with a faint smile, she wasn’t above a little button-pushing herself.

“I was never deliberately provocative,” she begins. “But when I realised how little it took I did take a bit of pleasure in it. I knew that if you post a picture with Attila from Mayhem, then they’re just going to go off. But it’s not like I did that just to piss people off...”

If Mareridt silenced the haters, or some of them at least, then Folksange, with its absence of volume, will probably fire them up again. Amalie Bruun couldn’t care less if it does. She has more important concerns. Such as her new life, as the mother of Otto.

She’s not pretending that motherhood won’t impact on how she approaches her career. There will be no big world tours around Folkesange, for one. “You can’t pretend it doesn’t play into it as a woman. Maybe as a man, it’s different. I know a lot of metal musicians, they have kids and they continue the same life. That’s cool, but when you’re a mother you can’t do that. I want the two sides of my life to co-exist.”

Has she worked out how that will work?

“I don’t know yet how that works.”

Is she looking forward to it?

“It’s nerve-wracking.”

Is she worried?

“No, I’m not worried. I’m in control. It will be how I plan it to be.”

With perfect timing, the sound of a baby crying drifts from the back room. Amalie gets up and returns a few seconds later holding Otto, a tiny bundle of nine-week-old humanity.

It’s only then that you realise how unique Amalie Bruun, and Myrkur, is: not just a woman operating in such a male-dominated field, but a mother as well.

Before we leave her and her family, she says that she’s looking forward to following up Folksange with “another metal-style record with distorted guitars”. But for now that’s in the future. Another chapter, another life.

#Myrkur #2020 interviews

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indigo-ra · 5 years

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The Little Black Mermaid

There’s a lot to unpack here. First off, let me start by saying I think it’s very progressive to see a black girl casted for Disney’s live action version of The Little Mermaid. It seems that after 70 some-odd-years, Disney is finally taking steps to represent diversity for this next generation of kids. Now, I also have to come in and say that I don’t understand why Disney is doing all these live action remakes. I saw Aladdin recently and I could see the love that the creative team put into the costume designs and backgrounds- it was so BEAUTIFUL.

But I also saw something I fundamentally disliked about this new generation of live-action remakes. See, when Disney does any storytelling, whatever the source, it is scrubbed of much of its authenticity and then sugar-coated for mass consumption for all ages. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. If you go back a few decades, you’ll see some downright offensive things produced by Disney too; but Disney 2019, is the owner of Lucas Arts and Marvel now. They’re such a massive conglomerate corporation, their image has to be flawless so they can set the pace for each new wave of consumerism. You’re thinking “Yeah, so?” So, I’m just going to say, after watching Aladdin, I felt hollow. To get a Disney-filtered animated version of the story, there are a lot of things to weigh and consider. Animation, by and large is a treatment most production companies market toward children. You also have to understand that you can get away with a LOT in animation, because impossible things are possible in 2D animation and everything is intentional. To take that story that had already been through such an intense filter to make into an animation, and apply that same exact treatment to live-action is moving backwards. Not only that, but Disney took it a step further and made a point to omit any semblance of ANYTHING that could be considered risque in the slightest. Jasmine’s short scene of seducing Jafar was swapped out for a new princess power ballad and left the entire story feeling FLATTER than the 2D Animation. It’s true. The reason why, is, because all the richness of a story adapted for animation has been applied to live-action. Three dimensional people don’t squash, bend, stretch or emote like cartoons, so the songs, the action, the intensity of it, unless treated like a LIVE-ACTION movie would never add up. And it’s incredibly flat. The movie has no surprises, no intensity, no complexity and no personality. She looks very pretty though. Now with that in mind, I’m going to approach the topic of The Little Mermaid. Keeping in mind that Disney is catering their brand toward a new generation of gender-neutral pussies in the making, their message has changed. It used to be “Your prince will come.” but now it’s “You’re a princess, you don’t need a prince.” Taking the “Happily ever after” off of the ending in favor of some “...to be continued” because, it sells. The first go round was so successful, there was all kinds of collectible junk that came out with each classic movie and even new rides for the theme park. People ate that shit up, and Disney is like, “well it if ain’t broke...”, and is now redoing the same projects because, everybody else has done it. In recent years how many versions of Disney princesses trended? Modern takes with them illustrated wearing casual clothes, On the cover of magazines, Photoshopped to look photo-real, Covered in tattoos, doing drugs etc... In the past 2-3 years there has been an upward trend, after we came out of our sexy vampire phase (True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries) and went in the direction of modernized fairytales (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, The Hunstman, Descendants). Disney rode that wave until it started to decline and THAT’S when the live-action remakes started. The Little Mermaid casting choice, plain and simple is a grab at black dollars. I’m not mad at it. But I think it’s very flippant how Disney made such an unexpected move, knowing exactly how Black people would react. It has mostly been positive. Disney is certainly trending in the black community, and new art of the new black Disney princess is popping up everywhere. But not all Black people agree. Some don’t even understand why they don’t like the concept, because it does seem like they should be happy, that, for once, color seems not to matter. Which is exactly the problem. The issue at hand is when white actors are placed in roles that ARE WRITTEN or CALL FOR ethnicities that are NOT White:

