- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of New Times free.
"Putting on a record is very much a ritual for me," Alexander Jarson, the man behind the synth-pop/goth rock/romantic industrial unit Body of Light explains. "You sit down, put the needle on the record...it's like worship, really."
See also:
-13 Bands You Need to Hear in 2013 -[Archive] That Was 2012
If the act of listening is his liturgy, Body of Light is Jarson's communion.
On single "The Leaves Just Disappeared," he evokes the spirit of early Depeche Mode with hazy, candle-lit New Wave. Elsewhere, he taps into the vein of mythic motorik electronica, like on "Devil's Trumpet/Moonflower," which barrels down some desert autobahn like the abandoned offspring of Cluster's Zuckerzeit and Tubeway Army's Replicas.
Live, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on, as clouds of smoke obscure just about everything. Jarson twirls, dances, and thrashes, alternating between a beatific shaman and a mythic hardcore frontman, raising the mic to his mouth to either coo or shout.
Jarson's screams echo over the machine beat, sharing a spiritual bond with both the psychedelic '60s boogie rock and the no-wave sonic terrorism that he finds himself lowering onto the turntable. Dig it.
Keep Phoenix New Times Free... Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Phoenix with no paywalls.
