What's on My Playlist: Grimes

Just over the border, Vancouver's Claire Boucher (aka Grimes) creates a feathery fusion of traditional female vocals and electronic instrumentals that manifests in a curiously beautiful manner. Wispy synths and bare, crunchy beats generate a calming new wave aura that is unexpectedly graced by the 25-year old's ethereal whispering--think Enya meets Crystal Castles. Her voice fluctuates between a ghostly Geisha chant to that of a European children's church choir, with just enough reverb so that it dances delicately over each track. Like a glowing sunset over the dark wavy ocean, Boucher's vocals dissolve seamlessly into the horizon as rippling bass tones gallop below on songs such as "Swan Song" (off of Halifaxa) and "Oblivion" (off of Visions). Grimes' minimal instrumentals create a dark, raw electronic groove that only adds to the mysticism of her soft, youthful voice. They are also slightly reminiscent of 80s synth pop, which can make her sound almost as though she were Madonna's long-lost indie sister on tracks like "Infinite Love Without Fulfillment" (Visions). While her music may be labeled as experimental, Boucher seems to have a definite sense of prophetic direction with which she uses to describe her sound as "the future of music"1.

Beyond the clouds, beyond all other music

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTZvZ4DThoc