Disney is making an effort.-But not really. I understand why black people are happy, but I also understand why they are upset, and for ONCE white people do have some reason to feel slighted in this situation. The Little Mermaid has been black-washed. The Little Mermaid is a story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 - who was Danish man from Denmark. SO if you’re under the impression that The Little Mermaid was originally about this “Yemoja” Orisha I’m seeing popping up all over the place from these hoteps that claim they’re woke, that is called “cultural appropriation” plain and simple. We hate that, so let’s not be those people. The original story is about a mermaid in search of obtaining a soul, and though it is a mythical creature, SUNSHINE is what makes people dark-skinned. If you live underwater, in DENMARK of all places, fuck white, this fish would be damn near transparent. This was one of the times where Disney didn’t have to worry about appeasing black people. If Ariel was casted White, Black people wouldn’t have cried about it being unfair because that would be accurate. NOBODY petitioned, going around asking for signatures, demanding that Ariel be black, and now, White Disney supporters are feeling slighted, and rightly so, because Disney isn’t trying to balance the scales, so much as perpetuate the message that they “don’t see color” and “race doesn’t matter”; and Black people hate that narrative! It’s like when you get into a fight with your little sister or brother growing up and your mom makes you apologize, even though they started it. To your mom, it doesn’t matter who started it, and even though it’s unfair, she forces you to humble yourself even if you were the victim. That’s not balance, it’s a forced compromise. We need to stop being so eager to jump on the bandwagon of any pitiful handouts they give us, especially if it’s not coming from a pure place of good intent. White people will buy new merch to burn and Black people will buy anything that has their face on it, so both ways, Disney wins. I love Disney, but this was a blunder on their end. Halle Bailey’s singing chops in a Disney movie is not going to even get close to showing off her skills or range as a vocalist since Disney songs are all written in keys and chords that the general public can sing along with. Personally, I think Disney could have been better about choosing a character that more matched the Ariel we already know and love. It’s not like we are starting from scratch. We already have a red-haired, fair-skinned mermaid girl, who we know and love from the 2D animation. If you’re RE-MAKING the movie, why not make it in the image of the first success? Don’t change the main character’s color on a whim. If Disney was RE-IMAGINING The story, then it’s okay. Tweak the story. If it takes place in the Carribbean, maybe with some influential cultural tweaks like the prince being from Barbados (Sebastian can obviously stay the same), and maybe some pirates thrown in, it could be good, and Halle Bailey would be a wonderful casting choice, just like Brandy was in Rodger and Hammerstein’s version of Cinderella. But it wouldn’t be a REMAKE. But if it’s going to be a remake, as I recall, I do believe the Disney’s version took place in The Caspian sea, according to Ursula’s spell.

I never felt like I couldn’t relate to Ariel because she was white, A mermaid isn’t a human in the first place. We’re 2 for 0 in black women getting the “another species/race/creature” treatment with Disney. A princess that was a frog and now a mermaid and we’re playing it up like a victory while Disney is about to make some serious coin off of us. That’s all folks.

#halle #bailey #halle bailey #ariel #thelittlemermaid #the little mermaid #Disney #remakes

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swedeandsour · 4 years

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Ea Kaya on having a voice in the digital generation; the beauty of flaws and the importance of slowing down

