Aquilo and Catching Fire

Today I have some seriously fresh music for you by an artist that I am absolutely in love with. Aquilo is an artist that I can never really get enough of because of how deep and moving the music is. This is a band that has taken the idea of chilled out synthpop and has turned it into an emotional masterpiece. Aquilo does tend to be a bit more melancholy, but there is something so wholesome about the way they present that to us. Aquilo has such a depth and poignancy to their music. It is a sound that cuts to the soul and pulls out those bluer emotions that we either repress or ignore or don't feel often. But what is so lovely about Aquilo, is that there is such a softness that is almost a bit hopeful as well. We feel this journey of falling and then picking ourselves up again. This string and piano track is one that is endearingly beautiful and wonderful. There is a captivating nature to the vocals and a raw sincerity that we cannot seem to shake. The song culminates in this epic expression of emotion and power and beauty, slowly fading out to a soft plinking of the piano. The vocals rarely tend to stray towards falsetto, but there is a softness and tranquility to his voice which captures the variety of feeling the song has. Aquilo also varies the tempo and rhythm within the song which gives it a dynamic sound and makes the song feel like it is living and breathing. They do it with both the instruments and the vocals. In this song, we get to hear that break of rhythm more from the vocal side. The way certain notes and words are more drawn out while others are short and curt, gives this song a more realistic sound. It isn't a tempo that keeps this song on track. It is the swells and tides of emotions that run the heartbeat of this song. This whole album is a work of art, one that is woven out of the pensive piano, stirring strings, and subtle synth melodies. The themes of this album combined with the musical expression of these themes are mesmerizing and breathtaking. This song is the opener for the album and provides a dramatic insight as to what we can expect throughout the album. It gives us a preview as to the story which will be told as the album progresses forward, and it is one that is fundamentally human. The focus of this album is on the darker sides of our existence, the side of living that makes us feel sad and hollow sometimes. But Aquilo presents these ideas with an emotive and soft sound of hope, the same way we all have hope to cling to. This is audible beauty packaged into an album of songs that are threads of a tapestry. This is pop with a bleeding heart. It is tender and soft and saddening and beautiful all at the same time. Aquilo brings heavy hearts and lush melodies, with a beautiful emotional outpouring of that which we find hard to express. And somehow this is comforting to the soul. Today's instrumental song is from the movie Catching Fire. Now, this is an interesting movie to bring up because of how many emotions run rampant through the film. However, one of the most obvious juxtapositions we see is this idea of complete hopelessness and pain versus the sense of hope we see. This movie has done an amazing job of showing a variety of emotions and people, and how different personalities handle these feelings. The score is also an expression of epic sounds. Though, not all of these sounds are for battle scenes or intense moments. Some pieces, like this composition, is epic because of how forthcoming it is. This piece is very emotionally expressive because of how deep the feelings run. And yet there is still that sense of hope that we want and desperately cling to. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!