Remember this ad? Apart from it being one of the best ads I've ever seen, this is the first time I heard "Hearbeats". Performed by José González, this song was a perfect match to the imagery. Both amazing, both breathtaking:
I was hooked, hooked I tell ya! And not only this song was fantastic it, also, introduced me to "Veneer", José González's first album which was (and still is) just too beautiful for words. I remember being surprised when I found out that González's version was not the original but I can't really remember why. I guess, it had something to do with the fact that the song was performed with such warmth and fitted so well with the rest of the album that I couldn't imagine it coming from someone else's universe. Either that or I was really drunk that day and anything would surprise me.
Anyway, the real surprise came when I did listen to the original version of "Heartbeats" written and performed by Swedish duo, The Knife:
Holy cow! This I didn't expect. The song was originally..electronic? Fantastic! But, um.. I must admit that's all I liked about it. (A considerable amount of time has passed from when I first heard this version. Furthermore, nowadays I consider myself a fan of The Knife whereas at the time I wasn't familiar with any of their work. Still, this version remains my least favorite).
A few months ago, I stumbled upon, yet another, completely different version of the song and my mind was blown again! This time it's performed by a Belgium choir called Scala and the Kolacny Brothers:
Yet, my favorite version is the one I came across most recently. In November, The Knife released a Live DVD called "Silent Shout-An audiovisual experience" and the set includes a revisited version of "Heartbeats". And it's spectacular. I don't know if it's the Twin Peaks sound, I don't know if it's the haunting drum beats, but the Knife are a great band and they took the song in new heights with this new orchestration. Mind=Blown.
