Magnetic Man and Oblivion

Today I have a pretty eclectic and psychedelic kind of song for you all. This song is by the electronic music project known as Magnetic Man. I think the biggest take away with this song is the idea that dubstep and electronic music can possess that genuine heart-wrenching soul that comes with singers like John Legend. Despite the fact that John Legend is a singer who tends to stick with more contemporary and R&B styles, he is still able to sound and perform like himself with the presence of electronic work all around him. And Magnetic Man makes very good use of their dubstep background to make this a song that is not too heavy on bass or video game sounds. A lot of dubstep these days include that screech and scratch kind of sound, with a little bit of video game sound thrown in, and a ton of "wub." But this song is not like that at all. Magnetic Man makes this song sound really eclectic and almost ethereal. Part of the reason this song sounds so transcendent is that Magnetic Man uses actual instruments in this song along with the synthesizers and programmed music. The glockenspiel serves well as introduction and closing solos, and is a very nice addition to the chorus. I think they compliment John Legend's voice very well because it provides a softness to the usually sharp and harsher dubstep sounds. Now with the actual electronic work, Magnetic Man takes on the chill side of dubstep. They deviate completely from the Skrillex style and popularity of sound, in favor of something that doesn't have blunt edges and hard drops. They ditch the elephantine bassline and take on the chillstep side of electronic music while still maintaining the more appealing parts of dubstep. Magnetic Man keeps things smoother and darker to keep it mysterious and almost a bit suspenseful. Flanked by reverberating synths, singing glockenspiel, and melancholy John Legend, this song is not just soulful, but almost spiritual and ethereal. Today's instrumental song is from the movie Oblivion. This score is just awe striking. M83 is the group responsible for composing this score, and my oh my did they do an absolutely phenomenal job. This score is something powerful and enticing and keeps you at the edge of your seat. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!