The world of music is changing. As waves of technological advancement wash over the earth with increasing frequency and amplitude, artists of all kinds find themselves confronted with an array of tools that can enable groundbreaking innovations.
When Sufjan Stevens, a songwriter known for his diverse arrangements and lo-fi recording style on such free-wheeling indie folk albums as Michigan and Illinois, released The Age of Adz in 2010, he propelled his delicate lyricism and understated folk melodies into the modern age and beyond with harsh, driving synths and aggressive electronic beats, weaving artful chaos around his emotional vocal performance.
As the mood of Stevens’ songs swings from nostalgic to melancholic to whimsical, the instrumentation ebbs and flows accordingly, at times falling away to reveal soft acoustic instruments accompanying tender vocal performances and alternately swelling into orchestral complex electronic arrangements.
The emotional spectrum of The Age of Adz ranges widely, encompassing themes of love, mortality and despair. While Sufjan Stevens has never wanted for ambition in his musical career, the effortless yet diligent incorporation of electronic production in this folk album suggests a forthcoming evolution of the indie-folk genre.
Although developments in music technology have put nearly all imaginable sounds at the fingertips of musicians the world over, many artists tenaciously utilize and defend the virtues of physical instruments. Using Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and other technologies, musicians have access to the voices of countless instruments recorded in high quality which can be edited at any time during the production process.
These advancements have radically lowered the skill requirements for amateur and professional musicians alike, allowing even the least trained individuals to produce presentable tracks with astonishing efficiency. While this ease of use opens the market for a more broad range of artists to contribute, many see it’s very efficiency as a hindrance to the creative process. With The Age of Adz, Sufjan Stevens proves that the physical and digital worlds of music can be combined successfully.
