The weird, wonderful world of Loke Wilson

There's something admirable about an artist who just does their own damn thing, who doesn't give a fuck about trends or tastes, and who couldn't care less about how cool they look -- or don't look. Ladies and gentleman, Loke Wilson is just such an artist. In the cold, dark...

By Cory Casciato

October 1, 2010

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There's something admirable about an artist who just does their own damn thing, who doesn't give a fuck about trends or tastes, and who couldn't care less about how cool they look -- or don't look. Ladies and gentleman, Loke Wilson is just such an artist.

In the cold, dark hinterlands of Norway, Loke has been busy brewing up off-the-wall instrumental synth tunes for years. It's not synth pop, it's not dance music, it's just ... Loke. You could point to Kraftwerk as an influence, maybe some New Wave stuff here and there ... mostly it's just it's own thing.

And as much as his music marks him as an iconoclast, his videos take it to a whole other level. Largely improvised, completely befuddling and strangely entertaining, they feature lots of Loke and a little bit of whatever else is around. And they are absolutely, positively anti-glamorous. As he explains in the intro to this video:

"... My outfits are terrible, I have not take a shower for 4 days, I smell bad, I drink beer, and I'm drunk."

Okay, so that makes him sound like a hair-metal band, albeit a very self-aware one. But instead of pretty men in Spandex, imagine a portly nerd in sweatpants... now imagine him playing a keyboard somewhat competently, driving his car and editing his vacation video footage into the mix. Welcome to the weird, wonderful world of Loke Wilson.

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