CAT#: ULY005
ARTIST: Konradsen
TITLE: You Can Be Loved
DATE: 2/4/2021
FORMAT: Cassette
PRICE: $15
ULYSSA is in the morale business.
And nothing emboldens esprit de corps like the melodies of Bob Marley. Through his music, Marley discovered a universal language for Love — romantic, motherly, brotherly, communal and even that prickly love we may hold for our homeland. With some of the most iconic opening notes in recorded history, the effect of his songs on a listener is instantaneous. Within the first few bars of a Marley tune, the most igneous faces in a room melt into glowing, magma-smiles. Global, modern folk songs with melodies as wound into our DNA as “Here Comes The Sun” or “What A Wonderful World.”
Just before the holidays, we asked Norway’s Konradsen to choose some of their favorite Marley songs for a ULYSSA release. For years now, we’ve found a great deal of comfort in Jenny Sabel’s sultry, mulled wine voice and the thoughtful, intricate music she makes with Eirik Vildgren. Seemed like the world could use a little Marley from these two. Their takes here are spare and intimate — just that singular voice like a glass of warm milk and the most tender, minimal keys. You can hear the felt brushing the strings inside the piano and the soft thud of the sustain peddle. We’re pretty sure you can even hear the wick of a candle sizzling softly somewhere in the room. Subtle and gorgeous, these pieces underscore Marley’s melodic brilliance, breaking each down to its most crucial ingredients.
We tapped our friends Bo White and Jonathan Rado for dub-not-dub reworks of Konradsen’s covers. White’s “Waiting In Vain (For Your Dub)” is the loose and lit DIY house show we all miss right now. And Rado’s “You Can Be Dubbed” takes a cue from Disintegration Loops and The Caretaker as the track decays before your very ears. And yet, its heartwarming and hopeful sentiment remains powerfully intact. That’s the potency of Bob Marley and Konradsen. We’re especially pleased to release this today, the eve of what would have been Robert Nesta Marley’s 76th birthday.
Enjoy. And thank you. One love, for real.
