It happens maybe once a year that I get obsessed with a musician. It was iamamiwhoami in the last two years and this year it’s Woodkid. I was already a big fan of the singles Iron and Run Boy Run that he released in 2010 and 2011 and the whole time I was thinking, Jesus, release your damn album already!! Anticipation can be a bitch and the waiting seemed to last forever! I obviously didn’t miss his two concerst here in Berlin and the one in Prague. But my obsession reached a higher level when he released his last single I Love You that included a remix of one of my favorite electronic acts Booka Shade. It’s crazy good and I love the original song as well. It seems so tacky to call a song “I Love You” – I bet most of his hipster fans wouldn’t even say that phrase in the most earth-shattering of situations – but Woodkid does it so beautifully, you can’t help but love him back. That was also what I was thinking last week at his showcase at Babylon Mitte. It was his best performance and such a great show with wonderful visuals. You should not miss his concerst, really!
Today he FINALLY released his debut album The Golden Age. I’ve been listening to my press copy for the past couple of days and I can’t get enough of it. It’s magnificent! His sound his so epic. I know he prefers the term emotional – but let’s face it, pal, you can call Sarah McLaughlin’s music emotional, your’s is EPIC! Yesterday I also received the limited book edition that came out with the album. It’s actually the most beautiful limited edition album I own now (and I own plenty…). It’s a real book that contains a story written by Katarzyna Jerzak and Woodkid himself that is basically the elaborated version of the lyrics of the album, accompanied by illustrations by Jillian Tamaki. I’ve so far read about a third of the 90 pages and think it’s really magical, especially as the story explains a lot of elements from his music videos such as the statue of the boy. If you are a fan of Woodkid, you have to buy this limited book edition of The Golden Age.
I could actually tell you a lot more about the theme of the concept album, but I sort of want you to discover it yourself as it’s something very personal and emotional and not at all what you would expect. What I would like to show you though is Woody’s new personal tumblr. On it he shares images that inspire him along with sneak peaks into his life as a musician. What I love about it is that he is so open in terms of romantic gay imagery. We all know how that is such a no-go in the music industry and I love him for not caring about these restrictions as so many other artists do.
After the jump you can enjoy some of his videos and a look into the book.
