Amid covid, lockdowns and general anxiety we turn to music and LA resident, Raven Artson. He’s a name (new to us) but it is safe to say there is something quite intriguing about the multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and song-writer.
Stalking Ravens Artson on the ubiquitous Google, our blonde polymath is originally an Amsterdam native. Somewhere possibly in 2018 (maybe before) Ravens Artson sought out the warmer climes of LA to find “inspiration”. It seems he found it with his latest release, notice me.
It’s a track that burns with a low but ever increasing emotionally intense energy.
Released today on Rosed Out Records, the single falls into the category of concept project. Reminiscent of the character Roy Batty played by the late man mountain Rutger Hauer in that classic dystopian film, Blade Runner (1982), Raven Artson is the cyborg John Denver who urges us to acknowledge “machines have feelings too”. Evidently John Denver becomes the vessel for Raven Artson to explore his emotional spectrum. In this ‘avant-pop’ number infused with electro vibes, smatterings of Wurlitzer riffs, we take a surreal journey with John Denver. We in turn are positively hypnotised as John Denver begs us/ an individual to ‘notice me’. It’s a track that burns with a low but ever increasing emotionally intense energy.
But in truth one would be doing Ravens Artson a dis-service to focus solely on the sonics. From his distinctive look which made us think of David Bowie’s Star Man (1972) to the video directed by Zachary Bailey and Zach Madden, Ravens Artson wants to be more than just a singer. With creative direction for the notice me video coming from Ravens Arston he is an artist.*
Notice Me builds on the momentum generated from prior singles. Nothing of course is a given in music (and indeed life) but Raven Artson has us noticing him and wondering Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (1968).
*The video is not out until next week but it is great.