David Lynch in Krakow: Watch Dark Electropop Interpretations of Slovenian Poetry

When Cosovel singer Izolda Sorenson emailed me her band’s music, I wasn’t sure what I was hearing. The email was little help, as it appeared to have been run through Google Translate: “I travesty poetry of 20th century slovenian dadaist, Srecko Kosovel, changing historical context, but trying to keep emotionality of poems rebellion character.”

But the videos she included were striking. Dark and surreal, they featured ambulances and bodypaint, like someone who had been watching a lot of David Lynch. One mimicked the creepy aesthetic of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”; the other seemed more like “Somebody That I Used To Know.”

Her description sounded vaguely like these might be covers though, so I took the band’s Polish press materials and began some Google Translating of my own. I eventually figured out this entire project was a tribute to the poet Srecko Kosovel – the name “Cosovel” (which half the time they spell Co-Sovel) stands for “Cooporation with Kosovel.” Sorenson has taken Kosovel’s Slovenian poetry and translated it into both her native Polish and English, then added her own surging electronic rhythms.

I can’t understand the poet’s words in Slovenian or in Polish, but the music’s great, and the videos are striking. Check two out below.

Check out more Cosovel on their Facebook page.