With rich vocals atop quiet looped waves of white noise, filtered synths and sparse thuds, Montreal songwriter Devon Welsh aka Majical Cloudz, is one of th year’s most unique and essential new voices.
Majical Cloudz is music and performance. Rooted in solo material written by Welsh between rural Ontario and Montreal, he joined with Matthew Otto in February 2012 to collaboratively produce and perform the music.
Their performance is deeply expressive — strong vocals sit on top of washes of white noise, filtered synths and sparse thuds. The songs are intensely lyrical, oriented around themes of death, patience, family, and desire. The live show celebrates the joy in sadness and the value of a shared musical experience.
Majical Cloudz | Turns Turns Turns
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=9hYQPqjXKK8
Welsh cites Elliott Smith and Arthur Russell as the two biggest influences on his songwriting. While the Impersonator album sounds like neither, Smith’s lyricism is evident, as is Russell’s ability to distill a number of seemingly contradictory stylistic ideas into a single focussed statement.
Other albums Welsh listened to while writing Impersonator point to the diversity embedded in Impersonator’s deceptively simple approach: Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring For My Halo, Drake’s Take Care, Oneohtrix Point Never’s Replica, Grouper’s AIA, Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express, Paul Simon’s Paul Simon, John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band.
Majical Cloudz | Francisco
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=WuifRB_f-bg
Though they stand stylistically apart from other artists in their Montreal scene – which includes Grimes, Doldrums, Blue Hawaii, Mac DeMarco, and others – Majical Cloudz are proud beneficiaries of its camaraderie.
“The waves that are being made internationally by Montreal musicians really started in the fall of 2009, so the fact that it is finally happening is unbelievable and I’m euphoric about it,” says Welsh. “I don’t think I could find an art/music scene as rewarding to me anywhere else, because I think it takes a while to get comfortable being vulnerable in front of a whole community.”
Majical Cloudz are supported by Australian Berlinerin KAT VINTER.
This event is highly recommended by Digital in Berlin! We are giving away 2 x 1 tickets. Just send a mail to win@digitalinberlin.de with “Majical Cloudz” as the subject.
Majical Cloudz & Kat Vinter LIVE
Friday, 18 October 2013 | 20:00 CET
Berghain Kantine | Am Wriezener Bahnhof | 10243 Berlin/Friedrichshain
majicalcloudz.com | berghain.de