Though she can certainly count her successes, making music is more than a numbers game according to Christine Kiberg, the Danish pop star better known as Ea Kaya. From her humble beginnings as YouTube cover artist to millions of streams on her Spotify page, Christine's story is one of resilience in an everchanging musical landscape. With her last record taking the heavy words "Fragile but Strong as Hell" in her title, Christine's sincerity serves as a rallying call to the downtrodden. Her music speaking a lyrical honesty rarely spoken, Ea Kaya believes that showing vulnerability isn't weakness, but rather something that demonstrates courage. But despite her successes, Ea Kaya's decided that maybe it's time for a break, to allow for her relationship with music to become intuitive again. Christine knows that she isn't perfect and neither is Ea Kaya, and that sometimes expectations whether business or personal can leave one becoming cynical and self-critical. Catching up online over Instagram memes and emails, Ea Kaya's Christine Kiberg gives us the low-down in an honest interview where she tells us about past successes and the importance of having a voice in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly-changing world. Keeping busy with her studies and reacquainting with nature to kick the Coronavirus blues, Ea Kaya caught up with us to remind ourselves the importance of slowing down and about seeing the beauty through the flaws.

Words: Peter Quincy Ng

Before Ea Kaya began, you were Christine Kiberg playing guitar covers on YouTube. Although you didn't play your own songs back then, you obviously still had to put your personal brand into it. Was there a selection process in the songs you played and what you thought might resonate with fans and yourself? How has the feedback you received as a cover artist shaped the way you are today as a musician?

Selecting the songs to post was quite simple: it had to be a popular, brand new song to catch the most possible viewers or just a song that I had loved. Because of my channel online, I frequently went to sites like Billboard to keep up with International music just as much as I kept up with the music scene here in Denmark. I’ve been told countless times that my music doesn’t sound like it’s written by a Dane, and this is very likely because I’ve grown up listening to enormous streams of international pop songs.

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By the way, congratulations on your Red Bull acoustic session of "4 AM" rolling over one million streams on Spotify! Live sessions as we both know, were largely exclusive to YouTube in the past, how have digital streaming platforms changed your outlook as an artist in this new digital era of music consumption.

Thank you! The age of streaming is interesting. On one hand, I think it’s extremely exciting how everyone can release music at any given time. I also love how streaming can function like radio, in that it recommends you new music you haven’t heard before and that probably wouldn’t find on your own. The streaming world does have a cynicism to it though, in a degree the music industry hasn’t seen before. The supply of music is enormous, and the listener patience is decreasing. If it wasn’t for the revival of the vinyl, nobody would be buying albums anymore, and you can’t claim that there are big dollars in streaming. We could discuss the many pros and cons of streaming for hours, but overall, I’ll say it saved the booty of the music industry from piracy.

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Ea Kaya · 4 AM

Anyway, with regards to your latest single, I love the flipping of the age-old adage, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words cannot hurt me” on "Skin and Bones". As a person of the internet generation how important is it to realize that our online actions matter and the importance of mental health?

Social media can be fun and we get a unique opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. The internet is gigantic and it can seem so insignificant to write something to a person you don’t know, who might even be sitting on the other side of the planet. The message still does reach the receiver though, and if you’ve written something that you wouldn’t tell a person face-to-face, of course your message can still hurt when it’s send in cyberspace. It’s hard not to compare yourself to what you see on social media, and many people already deal with low self-esteem. Nobody is immune to hatred, and only a fool will think their comments and messages are harmless.

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You directed your video Skin and Bones at home during quarantine, but for you, nature was always integral to your well-being. Tell us about growing up by the water and the woods, in Denmark and the importance of going outside.

Everything is moving fast these days, and growing up I was taught how important it is to pull the plug sometimes and go for a walk. The forest and the ocean therefore equal peace to me. Besides finding calm, I find a lot of inspiration and happiness in nature. The sounds, the smells, the beauty - it’s so genuine and fresh. I like the liveliness of the city, but living far from nature makes me feel claustrophobic.

The messages in your lyrics are always simple, direct and easy-to-understand. Is it difficult putting sometimes very abstract topics into words?

Many years ago, I wrote songs that were full of metaphors and poetic descriptions; maybe to protect myself, maybe to sound artsy (laughs). I later found that it was a lot more giving to write songs that made people feel heard, understood and moved, even if it meant that I had to spill all my darkest secrets and deepest insecurities. As a songwriter, I think you have to be willing to take chances and give away a little bit of yourself if you wish to get something back.

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Ea Kaya · Cruel To Be Kind

One of the things I've noticed in your video especially "Remedy" and "Cruel to Be Kind" is the topic of male vulnerability and gender fluidity. Why is it important to have these images?

I feel extremely lucky to be a part of my generation, because we are more free than ever to love who we love, be who we want to be, express how we feel and believe in what we believe in. Stereotypes and gender norms can be toxic, and even harmful. Telling somebody what they should do or who they should be won’t change the truth and nothing good comes with it. For so long, standing out has been a negative thing, but we’re becoming more and more accepting of each other’s differences. Individuality is becoming a positive thing and it’s just fantastic.

