When feedback is reduced to but a simmer and everything goes quiet, vocality becomes transparent, thoughts laid on the line and perceptive alterations take their course. This is what may occur when artists put their swords away, step back from all you’ve known and throw you, with all intention; in the direction they see fit.
Unplug.
Now unwind with these stunning editions ’cause there’s nothing quite like a new perspective for an old muse.
Musicality, intimacy and full disclosure can be experienced like never before when your favourite artist strips a song to its bare, unplugged bones
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Sleepwalker
Employing just three members of their explosive seven-piece outfit , King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard hit cruise control on this dream worthy rendition of Sleepwalker, filmed live at Austin Psych Fest. The track is a happy little number featured on the outfit’s 2014 album Oddments. It compliments striding steps into late night abyss, smooth harmonies and melodic, endearing riffs permeate the soundscape taking it from the estranged psychedelic trip it was into an eclectic soulful lullaby, revealing a soft diversity to the band’s sound. The performance demonstrates, in sterling video footage, the creative synergy that carries such a prolific group.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – The Mercy Seat
Nick Cave is a man with a most impressive musical repertoire, a mad scientist of the spoken word. Cave opens this tune up in the most unnerving and edgy fashion, driving the keys into a compelling rapture as his profound voice towers over the score. Delicate guitars strum into lyrical epiphanies holding any listener’s intrepid concentration until receding slowly into a heavy headed contemplation.
Country Joe and Fish- Vietnam Song
Sitting somewhere between an intermission and technical difficulties, Country Joe was called up onto stage to entertain the hundreds of thousands of excitable revolutionaries at the famed Woodstock Festival. Wielding an acoustic guitar, Joe strums the crowd into a frenzy of hopeful zeal, playing on satirical elements of the American government’s involvement in the Vietnam war. Joe exposes the extreme folly in the institutionalised execution of violence and the ultimate dehumanisation of life. The song builds into a singalong climax, whipping the contrary crowd into a spirited conveyance of what it means to be alive and determined to love within dark, callous times. Watch and listen with a smirk as the passion for change and happiness erupts throughout the scene.
Tame Impala – Solitude is Bliss
Tame Impala put their heart on the line in a BBC6 session to recreate the intricate and cosmic tunes they are loved for. Stripping back the spacey layers and exposing the bare bones of their creativity, the band plays with honest, groovy conviction and reveal the subtleties that characterise their music without any sacrifice for the essential, psychedelic ascension into a transcendent headspace.
Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Giving the ultimate nod to the blues, Kurt Cobain, in one of Nirvana’s last performances played a gut-wrenching rendition of Lead Belly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A solemn ode to his emotive and tempestuous life, the initial chords strike deep within, unravelling a moving, brooding tone over the piece. As the song progresses and the dynamics shift skywards it is a one-way ticket to goosebumps and a the strange sense of bravery as Kurt’s voice ensnares the listener into introspection that both strangles and warms your heart.
