Monday Music Musings: The Unkindness of Ravens

The Unkindness of Ravens isn’t exactly everybody’s cup of tea. See it as a duo that dabbles with around with a good mix of electro, drum and bass. The underground pair, Nina Wagner (vox) and Ben Raine (bass & vox) have returned with a new double A-side single Virus | Viper, that will be released today (3rd October 2011). They are signed to their own label, Sonic Fire Records.

The reason for starting their own record label is because Ben “wasn’t interested in wasting any more time chasing the holy grail of a record deal,” and felt like they had no choice, especially during a major economic crisis. They have new artists who are going to hop on the bandwagon too, but they are all hush-hush about it at the moment. Their name comes from the simple fact that “unkindness” is the collective noun to describe a group of ravens, but besides that, it holds no meaning. Ben just likes how the name “The Unkindness of Ravens” sounds arcane and prohibitive. Nina, on the other hand, was fascinated with the name as it brought to her something mystical and romantic.

Their single, Virus, was recently used in a video directed by Kell Mitchell that features French Connection’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection.

Their music has often been compared to with the likes of The White Stripes and The Kills, only darker and heavier, more soulful and progressive. Drawing influences from the likes of White Stripes, Nirvana, Radiohead, Sonic Youth and The Doors, the duo usually sips on a bottle of wine and prepare a boxful of cigarettes and writes poetry. On other occasions, they would just listen to local bands in Berlin and make conversation with people on the street to get their creative juices flowing.

Virus | Viper is the brainchild of Nina and Ben after having spent the initial months of 2011 writing, recording and touring Germany. Once they found their way back to the UK, they wasted no time in promoting what their latest single had to offer. The pounding beats from the tribal track Virus is perfectly punctuated by Ben’s minimalist guitar riffs and Nina’s staccato-like delivery of the lyrics “you have to be the cure”. When I first heard the track, I was drowned in the booming bass, thumping drums and overall electro-esque feel from the song.

Viper, however, displays a different take on Nina and Ben’s surrealistic sound with heavier guitars and intertwining melodic vocals, while still maintaining the similar bass and snare line on the track. It gives a more grunge feel that is reminiscent of a single called “With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)” by British electronic band, Does It Offend You, Yeah?.. just a little more disjointed and clean.

It felt like forever since I last heard an underground track that got me off my chair and on my feet; jumping up and down and off the walls.. all while I’m sober. I mentioned before on my Twitter timeline how the track has this dark and mysterious feel to it that makes you want to listen to it more. Maybe it’s just me and my curiosity and unexplainable affinity to the unknown that attracts me to the song.

I can see this track being a staple for runway shows for next year’s Spring/Summer fashion collections, and in every hipster’s iTunes in a playlist called “Drown Me”.

Virus is available for download on their Soundcloud site and Bandcamp site.