Mixtape Muse: LISTEN: Old Amica - For A Second EP + A Cover of "What Is Love"

Monday, May 02, 2011

LISTEN: Old Amica - For A Second EP + A Cover of "What Is Love"

When one considers the magnitude of miles, there's a crushing sense of defeat that floods the mind and drowns the heart. The distance can make the heart grow fonder, but it is also capable of convincing a person to let go and move on. In a subconscious way, the heart and mind work to fill this void with such thoughts; they aim to keep the faith or turn the back on the past. So much time is spent digging for hope and strength that, before you know it, one loses sight of the present; time slips by without a chance to experience what happens right now.

Old Amica is an acoustic/electronic duo from Sweden that consists of two men who live miles apart from one another (Umeå and Stockholm, to be exact). On record, the band sounds as though they are in the same room, but their music captures that immense power of distance. With the ambient chords, drones, and flourishes of synthesizer, delicate acoustic guitar strumming, and shy, vulnerable vocal deliveries, Old Amica express heartbreak in a simple yet eloquent manner. Their bare-bones approach is masked by the magnitude of their sound -- it might be quiet and relaxed, but it is quite spacious. They prove that honesty, while a simple concept, is something that transcends any and all boundaries.

Old Amica - "Chasing the Tide"

Old Amica - "Figuring Out"

More below.

LISTEN: Old Amica - For A Second EP

Old Amica recently recorded a cover of Haddaway's smash 1993 hit "What Is Love," a song popularized by those SNL sketches and the movie A Night at the Roxbury. They've slowed down the song down considerably and run it through their downtempo acoustic-meets-electronic filter. Sounds like it wouldn't work, but it really does. "What Is Love" goes from being a dance track, and club classic, to a song that's a bit heartwrenching and deep. You can stream/download the cover below.

Old Amica - "What Is Love" (Haddaway cover)

Also, check out this live performance. Thanks to the magic of the internet/Skype, they are able to perform in the same room -- well, not literally.