RVRB and M83

Today I have some music for you by an artist who has created something rather dark and moody, yet very calming and pensive. RVRB is a solo artist who has come back after a three year hiatus, a time in which we didn't hear a sound from RVRB. But he is back now with a refreshingly clear and deep album, one that has a lot of meaning and brings the idea of self discovery to us. This is a song and album about nostalgia, heartbreak, and is an honest expression of youth. I love RVRB for taking those darker and more complex thoughts and feelings, and turned it into a musical expression that beautifully depicts what it is like to feel those things. What I love about this song, is that everything seems to be in black and white and grey scale. This song exudes that darkness with flashes of white here and there. And for RVRB, it isn't because life can be seen as black and white, but sometimes life gets drained of color and becomes a colorless landscape. That spin on seeing the world, that profoundly different vision of the world, is something that I had never thought about until hearing this song. And I think that is a beautiful sadness, something that is so raw and so easy to connect to and understand. This song starts out with this pulsing, as if it is a heartbeat. In fact, I believe it is a heartbeat, the soul and beating force of the song and our own selves. Later, there is a small crescendo in in the synth melody. Now I want to point out that the instrumentals in the background are extremely simple. For a majority of the song, the instrumentals consists of elongating a note on the keyboard or synthesizer. These notes just harmonize together and sometimes change in pitch. There isn't exactly a rhythm to how the notes change, more like they change after each measure or phrase is done. And the drums don't come in until half way through the song. But, I find that this makes the song even more beautiful and powerful. The simplicity of the instrumentals is made up for the wonder and mystery we find in RVRB's voice. His voice is soft and gentle, with just a hint of an auto tune layer on top of the real vocals. But there is this vulnerability to RVRB's voice, something that is so sincere and real that it affects the whole song, giving it this remarkably moving sound. There is something that is almost like majesty to the climactic point in the song. RVRB suddenly increases in grit and volume and passion and feeling, creating this incredible moment of this impressive wall of sound. But it is not overwhelming, rather something that we want to bask in and feel completely. This is the moment in the song where we just close our eyes and become one with the music. RVRB does such a magical job with making his music, our music. He brings us in and the music holds us close, comforting and understanding. I have to say, I am very impressed and have fallen hard for RVRB's music. Today's instrumental song is by a band that sounds very much like RVRB. M83 is a band that has seen a lot more popularity these past few years, but their old music still somehow remains uncovered. So I am posting one of my favorite songs by them ever, a song that is an instrumental piece of absolute beauty and emotion. This is what epic scores are like, that same feeling we get when listening to a composition that is used in epic moments. Not war epic, but that moment in the movie when everything falls into place. I just love M83 so much because they are able to expressive so many things with just the instrumentals they create. And there is nothing more understanding of the human condition than music. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!