A sonic intersection of sweet longing and veiled melancholia, "Closer" by Finnish dreamy pop duo Babel pulls your mind out of any emotional smog in your head, instead taking you to crystalline places. A stirring, beautiful collision of dream pop and 60's French pop, the vibe pushed by a synth line that feels (to me) like an old school harmonium and Karin Mäkiranta's beautifully evocative vocal countenance.
She offers this glimpse inside "Closer":
“We browsed a Korg 05R/W synthesiser’s presets and found a wonderful musette sound that started to guide us in the studio. (She played the first half of the accordion riff, and Babel's other half, Mikko Pykäri, figured out the rest.) The end result is a perfectly symmetrical accordion riff that makes you want to listen to it forever. We realized that this is our chance to achieve the dream of a one-hit wonder. The song's story is based on the excitement and euphoria, the crushing feeling that all experiences are transient.”
Babel also drop the new music video for the single, shot abroad on vacation in Madeira: “We stayed in a five-star hotel in Madeira with director Reetta Saarikoski for eight days and filmed everything. We wanted the video to be as epic as possible, which includes life in miniature: sunbathing, falling in love and exercising.”
As a follow up to their acclaimed debut 2022 album "Yoga Horror", this gorgeous vibe saturated track serves as a delicious appetizer for their upcoming sophomore album.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4qrLovyKfCeNbEdN0Tmx1Q
https://www.instagram.com/babel2babel/
https://babel2babel.bandcamp.com/track/closer
After the rousing response to their highly-praised debut album ‘Yoga Horror’ last year, award-winning Finnish dream-pop duo Babel are now looking to preview their eagerly-awaited sophomore record with the captivating new single ‘Closer’.
With their new single ‘Closer’, the band depicts a story of a couple enjoying their last night together on a vacation. Both parties realise that their passion is gone, but still give in to the romance one last time. Reminding us that in a worst-case scenario, we might as well go out giving it our all.
Conjuring more of the same rich and immersive textures they have developed since their earliest beginnings, ‘Closer’ makes for the perfect introduction to this new era within the band’s catalogue so far. With an uncompromising approach to their kitsch and romantic pursuits throughout this new record, they are looking to make their next full-length their most original and distinctive work to date.
Babel’s Karin Mäkiranta and Mikko Pykäri found each other in the making of Pykäri’s distinguished solo album. The duo’s collaboration felt natural enough to spark the flame for Babel, the band that creates pop songs in English. “Karina’s and Pykäri’s collaboration is so easygoing, downright a great match”, wrote Helsingin Sanomat, the largest subscription newspaper in Finland. They are one of the most praised indie musicians of the last decade in Finland. Known from his bands Regina and Shine 2009, Helsinki-based Pykäri is renowned for the impact on the rise of the Finnish pop scene as a producer and visionary. Pykäri’s produced albums have received praise from Pitchfork and sites alike.
Mäkiranta is part of Karina, which was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize and received a five-star-review in addition to the title of being “one of the greatest Finnish debut albums in years”. Babel brings the best sides of both Regina and Karina; the hazily caressing dream-pop -influences, Mäkiranta’s ethereal melodies, sluggishly soft drums and flashbacks of guitar sounds from a few decades ago. The comparison to Finland’s Beach House could be a bit obvious, but like the band from Baltimore famously did, Babel creates a safe haven where the listener can escape all reality. In 2022 they released their debut album Yoga Horror.
With their new single ‘Closer’, the band depicts a story of a couple enjoying their last night together on a vacation. Both parties realise that their passion is gone, but still give in to the romance one last time. Reminding us that in a worst-case scenario, we might as well go out giving it our all.
Conjuring more of the same rich and immersive textures they have developed since their earliest beginnings, ‘Closer’ makes for the perfect introduction to this new era within the band’s catalogue so far. With an uncompromising approach to their kitsch and romantic pursuits throughout this new record, they are looking to make their next full-length their most original and distinctive work to date.
Babel’s Karin Mäkiranta and Mikko Pykäri found each other in the making of Pykäri’s distinguished solo album. The duo’s collaboration felt natural enough to spark the flame for Babel, the band that creates pop songs in English. “Karina’s and Pykäri’s collaboration is so easygoing, downright a great match”, wrote Helsingin Sanomat, the largest subscription newspaper in Finland. They are one of the most praised indie musicians of the last decade in Finland. Known from his bands Regina and Shine 2009, Helsinki-based Pykäri is renowned for the impact on the rise of the Finnish pop scene as a producer and visionary. Pykäri’s produced albums have received praise from Pitchfork and sites alike.
Mäkiranta is part of Karina, which was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize and received a five-star-review in addition to the title of being “one of the greatest Finnish debut albums in years”. Babel brings the best sides of both Regina and Karina; the hazily caressing dream-pop -influences, Mäkiranta’s ethereal melodies, sluggishly soft drums and flashbacks of guitar sounds from a few decades ago. The comparison to Finland’s Beach House could be a bit obvious, but like the band from Baltimore famously did, Babel creates a safe haven where the listener can escape all reality. In 2022 they released their debut album Yoga Horror.
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