Written by Fense
In part three of my Si No Puedo Bailar, No Es Me Revolución coverage, I present Souvlaki (MySpace). This band hails from Chile and is one of nearly 20 artists to appear on the recent Si No Puedo Bailar compilation Pero Ese Olor En El Cuarto Del Piano Fue El Primer Perfume Que Necesitó En Su Vida, available now from Darla Records. Here, their video for “Pequeno Corazon Multilinge†combines new with old for a unique take on video creation.
Souvlaki’s music is melodically ambient, from the soft electro beats to the oft female-fronted vocals (though select songs, like this one, are instrumental). “Pequeno Corazon Multilingeâ€, as mentioned above, combines new with old—the sound is new, intricate yet minimal. The video features footage from the early 1900s. As an instrumental, these clips are effective—the ancient footage gives the song, despite its electro background, somewhat of a shoegaze feel.
So, now that I’ve gone through three of the artists off the compilation, what do I make of it as a whole? First off, it’s very well put together. Each song has a thoughtful location and the transitions between songs and chapters are more often flawless than not. You can pick up the compilation here.
Aside from appearing on Pero Ese Olor with the opening track “Sonatine”, the duo released a four song EP filled with unique covers of songs by Brian Eno, Alex Chilton, Pet Shop Boys, and Alan Vega. They’ve made the EP available for download here, but you can also check out two of the songs below.
Souvlaki: Golden Hours [mp3]
[audio:0926_souvlaki_-_golden_hours.mp3|titles=Golden Hours|artists=Souvlaki]
Souvlaki: Dream Baby Dream [mp3]
[audio:0926_souvlaki_-_dream_baby_dream.mp3|titles=Dream Baby Dream|artists=Souvlaki]
Souvlaki composed a magnificent piece of music for “9-11/9-11,” an animated film I produced in 2007. The film won the Sienna Award – the Chilean “Oscar” – for Best Animated Short Film. Juan Carlos and Carolina are fantastically creative artists. I am so pleased that they are getting some recognition for their truly unique music.
Chip Schneider
Producer, 9-11/9-11