Traffic Jams: Rat City feat. Isak Heim – 'Kind of Love'
Welcome to Monday morning, where you are likely counting down the days until Friday arrives, once again. Unfortunately for all of us, I can’t summon or appease the gods enough to get us to Friday (what a life that would be). However, I can at least give you something enjoyable to listen to as you slog through the work week.
Today’s featured Jam, is a collaboration I hope to see more of in Rat City’s future stable. How I would describe “Kind of Love”: Big band notes and rhythm blended seamlessly into a bouncy electronic track. From the poignant, attention-grabbing sax, accompanied with trumpet and piano, to what sounds like a synth track driving the song forward — it’s hard not to get lost in the beat. Trust me. Take a listen:
Rat City feat. Isak Heim – Kind of Love (Official Music Video)
I’ve looked across the web to find more about the Norwegian collaboration that is Rat City, and so far, I find myself mostly empty-handed. Most of the literature one can find on the band, is on their website, which describes the group as more of a “high concept audio visual project, seamlessly fusing song and image.”
Rat City looks, from the outside like your typical urban metropolis, but behind the glitz and glamour it’s exactly as it sounds – a hotbed of seedy characters stabbing each other in the back at every turn. Friends and enemies interchange fluidly as they let their primal instincts call the shots. Even the police are criminals here. One thing is for sure nothing is ever as it seems in Rat City.
This is giving me some major Chinatown vibes.
From the music video alone, you can see how this description weaves all the components together: The 1920s/1930s characters with ornate vintage-patterned backdrops feel very film noir, and that music — with the horns. Add in the jazzy/electronic beat, and you’re brought into the 21st Century.
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Rat City has quite the collection of collabs and videos, which you can watch here. Each has an element, which you can assuredly tie to the quality and genius that is Rat City.
The only thing missing, is a full-length album. But with their collaborative approach to song-making, I’m not sure we’ll ever see one.
