Gotye: Music and Animation

This is one of the few artist that I know produces good music and features great animation.

A little bit about Gotye:

• Born in 21 May 1980
• Belgian-Australia
• His real name is Wally de Backer (sounds cool)
• Gotye won the third prize for his song 'Somebody That I Used To Know' for the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition 2011. (Kimbra was in first place)
• Gotye's 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
• On 1 February 2012, Gotye made his American television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Check out their collaboration:





So I had been listening to the song a million times since last year and I happen to come across an interview of him. The little riff at the start of the song was actually inspired by Luiz Bonfa, a song called Seville.




He was attracted to a hynotic certain kind of something to it. I guess the reason I'm attracted to his music is also a kind of hypnotizing melancholy feel in his songs. He mentioned the use of esoteric and weird sources of sounds to create his music such as sound samples and instruments he gets from an antique shop. Pretty neat!








One of my favourite Gotye video is Bronte. The tribal vibe of the song is so hypnotizing and draws me in. The animation by Ari Gibson is amazing. The lighting and the dreamy colours is so incredible. The emotions are overwhelming. You have to check this one out.


Here is a more recent track produced.





 The round and round camera movement gives me a headache after awhile but nonetheless an amazing stop motion.

I guess what makes his music stood out is a blend of visuals, peculiar sounds and emotions that are rare to find these days.