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A Musical Evolution The Fusion
of Musical Genres Evolve
Brian Fairbanks, The Clock, September 24, 2004 Plymouth, NH
Walking down to the P.E. center last
Saturday, I was thinking more about later that night than the
more-than-likely mediocre jam band I was just about to sit through.
I was always taught never to judge people by their looks, but
who doesn't do that? Looking at FLUTTR, I thought I knew the kind
of music I was about to hear. I admit I was skeptical about them
the second they entered the stage, skeptical until they brought
out their instruments and played their first song. The five members
of FLUTTR were onstage: the drummer, guitarist, vocalist, marimba
player and cellist. Cello, as you may know, has its roots in early
European music as part of the strings family. It is seldom used
to play anything other than classical music. Marimbas, like a
wooden xylophone, have their place in African and Caribbean music.
I had a premonition that I was about to hear sophisticated grunge
when I saw them all onstage, but I wasn't ready to see cello and
an electric marimba (or MIDI marimba) as a part of it. But first
a little background: FLUTTR is a rock/grunge band comprised of
former Berklee graduates. Their music is influenced mainly by
"obscure" artists, according to cellist Valerie Thompson
and vocalist Kara Trott, such as King Crimson and Brian Eno.
My initial fear of the horrible events that may happen when three
different genres of instruments and music fuse together immediately
melted into wonder and awe during their first song. I was shaken
to the core. Their music was thick. It was dense and tight, but
not overwhelming, like most rock. Also unlike most rock, this
music was intricate and sophisticated, with an equal symbiosis
of emphasis on rhythm and melody. It wasn't something you could
sit and ignore, which is how music is usually treated at PSU;
background noise that's on while you play Beirut in the kitchen
or grind with some girl whose name you're trying hard to remember
in the living room. FLUTTR would have none of that. It eliminated
the ordinary from life. It stole your attention from everything
else going on. I remember saying during on song "Listen to
that cello line." Then, it dawned on me that that has probably
never been said before. Replacing the traditional rock bass with
an electric cello is a ballsy thing to do.
Now, the night got progressively cold, but it seemed like the
band was in tune with everything else going on in a Zen type of
way. During one creepily ethereal song, the wind was blowing the
flaps of the tent to the beat of the music. Then, as they changed
songs, the sky seemed to get lighter and clouds were fluorescent
orange during amore upbeat song. I then realized their music seemed
to force the sharpening of your senses. It forced me to use some
of the aural and mental skills I have learned as a music major.
I left the show mentally exhausted, which is how one should always
hope to leave any great example of true art.
I'd describe all the happenings of the show, but it wouldn't do
the band any justice. I could talk about the contrasting styles
of all of their songs, from Russian/Hungarian sounding grunge
to French cabaret. I could praise FLUTTR by boasting how they
placed fourth in a worldwide music competition in Germany, but
these would be empty words for you. I urge you, as a young, impressionable
college student or whomever, to go to their website and check
things out www.fluttr.com. Compared to the repetitive rhythmic
nature of hip-hop, or the mellow sounds of your average college
jam band, FLUTTR will blow your mind. If FLUTTR is the direction
that our generation's music is taking, as a future music educator
I will sit back and enjoy the evolution.
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