"The title of the record came by accident. I was talking to my manager on the phone and due to the bad reception she misheard me when I said I was thinking of Crashes for a title. I like the fact that it showed up by misunderstanding. Clashes has so many meanings - it's a violent confrontation and mismatch of colours and that corresponds well with the contrasts on the album and the attitude I had while composing and arranging the music. I wanted to make clashes between the instruments and build dynamic in songs".
Brodka, The Line of Best Fit
Since breaking into the music scene in 2004, after winning the third season of Polish Pop Idol, Brodka (Monika Brodka) three acclaimed albums, spawning singles that topped the official Polish Music Charts and earning nominations for the Fryderyk award. With the release of Clashes (2016), she is well positioned to break into the English-singing music scene with her quirky, offbeat brand of orchestral alt-pop - which may remind you of 80s English singer-songwriter Kate Bush.
"Up in the Hill" is a good example of her ability to pull off juxtapositions of dramatic instrumentals with her delicate and poised vocals, remaining accessible while retaining a touch of the avant garde. The track draws from 60s psychedelia, combining distorted guitars, trippy whistling and relatively abstract lyricism:
'Up in the hill
Lover's where you shouldn't go
Up in the hill High enough to break a bone
Up in the hill
Where you trick yourself to death
Up in the hill
Eyes won't close
And mind won't rest
Where do you go
In your rocket turbo
So far from home
There is no heart
And there is no soul
Too high to know
Are you really there
Or is it just they told me so
Devil knows high
Devil knows low
Jet back to me
You're my wonder and fear
It's always been clear
You're a cosmic dream
Are you really there
Or is it just the wild eyed boy'
Lyrics:
The song could be interpreted as an eccentric paean to a beguiling love interest, but Brodka has revealed that it's actually about a chemically-induced alternate state of mind: "Well, this one is basically about drugs. Inspired by psychedelic rock. It has my favorite solo guitar from the whole album" ().
Her Noah Georgsson-produced album blends chaos, whimsy, softness and harshness in interesting and unexpected ways, while the accompanying music video places her at the center of an eye-themed kaleidoscopic TV studio set. Let's hope that she's here to stay.
