Thursday, July 1, 2010

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT - The Tallest Man On Earth


I spent my last semester of college in a study abroad program in Senegal. I lived on a busy street corner in Dakar with a large Senegalese family. The family owned a large house that felt almost like an apartment complex. The house had become an important source of income for the family, they were able to rent out a number of rooms to students, tourists, and anyone else who needed a place to stay. About a month into my stay in Senegal an American Journalist named Drew moved into one of the rooftop rooms. By the end of my trip Drew was one of my closest friends in Senegal, and some of my favorite memories of Senegal are the times Drew and I would sit out on the roof listening to music and talking about our favorite musicians. Drew had spent some time in the music industry, he had originally studied music production at college and as a journalist he wrote articles and did interviews for a number of music magazines. I learned a lot listening to him talk about music, but I remember one time specifically when we were talking about musicians and he said that it always impressed him when a musicians work can completely transcend a specific time period.

The comment itself wasn't meant to be anything profound, it was just a passing comment, but for some reason it stuck with me. The artist I am talking about today is an artist who completely embodies that concept. His name is Kristian Mattsson but his stage name is The Tallest Man on Earth. Not so surprisingly Mattsson is not anywhere near the tallest man on earth, but where his physical stature may betray his name, the grandeur of his music is more than impressive, and the depth of sound and rich texture that characterize his work are created by nothing more than the confluence of his hypnotic finger-picking and his raspy bellowing voice. Mattsson's lyrics are both haunting and inspiring, the emotions that the music inspires rest on a foundation of lyrical phrases whose value rest in their collective emotional resonance. The words don't seem to move towards any one destination, they aren't some sort of logical progression, instead they are a flood of emotion and introspection, a flood ushered in by Mattsson's thorny voice. I have read many comparisons between him and Dylan, one writer claimed that Mattsson was emulating and interpreting Dylan the same way Dylan emulated and interpreted Guthrie. Whether or not these comparisons are fair or accurate, you can be the judge. The Tallest Man on Earth's music is simple, its him and a guitar, and maybe its that simplicity that frees it from the bonds of the 21st century, or maybe its the ways his words and guitar flow together from some deeply emotional source, seemingly detached from the specificity of modern day events and experiences. Either way it doesn't matter, Mattsson's music is a timeless gift that should be experienced by everyone.





DISCOGRAPHY:

- The Tallest Man on Earth (EP) 2006
- Shallow Grave (2008)
- The Wild Hunt (2010)

SONGS TO LISTEN TO . . .

Love is All

This Wind

The Wild Hunt

The Gardener (A Take Away Show for La Blogotheque)





1 comment:

  1. Wow! I did not expect that voice. definitely reminiscent of Dylan.

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