Greetings fellow tourists and welcome back to another edition of Souvenir of the Week! This week’s souvenir is a special one because it is from an artist that has already had their work featured by myself before. The musicians in question are indeed The Dodos, but I’m sure all you faithful readers didn’t have to check to remember that. However, this time they are being accompanied by the Magik Magik Orchestra in a studio session for Daytrotter. Together they created three amazing indie folk/classical covers of tracks originally off of The Dodos’ album Visiter.
Since I already discussed The Dodos at length in my first post about them I will only give a brief description about them. Based out of San Francisco The Dodos are an indie folk group mainly made up of vocalist & guitarist Meric Long and percussionist Logan Kroeber, but occasionally they have other musicians perform and record with them. During this session they were accompanied by past member Keaton Snyder as well 13 members of the Magik Magik Orchestra.
The Magik Magik Orchestra is an orchestra made up of over 100 musicians from the Bay Area. For theses tracks there were two violins, one viola, one cello, one bass, one flute, one oboe, one French horn, one trumpet, and a four-woman choir. One might think that this would make the tracks sound too cluttered and busy; however one would be very wrong. Every single instrument comes together perfectly as if they were arranged by some benevolent god of music. The combination of these two groups on these three tracks makes for a truly exceptional experience.
The first track Ashley is hands down one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The string instruments coupled with the piercing vocals of the choir create such a grand and majestic feeling. The lack of guitar or percussion of this track adds to the feeling of grace and class that permeates throughout this track.
The second track Fools is a lively song that continues to create a sense of grandeur. The backing vocals of the choir underscore and compliment Long’s vocals perfectly. Kroeber’s percussion although powerful perfectly meshes with everything else in the track and adds to its energy and vigor without overpowering the softer instrumentation or vocalizations.
The third track Winter is an upbeat but somber song that is more Dodo heavy than the other two tracks but still showcases the skill and beauty of the Magik Magik Orchestra. With much simpler instrumentation than the other two tracks, Winter only really showcases the talents of the choir. However, “less is more” is the key phrase with this track. The stripped down sound of Long’s guitar and Kroeber’s drums are wonderfully supported by the four-woman choir and their backing vocals.
I would attempt to describe these tracks further, but short of hiring a poet to help me out, I don’t think any more of my words could do these tracks any justice. It is my recommendation to listen to these tracks with a nicer pair of headphones or speakers and when you are able to just focus on the music so that you are able to fully enjoy their beauty. I like to listen to it when I’m alone, secluded from any possible distractions, and in a comfortable chair or lying in my comfortable bed. Well, thanks again for reading and I’ll see all of you beautiful people later.
PS – I’m going on vacation next week so I probably won’t be in touch with all of you until April 10th. I hope you forgive me, I’ll be sure to bring back some more amazing souvenirs for all of you amazing people.
Photo credit: http://www.daytrotter.com/?_escaped_fragment_=/concert/the-dodos-featuring-magik-magik-orchestra/20031187-3738327