Tag: Tomine Harket

Alan Walker feat. Au/Ra and Tomine Harket – Darkside

“Alan’s taken a leaf from Basshunter’s book and is doing a story with his videos.”

Tim: Quick note before we get started: Alan’s taken a leaf from Basshunter’s book and is doing a story with his videos.

Tom: I mean, sure, we could go with Fall Out Boy or Janelle Monáe for that reference, but, yeah, fine, Basshunter.

Tim: Got to stay on brand, Tom. This one’s episode 2 in what will, in due course, be a trilogy. Previously we’ve have a prologue, Tired, and part 1, All Falls Down. Let’s skip over that for today, though, and do the music.

Tom: Bit weird to include a war memorial as part of your sci-fi dystopia music video, even if it does look as strange as that. I wonder if anyone knew what they were working with?

Tim: Had to imagine they wouldn’t – not like you walk out of Zagreb International and find that right in front of you. If I had the time and necessary skills, I would absolutely make a video to fit this chorus over Emperor Palpatine trying to tempt Luke, to try to highlight to weirdness of this being an incredibly upbeat sounding chorus for what the lyrics claim it to be.

Tom: Alan Walker’s style doesn’t exactly lend itself to “dark and brooding” easily.

Tim: True, and it’s absolutely not a complaint: I absolutely love it, and to be honest I almost have the same problem with Alan as I mentioned on Monday with Galantis, although perhaps even more so – this is the twelfth time we’ve featured him and he’s yet to put a foot wrong (hell, I even liked his remix of This Is Me).

Tom: Yep, I’ve got to admit: it’s a style that works.

So I like this. I like it a lot, and to be honest, I was probably always going to. But I’m very happy with that.

Tomine Harket – Breathing Better

“There’s a lot going on in that villa that is summed up nicely by pop music.”

Tim: A song about self-appreciation; as the pre-chorus puts it, “I’ve nothing left to prove, I’m way too good for you.” The chorus takes it somewhere else, though the overall gist is still there.

Tom: If that surname sounds familiar, it’s because this is the daughter of A-Ha’s Morten Harket.

Tim: It is, and to be honest I’m wondering if he’d approve of the raunchiness on display here. I’m not sure we’ve heard this particular variant of the lyrical genre previously, but I guess there are many, many couplings out there where it could apply.

Tom: “I know I touch myself better than you.” Harsh, but ultimately a valid complaint.

Tim: Hell, Laura and Wes on Love Island could pretty much have had this as their theme tune during last night’s relationship bloodbath. (Three out of seven couples broke up. THREE out of SEVEN!)

Tom: I… I’m going to have to watch this at some point, aren’t I? It’s a running joke now.

Tim: What can I say, there’s a lot going on in that villa that is summed up nicely by to pop music. Musically it’s perfectly serviceable as a piece of modern pop music: all the right sounds, vocal noise and synthy stuff in the background, laid out nicely in pretty much the right order.

Tom: Yep, I was expecting to dislike this for some reason — just a bit slow in the voices — but damn if that return from the middle eight didn’t sell me on the whole track.

Tim: Hell of an annoying music video, though. Just, show us what’s happening, please.