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Ea Kaya · Remedy

The title of your latest EP is "Fragile but Strong as Hell". The archetype of the female artist is either one of female tenderness or the strong, independent, no nonsense woman. Why is it important to have that middle ground like you mention in the title of your last record?

Personally, I think showing weakness is a strength in itself. It’s easy to put up an armor and only show your bright sides, but it takes courage to let people see when you feel vulnerable. You can be fragile and strong as hell at the exact same time, and I think it’s healthy to have both sides.

Growing up in a musical family, music would seem like an obvious career choice. But you're also a student in computer science, tell us how that's been and why you've decided to do it on the back of a successful music career.

I see why you think it’s an obvious choice. The funny thing is that all of the musicians in my family are classical musicians, opera singers, to be exact. It’s two extremely different worlds. It’s definitely a matter of perspective though (laughs)! Besides doing music, I recently started studying Communication and IT. To be completely honest with you, I’ve felt trapped in a bubble for a very long time. In this business, everyone knows everyone, and most people talk about the same thing, or about themselves or other people that you both know. Last year I decided I needed to learn something new and challenge myself. So far it’s working out fine to do both!

I heard you took your name Ea Kaya from "Ea" and "Kaya", both hypothetical names you'd give your daughters if your music career never took off. Seeing that all didn't crash and burn, what advice would you give to other young, female artists wanting to do things the Ea Kaya route?

The Ea Kaya route is definitely the long, complicated route. If you start from scratch without a network like I did, my advice for you is this:

1) Practice! Then practice a bit more!

2) Look for music offers and connections in your local area. There may be camps and classes that could be relevant. Write on music sites and social media that you are looking for collaborators.

3) If step #2 didn’t lead you to amazing partners that miraculously want to help you make demos for free, then welcome to this step; get yourself a job and save up money to record those incredible demos of yours!

4) Send your music to anyone you could imagine yourself working with. Be persistent and if needed, pushy. Forget about modesty - if you’re on step 4, you’ve already worked your ass off to get here.

5) Last one: Remember why you do music. Yes, I’m bringing the cheese and the grease, but nevertheless you’re entering a strange, cool place with many ups and downs, so your motivation is actually a very significant thing to keep in mind.

You’re a very charismatic young woman and I don't think I can ever question your success. But one question remains, how exactly how many popsicles did you go through in your video for "Tied Up"? That's a lot of popsicles from what I see!

(Laughs) That’s a quality question. I felt so bad about all those popsicles going to waste. The cashier must’ve given my director some type of look when he went and purchased that batch!

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Ea Kaya · Tied Up

#ea kaya #christine kiberg #danish music

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anncaster · 7 years

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Learn Our Crystals

Oh what’s my name Compared to your assemblage of me? You would drink stars And raise a glass to me

When Visuals was released earlier this year, Learn Our Crystals was not at all a stand-out track to my ears. It seemed like a fluffy type of filler track in the subtle way Mew tends to do those songs, but the lyrics were a different story. I’ve gone through some major personal changes this year and it felt as if I were being walloped upside the head with its message. It seemed to me like an imaginary conversation with Jonas in which he was telling me “Look, I might be a pretty cool guy, but I’m just a guy, you know?” In other words, “Slow your roll, fangirl! You’re also doing some pretty awesome things too, and you deserve some credit! Don’t make this all about me!” Jonas is one of the most humble people on this planet despite what he’s accomplished, but he also is happy to let people know when they’re appreciated.

It almost seems like a miracle that I can behave in a sensible way around him and the rest of the band, given my level of adoration for them and their work. But, for whatever reason, I never feel any sort of fear or anxiety in their presence. The lead up time to meeting them each time is fraught with anxiety and panic, but oddly it evaporates as soon as I make eye contact with Jonas. This guy exudes an aura of calm unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. He puts me at ease just by being there. I like to think I possess a similar quality and our vibrational state is just on a similar wavelength so naturally there’s no friction. It’s always incredibly pleasant to be near him.

Despite my history of traveling around to see them perform (which at the time of this writing is 19 times in 6 different countries) and many opportunities to meet them in person, one prize has always eluded me: a chance to have a long, personal conversation with Jonas. In the past, things never lined up in such a way to make the timing right. But this time around, I got my wish (and then some.) I spent somewhere around 7 cumulative hours with all the band members in very quiet, intimate settings, so conversations were plentiful. It was basically everything I could have ever hoped it would be.

