Live Review: LISTEN: Unknown Mortal Orchestra 'Ra-ako-st' (Lindstrom Cover)

The cover, sometimes they can be magnificent, sometimes you will cringe / bend down on your knees and scream why into the sky like that guy did in that movie.

Obviously, if you’re covering someone for the first time it can be a little awkward because you may not know how to go about it, but these dudes in the music biz know how to do it, and they do it well. Why do I bring this up? New Zealand psychedelic geniuses UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA have created a wonderful cover, with all of the tools used to create their fantastic albums, of the track ‘Ra-ako-st’ by  Norwegian producer LINDSTROM.

The original track is quite tropical meets harsh winter. The light tingling synths of a great summery day dance atop a deeper synth that rings like a winter sun rising above snowy hilltops. LINDTROM is quite unique in his way of producing as that scene I just wrote out, kind of explains Norway and as LINDSTROM has said, “Some Norwegian food could be considered hardcore for some, but also environmentally friendly,” which to me is a fancy way of saying Norwegian music is just this good.

With a jazzy tingle and psychedelic melody, UNKOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA have covered LINDSTROM with an amazing edge. The distorted guitars echo throughout the track with a lovely riff, angling out the great tune that is most definitely whistle-able. The synths also create a very dream-like scene in your mind when you listen to the cover, but the faster pacing makes it feel less like a dream and more like a high energy run – whilst you sleep.

The six minute running time may sound like a bit much for a completely wordless track, but once you here those crunchy guitars at almost four minutes in, you realize that it’s not the same tune for six minutes straight, it changes and that’s a wonderful aspect of the cover because it keeps you enticed. It keeps you listening.

Words by Lauren Payne

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO:

LISTEN: SKY FERREIRA ‘EVERYTHING IS EMBARASSING’ (UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA REMIX)

ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT: UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA’S ‘II’

LISTEN: UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA ‘SWIM & SLEEP (LIKE A SHARK)’