: DailyOM Music: One Eskimo

1 view

Skip to first unread message

Michael Atkins

unread,

Sep 21, 2011, 7:59:17 AM9/21/11

to AtYourReques...@yahoogroups.com, the-great-...@googlegroups.com, freebib...@googlegroups.com, prayer-employees3, christiansal...@yahoo.com, Michael, Atkins, minnesot...@yahoogroups.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DailyOM <to...@dailyom.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 1:41 AM
Subject: DailyOM Music: One Eskimo
To: playe...@cs.com

Today's DailyOM brought to you by:

September 21, 2011
One Eskimo
One Eskimo
2009

A British enclave centered around singer–songwriter Kristian Leontiou, One eskimO got a huge boost when they opened up for Tori Amos on her 2009 world tour, stepping onstage as strangers and leaving as everyone's favorite new musical find. The album adds expansive cine-phonic sweep (courtesy of Faithless producer Rollo Armstrong) to the band's mix of '90s-style electro-soul roots and moody alternative rock. One eskimO is, as you might guess by the cute sketch cover, both adorable (their videos are the animated adventures of cuddly animals) and deeply soulful. It can make you feel sexy and warm without feeling sordid; held closely by some warm groove without being mired to artificial beats; it's gently, lovingly beautiful without sacrificing quirky edge. Solid guitars, acoustic and electric, organic beats, and even some judiciously used muted trumpet make the whole affair a nice multipurpose piece of rock-pop-dance brilliance.

Leontiou has a rich soulful voice that approaches you like a good friend sometimes does from behind at a party, massaging your shoulders in a wordless hello. You don't even know who it is at first, but your body does and opens to them in such a way that you don't jump from surprise but sink into a nice warm-bath feeling. Debut single "Hometime" has a loose, roots-rock feel with a laid-back acoustic guitar and gently pleasing conga beat as Leontiou sings, "I see you / I see the animals too / Especially those that are out at the zoo / They look just like me / They're just like everybody." "Kandi" finds him in a duet with a sample from soul diva Candi Staton's "He Called Me Baby," to which Leontiou adds, "All night long / Why did he do it?" His raw, rooted voice merges with Staton's so naturally that it feels like he was always there, as far back as the soulful 1970s.

With nary a drop of filler, One eskimO explodes into a finale that seems to come way too soon. "Awakenings," with its positive, thrilling chorus of "It's the best thing / It's glorious / It's life-changing / We are one / We are one / And it's amazing," comes accompanied by big expansive synths and a go-for-broke trumpet, providing the kind of big emotional gesture that's easy to imagine and hard to pull off (thank producer Rollo, famed for helping Faithless and Dido achieve similar heights). One eskimO reminds you of that heady, hearty feeling of finding great music that you can connect to on a personal level. With a few bars Leontiou not only sings "We are one / And it's amazing," he makes you feel it.