My main takeaway from all of it is that my intuition has always been spot on about important things in my life, and this was no exception. Jonas is exactly what he appears to be: a generous, kind, compassionate, sweet, awkward geek. He has an amazing sense of humor and enjoys teasing (and being teased.) I don’t mean that in a weird way, mind you, but rather the sort of light trolling you might do with your close friends to show them you care about them. It’s effortless to be around him, like he’s someone I’ve known for longer than I can remember. He embodies all the best qualities of my dearest friends in one beautiful package.

Obviously things are a bit lopsided here, given how much I know about him and how little he knows about me, so I could see in his eyes he was trying to figure me out. His expression as I talked was mainly of happy interest, but at times I could see it shift into a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, like he was cautiously wondering what I had up my sleeve that I was prepared to throw at him at any moment. Understandably so, given the very first thing I did after we greeted each other with a hug was troll him with a Scientology pamphlet, to recreate a story he’d told during a technical glitch at Mew’s show earlier this year in Bristol. That might seem like a bizarre thing to do to one’s hero, but my intuition told me that he would find it funny given the length that story had to travel to get to me in the first place and its utter obscurity. My position gives me insight into things that happen all over the world through all my amazing Frenger buddies, so not much gets past me. He was very confused at first, but then laughed. “You know the story, huh?”

We chatted about all sorts of things: our shared love of Twin Peaks and David Lynch, meditation, the Danish language, foreign spouses, rising property prices, the US healthcare system, museum exhibits, tattoos, Bob Ross, the impending solar eclipse, and favorite music. Just imagine that: a beautiful conversation in a state of flow, as though we were old friends catching up after some time apart. It was a beautiful gift I was so grateful to receive, which is a big deal for me. I have been working very hard this year to allow myself to fully receive things rather than letting the good things ping off my protective armor and only letting the negative permeate.

I spent nearly a full week following them around the West Coast of the United States. Thursday night, they played a VIP show in KEXP’s Gathering Space, followed by a guest DJ spot on DJ Shannon’s late night show. Saturday night they played Seattle, Sunday night Portland, and Tuesday night San Francisco. I was there for all of it. I had the fortune of being there to assist Shannon during her radio show, then spend time with the band in the Green Room. After the Seattle show, Shannon and I went backstage with them, to a too-loud bar which we immediately vacated, and then onto the tour bus. On 3 hours’ sleep, my friends and I drove down to Portland and back again the same night. Then the next day I was on a plane to San Francisco, to return 2 days later. My head is still spinning with the speed and intensity of all these events.

The best part of all of it was that I was always, and I mean always, surrounded by my best friends in the world. They were all there to support me and my love of this amazing band, and of course to enjoy the music themselves. But it does not go unnoticed by me that their love for me was what brought them to these venues to enjoy my favorite thing in this lifetime. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

I’m the sort of person who doesn’t understand how I feel about something until I’ve written it down. With all the craziness happening, this is my very first opportunity to do that, and I am still so busy with so many aspects of my life that I don’t feel I have the freedom to allow myself to feel and process my feelings fully since I risk breaking down under the weight of it all. I will save that for a quiet time when I can be alone with a handwritten journal and some tissues, should the floodgate of tears arrive.

Whenever I have an amazing experience of any sort, I often think to myself that things couldn’t possibly get any better than what has just happened. But time and time again I prove to myself that I am a master manifester who is able to make her dreams come true on a regular basis, and no matter what, there is always going to be some experience that surpasses the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Last week was the best proof I’ve seen so far, and I know with absolute certainty that things are only going to keep getting more and more awesome.

#mew #mewband #jonas bjerre

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musicmapglobal · 7 years

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Mikala

Born in Copenhagen with a mixed Danish and Italian background, Mikala is the latest exciting pop/soul practitioner to emerge from the Nordics. With a sound that radiates pure sunshine, Mikala’s first two singles both hit the sweet spot between slinky R&B and beat-driven pop.

We decided to get in at the ground floor and find out a bit more about Mikala’s story. She was kind enough to tell us about growing up with gospel, getting inspiration from Italy, and finding the best places to chill in Copenhagen. Read on…

MusicMap: What sort of music were you exposed to when you were growing up?

