If you've been anywhere near a television in the last few weeks, a certain advert featuring hundreds of multi-coloured balls bouncing down the streets of San Francisco may have caught your eye. Almost as arresting as the visuals used in the advert is the music, performed by 27 year old Argentinean/Swede José González.
Originally written and recorded by Swedish synth-pop duo The Knife, Gonzalez has stripped the song of its original retro stylings and brought it down to its bare essentials. What remains is a heartstoppingly beautiful song, accompanied by just Gonzalez's wistful voice and an atmospheric acoustic guitar. It has the mournful qualities of Nick Drake but with a lightness of touch that proves extremely addictive.
It shouldn't take a television advert to make José González famous, but if it does, then so be it. Winning stuff from a man who's set to be one of 2006's brightest stars.
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