Lindsey Stirling introduces classical music into the modern by merging dance, dubstep and electric violin
As a person with a keen interest in music and the idea of telling a story with an instrument, it is easy to become awakened to the fact that a mere tool of music, such as Lindsey Stirling's violin, can take us on new journies into new paradigms altogether. It is a concept to be marveled at, and Stirling is an artist who has kicked up a frenzy of sweet melodies, pleasingly-infused dubstep and electric violin, with her eye on such a pursuit.
It is clear, Stirling has a colorful array of ideas and musical gems and has a passion to take us on adventures and put on a performance of spirit and zest all while playing the electronic violin. Stirling came to national popularity in 2010 through her appearance in the American reality show ‘America’s Got Talent’, where she managed to impress the judges in the initial rounds by mixing hip-hop, pop, as well as classical music on the violin.
She was dropped out of the competition in the quarter-finals. The self-titled ‘Lindsey Stirling’ was her first studio album. The album peaked at number 79 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
It was commercially successful and within a year, it sold more than 300,000 copies in the U.S. The album included her hit single ‘Crystallize’ and the music video became the eighth most-watched video of the year 2012, along with others such as ‘Electric Daisy Violin’, ‘Song of the Caged Bird’, and ‘Stars Align.’
With singles such as ‘Beyond the Veil’, ‘Shatter Me’, and more, Stirling's second album, 'Shatter Me', debuted at the second position on the U.S. Billboard 200. Her third and latest studio album ‘Brave Enough’ was released in August 2016.
It peaked at the fifth position on the U.S. Billboard 200 and sold nearly 50,000 copies within its first week of release. Stirling played a supporting role in the 2015 dance drama film ‘Breaking Through’, directed by John Swetnam.
Before we delve into the undiscovered playground of the violin and its more recent emergence in the music industry, which is a subject that hails for more attention, it is evident Stirling's image prances around the theme of fantasy and one can now see that violin-playing does not have to be strictly limited to the classical genre of music anymore.
Stirling's music appears to be taking on new and creative layers as she and her art evolve. It is a pleasing sentiment to think about as it means this undefined category of music is breathing out its lungs and being shaped into a living entity of music, unearthed and forged between the electronic violin and dubstep-esque beats.
The successful 'Crystallize' opens with trickles of synth that liken to crystallized water drops percolating and leading us to the more climatic levels of the song, this being accentuated in the music video as we pan between caverns of ice in a chilly frozen setting. Once the video moves to the more open background of the icy caverns, it leaves an impression of a curtain being opened into the fantasy realm of Sterling, and her performing pixie-like shimmies and popping dance moves provides a lightning-infused performance of both energy and beauty.
After leaving 'America's Got Talent', Lindsey Stirling became further enlightened to one of her core niches which is her love of dance and began to pursue practicing hard and working to imbue her violin-based playing with some tricky dance maneuvers. This is evident in videos like 'Elements', where she dances in different graces to each backdrop of the video, themed by the elements of nature, one of which has her leaning back almost entirely to a fiery scene while playing the violin.
Stirling's talent should not go unnoticed. The addition of elements such as dubstep, pop and dance in her songs indicate the influences of cyber art and she is not afraid to dip her toes into the gaming market, as she has covered theme songs by critically-acclaimed games such as 'Assassin's Creed III' and the role-playing game 'Skyrim'.
You can watch them at these links: 'Assassin's Creed III' theme song -- watch here. 'Skyrim' theme song -- watch here.
Stirling's interest in cosplay is also noted as an expression in her music videos as she garbs a large variety of colorful attire in them. The imagery and effects are bold, electrified by gutsy dubstep beats, wrapped in sad undertones of the violin, and displayed with zesty yet graceful "ballet pop" dance moves.
One can be intrigued to fantasize on fairytales when listening to Stirling's music, and the idea of merging the electric/digital effects into this dimension is a memorable one.