Mnevis’ single “Sparks (Zig Zag)” immediately brings you into an alternate world of shimmery sounds like a cosmic tropical paradise. The blend of strings, soft percussion and what seems like a rich tapestry of electronic/keyboard sounds crafted in a dynamic array of impressionistic composition is easy to get lost within even in the moments the song ramps up with fuzzy guitar entering the mix. The song has the energy of something from another era but one that remains fascinating elusive to the end. Because of that those familiar with the band Orions Belte or the music of Mary Ocher will find much to like with what this Swiss band has been up to up to in its career thus far in experimenting with what pop music can be. Listen to “Sparks (Zig Zag)” on Spotify and follow Mnevis at the links below.
Mary Ocher seems to be in a space out of regular time in the video for “The Rubaiyat Medley” playing a harp with fruit hanging from strings around her as she sings bits of the famous “The Rubaiyat” of Persian poet and polymath Omar Khayyam (1048-1131 CE), one of the classics of Islamic and world literature. The video also seems to be arranged like a silent movie with scene and title cards. Nearly three minutes in the classical instrumentation shifts into something more like funk with a solid back beat. All this with Ocher’s dramatic and highly expressive vocals providing the commentary as comedic scenes unfold in the first half of the song. But this particular song borrowing from variations on Dorothy Ashby’s 1970s compositions of the aforementioned poem and the movements across its ten minute thirty-eight seconds run time evolve into other musical realms as well as what might be described as cosmic downtempo during a period in which it appears the richness of fruit is featured and celebrated. In the “Epilogue” section Ocher’s voice is treated with a Vocoder briefly before the song picks up tempo again for “The Betrayal” portion that has a Bernie Worrell-esque electro funk that slinks along as we see images of people wearing sheep masks being annointed with the pulp of pomegranate from a bowl by a priestly figure. The end. What did we just see? Ocher directed the video with help from collaborators but it felt like a more playful and cosmic Pier Paolo Pasolini or Abbas Kiarostami film setting it apart from most music videos in recent memory. Watch the video for “The Rubaiyat Melody (feat. Your Government)” on YouTube and follow Mary Ocher at the links below. Her new album Your Guide to Revolution released in Europe on June 14, 2024 on vinyl, digital download and streaming with a physical release set to be made available more widely in the rest of the world on July 19.
Mary Ocher’s single “Sympathize (featuring Your Government)” is well represented in the music video that shows the artist floating in a turquoise ocean on a rubber raft looking like a character from the end of The Lord of the Rings who has returned from the Undying Lands in white robes and rams horns. Nearby a cluster of refugees from the ravaged world frolic on an island of junk with a “For Sale” sign while industrialists in a red ship demonstrate their designs on what’s left of normal people. All while Ocher sings “Sympathize with us!” in entreatment to the basic humanity of those who might just snuff out what there is left of a world not completely unconquered by rapacious economic interests. Musically Ocher’s operatic vocals and beautiful pulses of synth melody and circular rhythms are reminiscent of something Lene Lovich or Nina Hagen might have written for one of Jim Jarmusch’s or Wim Wenders’ more eccentric and engrossing globe hopping films. Watch the video for “Sympathize” on YouTube and follow Mary Ocher at the links below. Her new album Your Guide to Revolution releases on June 14 in the EU and in the rest of the world on July 19 via Underground Institute.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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