My Little AV Disaster

Oklou “Thank You for Recording”

“Thank You for Recording” is alluring but perplexing, a song that sounds like it’s either hundreds of years old or from a hundred years into the future. It certainly shows me the limits of my own musical knowledge, as I can’t place any of the classical influences here on a timeline, but I can tell you that Oklou’s conservatory background and grounding in modern electronic production–aided by PC Music’s A.G. Cook on this track–has rather uncanny results. The more buzzy and clanging electronic elements are obviously jarring in proximity to the more delicate and Boroque elements of the song, but I think choosing to use a synth flute rather than an actual flute does more to make this track feel so strange and beautiful. It could be a choice made out of practicality, but the just-slightly-off quality of the sound removes any trace of “authenticity” and earthiness, and complements lyrics in which Oklou sings about getting out of her head and calming herself by watching footage of a tornado. (I think that’s what’s going on, anyway?)

Buy it from Bandcamp.