Krön is “a passion project on race and society. A Labour of love, solidarity, and responsibility“. This is what we know about Krön. The rest, what you will read next, is all coming from our heads. It’s the simple and magical interpretation of a beautiful first track – and video – from this Portuguese-based artist. Unexpect is just like its name, an incredibly powerful journey through music and sound. And one that, for us, goes into a very necessary place. The place of fighting for a human-cause of several centuries: race equality and cultural diversity. And a track that speaks louder than each of its elements. A mesmerizing experience that should not leave anyone indifferent.
The electronic ambiance and the way every little bit of the song sonority was built together is in itself unique and impactful. There is a multitude of cultures, and there is a sense of embrace of several distinct elements in making a unique piece of musical art. And with that piece of art, we feel empowered.
Everything starts with a nostalgic feel and sound. The images shown in the clip brings us back to a not so distant era. An era in which what is permitted to certain races is not permitted to every race. The street footage works at the same time as irony and as the capture of a distant past feel, in its most genuine form. But, like the song, that nostalgic and worn-out feeling quickly goes away with the introduction of other electronic elements. The tribal elements come in at the same time as our main character. And as the dancing – that can very well represent persecution – evolves, and the brutality and failure of human rights are symbolized, the cadence also increases. In a brutal way, Unexpect feels like a race to a place of nowhere. A dark place where we can’t be ourselves. A race for distinct cultures to be free to express themselves.
Most of the time, our differences as human beings are undervalued. Unexpect is, for us, a brutal showcase of how distinct sonorities can be combined into a final powerful track, without excluding one’s roots or one’s culture but embracing it and letting it result in novelty and power. For everyone’s ears, like a basic human right, and for anyone’s interpretation like proper culture should always be.
Unexpect is a song by Krön that comes alive with the help of performer Kila Munolum, and the result of the directing duo H+F (hplusf) Helen Aschauer (also choreographer) and Fabio Mota (also DOP/Editor) with the support of Armazem Criativo. Its interpretation as a form (or a multitude of forms) of art is also subjective to one’s feelings and values. And it’s also, in that sense, an opportunity to embrace difference as a valuable form of humanity.
P.S. This is also the first-ever song to be posted simultaneously on WtMM and WtMM Portugal, in both English and Portuguese. In a time where intolerance is inexplicably spreading, we do it for the urgent matter of equality. All people (and artists) deserve the same chances regardless of their race, genre, sexual orientation, or beliefs. And all of them deserve to be respected and treasured for what makes them different and unique. Music and culture (as life) should be about celebrating our differences and not ever about misunderstanding or misjudging those.