Tuesday 19 November 2013

Majestic Casual - Chapter I


Music and technology go hand in hand.  And in today's digital realm, that statement is truer than ever.  The way we consume music has shifted, with more and more people looking to powerful sites like YouTube to discover new acts.  And now, a simple YouTube channel has become big enough to release its own album.

Originally established in 2012 by a 21 year old from Stuttgart, Germany, Majestic Casual is part of a growing emergence of 'bedroom tastemakers' able to influence the public and even break new acts, all accompanied by artistic photography.  With over a million subscribers, it's been a major success story - what began as one man's passion for new talent has culminated in a full compilation album.

The first of a planned series, 'Chapter I' provides a cross-section of artists who have appeared on the channel over the past year or so.  The channel claims to cover a variety of genres, the main criteria being "emotive, soulful and spellbinding music".  Whilst these criteria certainly describe much of the channel's output, in practice the sound is predominantly experimental electro - spectral, laidback and icily cool.

This may seem limited in scope across forty-odd tracks, but there's plenty of diversity on offer.  Key, well-known, artists include the likes of AlunaGeorge, Disclosure, SBTRKT, Flume and Chris Malinchak, whilst more up-and-coming artists like Sampha, BANKS and Bondax also make an appearance.  On the pop end of the spectrum, there's Ellie Goulding's cover of Tessellate, a Cyril Hahn remix of Gabrielle Aplin and Friendly Fires remixed by Tensnake, whilst other tracks delve into rap and hip-hop.  Further still, many of the artists are likely to be unknown to the average listener, the album operating on an educational level as well as celebrating the channel's success.

The result is an album that mixes glitchy electro, dance beats, club remixes and edgy pop.  There are plenty of 'best of the year' style compilations available, but if you're looking for something off the beaten track then look no further than Majestic Casual.  After all, the channel was set up to expose undiscovered talent, something its first album definitely achieves.

4/5

Listen: 'Majestic Casual - Chapter I' is available now.