I’m a sucker for an 808 sounding hi-hat. I’m also a sucker for mournful pianos. SOKOL (meaning Falcon in Czech) had me instantly hooked with his anthemic debut project, “Contact.” Last year the epic track was released as a radio edit however the follow up documentary music video released this year has been the cherry on top. With the message, “disconnect to reconnect,” behind it, the video was crowdfunded but not in the assumed digital sense. The crowdfund was generated entirely offline away from the digital age with Sokol taking to the streets, piggy bank in hand and asking for help. With sites like Kickstarter becoming commonplace for independent artists to fund their music it takes an admirable bravery to crowdfund offline. The money was used towards a four-day pilgramage to Mongolia’s Altai Mountains where Sokol and his team filmed the video whilst truly embracing the remote lifestyle by living with a nomadic trive of eagle hunters. Such bravery resulted in one of the most beautiful, cinematic music videos I’ve ever seen. As the track builds it reminds me of French electronic music project, “M83” with it’s burst of glittering chords and driving rhythms. The bouncing between chords mirrors a “call and response” pattern giving an ever-increasing sense of life reflection when listening to the track.
Reflecting himself on the track, Sokol says,
“In a fast-paced world like the one we live in, where technology is controlling our lives, it is easy to get out of touch with yourself and everything and everybody around you. I strongly believe that we have to preserve the human elements in meeting face to face and not get lost in the virtual world.”
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