“Folktronica?” That sounds more like an oxymoron than it does a legitimate genre. How can a piece of music be a combination of Folk (with its reliance on acoustic instruments and thoughtful lyrics) and Electronica (with its emphasis on electronic processing)? It just doesn’t feel right when you think about it. However, it sounds right when you hear a Folktronica song that is done well. The most recent proof is “Money Can’t Buy” from the Brooklyn trio Howard.
As we understand the genre, Folktronica fuses Folk and Electronica by digitally sampling acoustic instruments and then emphasizing the samples during the mixing of the samples with vocals and non-sampled instruments. We are not experts in this genre, so if that understanding is flawed, you’re invited to help us in the comments to this post.
The members of Howard are Howard Feibusch (vocals and guitar, Myles Heff (bass) and Chris Holdridge (drums). The ten-song LP “Religion” is scheduled for release on January 20, but a release party will occur at the Mercury Lounge in New York on the 19th.
“Money Can’t Buy” by Howard
Staying with Folktonica, Ayla Nereo is a San Francisco Bay Area artist who is gaining attention in this genre. She identifies Oakland as her hometown.
“Let It In”
Because posts are almost always better with three songs, and because this is another deserving Folktronica song, here’s “I Know You Love to Fall” by Message to Bears. That’s the performance name of U.K. multi-instrumentalist Jerome Alexander. This song is from late 2013.
Website: http://www.messagetobears.com/
