This post will give you an Urgasm!

Urga


Oh boy, I've been waiting to get to this one!!!You ever have one of the moments in life that you wish you could go back to multiple times because there are just so many different and wonderful ways to experience the moment? That's how I feel about the time I saw Urga perform at the Roskilde Music Festival in 2000.

Urga was a Swedish group that traveled and performed with Cirkus Cirkör. When my friend Chris (Volvo/Anders/Babic) planned our trip to Roskilde this was one of the groups he highlighted for me. "This group is Swedish like me, so you know they will be good. They sing in their own made-up language called Urgan, and it's fuckin' great."  And you know how words just sometimes don't exactly convey feelings and concepts? Kinda like what I'm writing now. I'm trying to tell you what he was trying to tell me. And you're probably taking it like I did, "Okay yeah sure, we'll check it out." (Forgets thought immediately.)

Fortunately I did end up by the Urga tent. Unfortunately, the entire Roskilde Festival was, for me, an opportunity to see how much cheap Danish beer and wine I could drink and still be able to stand up. Well, the answer was a little less cheap Danish beer and wine than I had, because I spent the majority of Urga's set lying on the grass (not a euphemism) while the music just washed over and through me.

Sounds like I blew it, but that's far from the truth. Yeah, the visuals that I mostly missed were awesome. Yeah, the music practically demands the audience member dance as if his life depended upon it. But  the music also tells you "Why don't you just close your eyes and let me take control of your feelings and happiness for a while." My memories of lying there listening to Urga are still some of the most special memories of my life. So yeah, If I could go back in time, I'd make sure one time I danced like a banshee (do they dance? it seems like they would). Then I'd go back again and stand in the front row staring with my mouth agape and my eyes wide as can be. And I'd go back one time and do just what I did.*

Okay, well that's a lot of bullshit to you, because you can't go back in time and see Urga. But you can listen to this song. At the 1:04 point in the song Urga has taken the human emotion of "joy" and simply turned it into sound. But don't let that make you ignore the rest of the song.

Listen to Urga's "Allo Manne" on Youtube

Buy Urga music on Amazon

P.S. I believe Urga's singer Irya Gmeyner has moved on to some solo work. If you happen to have any insight on what she's been doing let me know in the comments (I'm looking at you, Volvo)




*Well, I wouldn't get as drunk as I did that time, but you get the picture.