Mikala: My dad is a guitarist, so growing up I was always exposed to so much different music. Whether it was live or different records in the house, or just my dad playing at home. But a very heavy influence growing up was definitely the Beatles, all the greatest guitar players such as B.B King, Lee Ritenour, Jimi Hendrix etc., but my dad had this huge collection of LP’s that I would dive into and get lost in. That’s where I found my first and biggest inspirations like: Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Micheal Jackson, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin etc.

I could probably go on forever about the different types of music I was exposed to as a kid. I remember when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I was on tour with my dad. He was playing with this gospel singer from America, Bob Bailey, and that was the first time I was ever exposed to gospel music. I still credit him for really sparking my passion for singing. I started singing in a gospel choir later that year and ever since gospel has been a huge influence for me as a singer and in my music as well.

When did you start making your own music and what was it like?

I think the first song I ever wrote was when I was about 9 years. I was reading this bedtime story to my brother and started singing the words and wrote a lullaby for him. My dad came in the room and put some chords to it. He actually took me to the studio and had me record it. I still have the CD somewhere…

But I think it was about 13-14 years old when I started really getting into poetry and writing a lot. When I started getting more serious on the piano and guitar I started recording in my room by myself. I had this old microphone and just recorded straight into the laptop and taught myself the basics on GarageBand. I was always extremely hard on myself and would never let anyone hear anything for a long time, but I am very grateful now, cause that was my time to practice and better my skills as a songwriter and actually grow into being an artist.

What equipment do you use now?

Now I am lucky to have one of the best producers and sound engineers, David Mørup, that I work very closely with, so fortunately I don’t have to think that much about the equipment that we use. I’d rather focus on the creative part, but I do know we use a Telefunken 251e, which I know Michael Jackson also used to record with.

Where would be the perfect place to listen to your music?

I think the answer to that question is up to whoever’s listening to it and what song they’re listening to, but I hope to make music that fits different occasions and situations in life. On your way to your job, at a house party, while doing laundry, crying over a breakup etc.

What fuels your creativity?

As a creative person I think that can actually vary a lot from time to time, depending on the state of mind / where you are in life at that time, but mostly I think it’s the need to reflect what you see and feel in life through music. And subconsciously there’s probably also a part of the ego that fuels my creativity and makes me strive to always better myself.

I also hope to make the people that listen to my music feel the way I felt when I heard certain songs that I really connected and related to. I think it’s one of the most beautiful and important parts of making music, to actually be able to move the people that are listening and make a connection or maybe even a difference that way.

What do you think the future of music is going to be like?

I think certain areas of music are definitely moving towards a more organic approach. If you look at some really big albums that were released this last year from artists like Solange, Chance the Rapper, Anderson.Paak, Beyoncé and Adele, the sound of real instruments and just well written songs and a more eclectic collection of songs is something that I think is more and more acceptable. Especially because genres are being fused more and more. Maybe that is just me hoping and wishing for that, but I think a lot of listeners are ready for something they can feel more.

Does your local area influence the music you make?

The answer to that would definitely be no haha. I live in Denmark and most of the time the weather here is really really depressing. To find inspiration or to be influenced by my surroundings I travel. I love to go and visit my family in Italy where the nature is amazing. That inspires me! The beautiful scenery there is breathtaking. I am really influenced by different cultures, great weather and nature too. I think travelling, meeting new people and being exposed to different environments, languages and cultures are actually some of the things that spark my creativity the most.

Your heritage is Danish/Italian, are there any artists from those countries you’d consider a musical influence, past and/or present?

A really big influence actually is an Italian artist called Pino Daniele. He was one of the biggest singer/songwriters in Italy. He was from Naples and the music from there is very interesting and inspiring to me. It’s a blend of the traditional music from Naples, but he also has some blues and Arabic influences in some of his songs. Medina and Non Calpestare i Fiori Nel Deserto are two albums that were major soundtracks to my childhood. When I first started writing songs in my room by myself I actually wrote some songs in Italian. Laura Pausini was also one of my favourite pop singers when I was a kid.

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What are the top things you’d suggest visitors to Copenhagen should go and see/do?

First off I would definitely make sure they were coming in spring or summer and experience the long summer nights we have, where the sun almost never sets and it’s pretty much light all summer long. The Red Square and that area on Nørrebro is really cool %%%, there’s a really big blend of different cultures and a lot of different restaurants. Christiania is obviously a big tourist attraction and is really pretty and chill in spring and summer time.

