Mojib

There’s a lot to say about a down-tempo album that can incorporate tracks with absolutely no percussion, drop in lyrical protests and meld up-tempo melodies with vivid rhythms. Staffan Ulmert (aka Mojib), has encapsulated just that with Whimsical Lifestyle. While many have noted Mojib’s influences to be as expansive as the Avalanches and Unkle, with numerous remixes of the latter under his belt to lay truth to the claim, an album that seems to have slipped under the radar in the influential sense is Radiohead’s latest, In Rainbows. A Mojib remix of "Videotape” was downloaded over 25,000 times within the first 24 hours of its release — quite impressive considering Ulmert hadn’t even released his first official full-length album at that point. Whether intentional or not, Whimsical Lifestyle plants breathless, soaring piano and nostalgic strings atop errant beats, and it works beautifully. Rivers of samples flow effortlessly in and out of tracks, introducing a relaxing ambience to the entire experience. Mojib’s remixes leading up to the release of Whimsical Lifestyle serve only as a mere sliver into his passionate delivery of song; his original approach to structure and content is a refreshing bout of musical experimentation. Ulmert isn’t falling into a genre; he’s creating one.