i am sentimental and protective of weirdness, weirdness in both myself and in others.
i find a lot of beauty and meaning in the work and being of people who give themselves over unapologetically to this act of rebellion.
it might be why i have found myself fascinated with axel ruby – a swedish doctor (yea) who wears a wig and makes this strange music that i cant seem to shake from my mind. i became acquainted with his work last year following the release of “kristall” his debut album and his strange music has become an ongoing feature in the never ending playlist of my life, with certain songs i find myself returning to over and over (titanic, jupiters vingar, blommor sprit och andra things and of course kalvin clyne).
axel has a way of writing these poetic turns of phrase that i find relatable in some of the best and most esoteric ways – experiences that are specific but visceral:
“du mumla nåt om paradise
chauffören drack lean
han gav mig life advice”
which translates to
“you mumbled something
about paradise
the driver drank lean
he gave me life advice”
specific vibes for specific times and ive been in that car with those people, speeding the wrong way down a highway talking about nirvana, on a horrific amount of chemical drugs. there’s this brokenness about it, this fracture. i appreciate that little bit of decay that peeks out amongst a dance beat, that little bit of swedish gothic.
axel’s new song “rokokoro” came out today and like previous work of his is delightfully strange.
one of my personal interests is high altitude mountaineering. i would never do it of course, but i like reading about it, these adventures of others, driven by something, up to great heights. “rokokoro” examines that drive in a more metaphorical sense of the things that drive us – life, career, aesthetics, whatever and i appreciate that weaving of reality with metaphor. most people don’t climb everest, but almost all of us are climbing some kind of peak inside, and we fall and keep climbing again. there’s something almost holy about being able to stand back from the peaks and examine them and our fellow climbers in all of our beauty and ambition and just drink in that sight.
in japanese, the word “kokoro” means heart/center/spirit of a person. im not sure if this is partially what axel is referencing. the “rococo” movement was highly aesthetic and decorative, excess for the sake of excess. some of the lyrics line up a bit with that idea, at least for me.
some stand outs:
“kom ner från the stars”
(come down from the stars)
and
“båda två mår sämre än vi låtsas må”
(both of us feel worse than we pretend)
-this line written by Alexander Juneblad
and
“all här vet att vägen ner e den mest farliga”
(everyone here knows the way down is the most dangerous)
and i love that last one because it mixes the metaphor with reality – in high altitude mountaineering, coming down is considered dangerous. summiting the peak is not the goal – it’s getting up and then back down.
and i appreciate that
the music is a bit of a departure / evolution. very sitar driven almost bhangra inspired.
and i like it well enough.
as per usual with the music of axel ruby, this song will not be for or resonate with everyone. and really, i think that’s sort of the point anyways. it’s weird in such a unique way and i think that’s why ive been in a listening loop with it.
there’s just something about it.
so, axel, as always, from one weirdo to another – thanks.
“rokokoro” is out now via random bastards
hospital vespers 