But generally I think Copenhagen is just a really cool city to walk around and chill in especially in summer. The sunny days are rare in Denmark, so whenever the sun is out all squares, parks and cafes are always flooded with people just hanging out enjoying the sun, especially during festivals like Distortion and the Jazz Festival. Distortion is a three-day street party with stages in three different parts of the city, blocking major streets and it’s pretty much the biggest and most fun outdoor party of the year. That’s when I love Copenhagen the most.

Why do you think Scandinavians have been so successful when it comes to modern pop music?

I think especially in Sweden, there is a really great culture of well crafted songwriting. If you look at examples like ABBA and Max Martin the thing they have in common is excellent songwriting, which most people respond to. Same goes for Lukas Graham and Mø who’s the only one from Denmark who’s been able to achieve that kind of success overseas. I think there is a unique sound that most Scandinavian artists have that can seem ‘exotic’ or interesting to a lot of people. Also there is a certain mystery when it comes to Scandinavia.

What’s the biggest challenge facing musicians in Denmark right now?

I think the challenge is probably the same as it’s always been. The fact that Denmark is a small country makes it harder to get noticed out in the world. Of course we’ve had amazing ambassadors like Mø and Lukas Graham, opening doors and putting Denmark on the map for the rest of the world to see, but it’s up to the ones following to bring something new and of quality. I would love to see even more variety and diversity in Danish artists making it in the rest of world. Also to break the stereotypes of how a Danish/Scandinavian artist sounds and looks like.

What are the best music venues and record shops in Copenhagen?

Vega is for sure one of my favourite venues. It’s not too big and not too small. I think that’s a venue most upcoming artists from Denmark would like to perform at. When it comes to more intimate shows and live music I really love Jazz House and Operaen at Christiania. They have a really nice intimate atmosphere and are venues that have been there forever in Copenhagen.

Another thing I love in the summer is going to the different festivals. There’s a festival called Green Concert, it lasts two weekends and tours the biggest cities in the country. The last one is always in a big park in Copenhagen, it’s for sure one of my favourites!

Where in the world would you most like to perform?

The dream would be to perform pretty much everywhere around the world, but I think a big one would be Madison Square Garden and for some reason I have always thought the Colosseum in Rome would be a really magical place to perform. Another weird dream of mine would be to perform in the small town where my family lives in Italy.

What’s your favourite album of all time?

This is probably the hardest question to answer ever!!! It’s pretty much impossible for me to only pick one album. I’m gonna cheat and put my top 3. Which are the 3 albums that have probably influenced me the most and that I’ve listened the most to:

Abbey Road – The Beatles, Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder, History – Michael Jackson.

What’s your favourite track of 2017 so far?

This one was really really hard for me. Most of the music that I’ve really been loving was released last year, but I think I’m gonna have to give it up for one of my really good friends who’s in my music family too, Mattis. His first single ‘Loverboy’ is for sure a really exciting sound for the future of pop in Denmark.

#anderson paak #Beyoncé #Chance the Rapper #Copenhagen #David Mørup #Denmark #gospel #italy #Laura Pausini #Lukas Graham #Mattis #max martin #michael jackson #Mikala #Mø #Pino Daniele #pop #R&B #Solange

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jojosjourneys-blog · 8 years

Text

So much love for Japan

January 29th. 2017.

Well I haven't written for a while, I've been far too busy and important. Ha. I lie. I've been struggling to conjure up the energy to write.

This is such a funny old contract, lots of ups and downs, and missing home a lot. having said that...

I love Japan. I'm only seeing a tiny snippet of the place, we stop in Nagasaki and Hakata the most. But both are brilliant, Nagasaki is amazing, and I haven't even started properly exploring yet. I've been doing some big life-changing-decision-making this January, which has unfortunately turned me into a proper cruiseship regular and as soon as I get off the ship I head for wifi, only difference is I look for the independent coffee shops rather than Starbucks(“Fight the machine I once bellowed in the changing room”... everyone was a little non-plused, pick your audience jojo, pick your audience.)

My first day properly exploring Nagasaki was New years day, we were held captive, I mean, we had rehearsals for the best part of December, so getting some solid ground under our toes in the new year was very enjoyable.

I wanted to venture off by myself, sometimes my interests cross over with other cast members, which is lovely, but other times I want to explore the things by myself, having the freedom to follow paths, stop to take photos, dive into shops and cafes that catch my eye. Gosh I sound awfully selfish but it's nice exploring on your own.

The sun hung cooly in the New years sky, (Often Japan has clear skies I find). As I walked to town along the waters edge. Nagasaki main town hugs the harbour and the sea coarses up the west of the land.

