The first thing music journalists tend to do when writing about a band or artist is search to see where that particular band or artist is from. Usually, the city or hometown provides a bit of background to the musician(s), a sort of inner-look to their upbringing, influence, and surrounding environment. Computer Magic mastermind Danielle Johnson hails from New York City after being raised Upstate — but here’s a situation where not even the cultural hotbed of NYC can truly define her game.
That’s because the sound of Computer Magic — which fills the halls of the Middle East in Cambridge tonight, the first stop of her 21-date North American winter tour — rises beyond any sort of border or societal restriction. Calling it “otherworldly cosmic-pop,” which others have done recently, is a good start. Computer Magic’s music is the sound of Earth and the atmosphere above it — always moving, ascending, floating; it captures your attention then prepares for liftoff. You feel like you’re in a different place then when you first hit play.
Computer Magic’s latest chariot of shadowy, quantum leap pop arrives through her “Gone For The Weekend” music video, where Johnson takes on the stylings of various cultures and, with the help of a milk bath and a malamute named Brooklyn, rides a gentle rocket across the electronic music landscape. Though the video was released last week, the song was first included in her October EP Obscure But Visible.
“I wrote the Obscure But Visible EP upstate this past spring/summer,” she says in a statement late last year. “I think the general feeling for the EP was an open one. In a way, I wanted it to feel lighthearted. I tried to showcase a few different songwriting styles of what I do, too.”
Listen to “Gone For The Weekend” with your eyes, ears, and mind below, allow it to take you away for just a spell, and check out all the upcoming Computer Magic live dates after the jump. Featured Computer Magic photo by Chad Kamenshine.
