Track of the Day: 'When the Fall Is All That Is Left'

Will success spoil independent music? Will the recent Grammy given to Arcade Fire destroy their alternative, anti-establishment ethos? Or was the decision to release their music on an independent label just a business decision having little to do with winning an unpopularity contest and more to do with preserving control over their art?

For anybody wrestling with these concerns, fear not. Even if Arcade Fire were corrupted into making trashy, radio-friendly songs to fulfill record contracts, there will always be scores and scores of interesting yet unfashionable artists struggling to create honest music with or without the support of the Grammy nominating committee.

Ignatz is a good example of a fellow, strumming away in the hinterlands of Belgium with his own unique variety of lo-fi whispering psych, who fulfills these criteria. His quiet trance murmur is not the garden variety of music likely to get picked up on pop radio, yet it fulfills a need for those looking for a respite from modern sensory overload.

Sometimes described as "alien Appalachia", his songs are often a drifting lull. "When The Fall Is All That Is Left" evokes the sounds of early San Francisco psychedelia and Jandek in a rueful drone. Both of which are are the kind of influences that will never make their way on to the Billboard charts anytime soon.

Ignatz: When The Fall Is All That Is Left from Sami Sänpäkkilä on Vimeo.

On iTunes: Ignatz / "When The Fall Is All That Is Left"