xylo

I am absolutely amazed by sound.

It is fascinating to me how people can make the most beautiful and melodius sounds from the most random things. Last night, I had the priveledge of attending my first Sigur Ros show. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sigur Ros, they are an Icelandic band, with a sound that is very mellow, but packed with lots of stringed instruments, piano, guitar, and xylophones. For the majority of the show, the lead singer played his electric guitar with a bow, and there were a lot of pianos and keyboards, including one that sounded like a music box. The show was like nothing I had ever experienced, and every so often, I would just close my eyes, feasting on the amazing ear candy they were delivering.

However, there was a "band" that opened up for Sigur Ros, I believe by the name Amina. The picture above is from their website. Four women entered the stage in what looked slightly like Riverdance type dresses, but proceeded to blow me away with their musical abilities. The amount of instruments they played was impressive, but the types of instruments is what amazed me. There was one woman who played the saw two different ways. They had a stage filled with a plethora of stringed instruments (violins and cello), xylophones, bells, a Mac computer where they were recording live tracks and then looping/mixing them... Brilliant. I was captivated by their ability to take a bunch of random melodies, and blend them together to be unbelievably harmonius.

The concert as a whole was fantastic. My ears and eyes were joyous at the sounds and sights the concert had to offer. I can honestly say it was one of the most unique and yet most enjoyable experiences I've had in a while. Kudos to the Icelandic boys and girls.

And can I tell you how much I love the xylophone?