Jason Garriotte is a beard and checked shirt type of guy, as seen on the video for The Power To Be Alive remix. Give him an acoustic guitar and he’s the quintessential folkie. His voice is rich, sounding quite powerful, and his guitar style is crisp.
The original version of The Power To Be Alive appeared on his debut EP, Reflections of Reality, which came out in January 2012.This folk acoustic set of songs has been given a ‘folktronica’ remix as a result of Garriotte’s love of collaborating. The Chords of Truth project, as it became known, saw numerous versions of the EP’s tracks, with different producers and performers bringing their take from the world of electronic music.
Reflections of Reality (The Chameleon Acidfolk Remix) was released on 3rd December 2013. Electronic producer, The Chameleon, has enabled Garriotte to take his songs into another realm on these remixed versions. For The Power To Be Alive track, the folkie singer songwriter teamed up with the rapper, Man-u-iLL, resulting in what has been described as acidfolk/hip hop.
This song urges us to achieve our goals, giving out a positive message – “the world is yours”, with Man-u-iLL underlining the message in rap. It’s well produced with vocals upfront and clear. For me, some raps detract from the enjoyment of existing songs when they’ve been parachuted in, but Man-u-iLL’s contribution adds to this song. When comparing this to the original, the ‘fills’ are welcome and the rap part is a bonus. It’s two worlds colliding and it shouldn’t work but it does. Equally a blend of disparate worlds, the video is entertaining and intriguing. Both cityscapes and rustic scenes are the setting, whilst the two performers do their thing. However, they are joined by a strange presence – a man in a mask playing keyboards and wandering around kinda menacingly.
All in all, then, both song and video throw out surprises. Uplifting messages cross all boundaries, and I hope this helps to dispel any genre prejudices people may have.
Official Music Video (released 10-22-13):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ73WSXTlEA
Streaming Links:
http://soundcloud.com/chordsoftruthremixed/sets/reflections-of-reality-thechameleon-acidfolk-remix/