The water is a deep aqua blue and you can see how shockingly clear it is when walking through the harbour park. The design and architecture here has a feeling, an energy and a calmness. I've always thought Japan would have that peaceful quality and it really does: from the buildings, to the food, to the people who's warmth spreads across their clear faces. The fact they bow at everything, which at first makes one rather bashful, ends up being incredibly humbling. Plus it is awfully catching, I've started entering establishments with my head down, shoulders rounded ready to start a 'bow off'.

I had done a little bit of research before I started my walk, and I wanted to see the Danish part of the city, a lovely cobbled road stretched out before me(I know my blog has a running them of bumpy walk ways, but I can't deny it, I bloody love an old street), with tulip flowers and sailing boats etched into drain covers, some wonderful tall brick buildings with spacious windows leaned over me as I followed my maps to town. I found a wonderful tea house, that looks like the inside of a cosy dinning room, with a fire roaring and a promise of local tea.

For something more substantial I headed to the centre of the town, walking over many pedestrian crossings that whistle songs or play a bird-tune as you make your way on your journey.

Japan is a real match of new and old, the buildings are tall, square and modern, but without that clinical oppressive feel. And at the bottom of these smart buildings you can find a huge range of shops and places to eat. Sure; you can find clean, crisp, fancy shops, but also quirky-olde-world coffee shops, book dens and florists.

I dived between two shops on the main road to find the covered market road tucked behind; red lanterns hung from the roof in their droves, swaying only slightly in the breeze that creeped through the gaps in the alleyways.

Before I continue I must tell you. On this day everything was closed. Like EVERYTHING.

Oh, apart from MacDonalds and Starbucks. Standard.

So if you'll allow me to, I would like to stitch a few of my Nagasaki visits together... which would make it more entertaining for you, and easier for me.

So a few places to mention: Firstly the sushi( 1-10 Hamamachi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken 850-0853, Japan 1-10 Hamamachi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki-ken 850-0853, Japan). I am obsessed with Miso soup, after only having dodgy versions of the stuff, tasting the real deal in Japan has awakened a Miso-lover in me. At this sushi place they make it with tiny clams in the bottom, super tasty. The other wonderful thing that happens is you'll be sitting in your bright orange booth, guzzling miso then a warm, burning smell will fill your nostrils. This burning is not the bad “Oh god some things on fire, is it my hair, we are all going to die” smell, but the good “Oh I've just put another log on the fire, my marshmallow is browning, put another shrimp on the barbie” kind of burning smell.

It is the salmon, the tender, melt in the mouth sushi that they brown with a blowtorch and other wonderful apparatus(yes, you read that right, I said blowtorch). Maybe I'm an neanderthal, maybe blowtorching things is a very common thing, but I don't often frequent the kind of the restaurant that torches your food in front of you, so I was rather excited by this and plus it turned out to be the yummiest salmon ever.

So yeah. Go, get sushi! After some more wandering around the town, I went to the Prefectural Art Museum, which is this beautiful building, build with slanty worn wood and sharp shafts of glass. The exhibition was small but lovely to see, most of the descriptions were in Japanese which was a little frustrating, one of the main galleries featured work by Kabashima Katsuichi, his ink drawings are absolutely incredible. So detailed and life like. A lot of this work was used in Japanese war propaganda, I so wanted to read about it, but unfortunately couldn't.

I bought the most beautiful Kimono in Nagasaki too, a second hand long light green robe, with white and red petals detailing the bottom, I didn't think I would be able to get a Kimono, they are very expensive new, but after Alberto took me to this gem I was in Keaven(Kimono-heaven? No? It actually just sounds like my Dads name....). The ladies dresses me, I was wrapped up and literally tied with a bow. It was such fun and I'll have that Kimono forever, sometime to remember my snippet of travel from this contract. (ps: my Kimono, plus two ties/sash was £14!!!)

I've had lovely coffee in 'AB' and 'Nexyank'. A bit pricey, but a lovely atmosphere and time to chill out.

I'll be doing a lot more exploring with Luis, he gets here so soon! I can't wait!

I'm so glad we have these Japanese ports they really are wonderful. I would love to come back to Japan but as a backpacker, see the countryside, swim in the sea, see villages and mountainsides, I think winter is the worst time to come actually, it's the only time the trees aren't doing a thing. The rest of the year they are dotted with blossom or giving off the warm autumnal hue. Maybe one day I'll get the chance to come back.

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