A Musical Evolution

Walking down to the P.E. center last Saturday, I was thinking more about later that night than the more-than-likely mediocre jam band I was just about to sit through. I was always taught never to judge people by their looks, but who doesn’t do that? Looking at Fluttr, I thought I knew the kind of music I was about to hear. I admit I was skeptical about them the second they entered the stage, skeptical until they brought out their instruments and played their first song.The five members of Fluttr were onstage: the drummer, guitarist, vocalist, marimba player, and cellist. Cello, as you may know, has its roots in early European music as part of the strings family. It is seldom used to play anything other than classical music. Marimbas, like a wooden xylophone, have their place in African and Caribbean music. I had a premonition that I was about to hear sophisticated grunge when I saw them all onstage, but I wasn’t ready to a see cello and an electric marimba (or midi marimba) as a part of it. But first a little background: Fluttr is a rock/grunge band comprised of former Berklee graduates. Their music is influenced mainly by “obscure” artists, according to cellist Valerie Thompson and vocalist Kara Trott, such as King Crimson and Brian Eno. My initial fear of the horrible events that may happen when three different genres of instruments and music fuse together immediately melted into wonder and awe during their first song. I was shaken to the core. Their music was thick. It was dense and tight, but not overwhelming, like most rock. Also unlike most rock, this music was intricate and sophisticated, with an equal symbiosis of emphasis on rhythm and melody. It wasn’t something you could sit and ignore, which is how music is usually treated at PSU; background noise that’s on while you play Beirut in the kitchen or grind with some girl whose name you’re trying hard to remember in the living room. Fluttr would have none of that. It eliminated the ordinary from life. It stole your attention from everything else going on. I remember saying during one song, “Listen to that cello line.” Then, it dawned on me that that has probably never been said before. Replacing the traditional rock bass with an electric cello is a ballsy thing to do.Now, the night got progressively colder, but it seemed like the band was in tune with everything else going on in a Zen type of way. During one creepily ethereal song, the wind was blowing the flaps of the tent to the beat of the music. Then, as they changed songs, the sky seemed to get lighter and clouds were fluorescent orange during a more upbeat song. I then realized their music seemed to force the sharpening of your senses. It forced me to use some of the aural and mental skills I have learned as a music major. I left the show mentally exhausted, which is how one should always hope to leave any great example of true art. I’d describe all the happenings of the show, but it wouldn’t do the band any justice. I could talk about the contrasting styles of all of their songs, from Russian/Hungarian sounding grunge to French Cabaret. I could praise Fluttr by boasting how they placed fourth in a worldwide music competition in Germany, but these would be empty words for you. I urge you, as a young, impressionable college student or whomever, to go to their website and check things out – www.fluttr.com . Compared to the repetitive rhythmic nature of hip-hop, or the mellow sounds of your average college jam band, Fluttr will blow your mind. If Fluttr is the direction that our generation’s music is taking, as a future music educator I will sit back and enjoy the evolution.