The Most Mysterious Band in Music Today

And more than a dozen other videos I'm enjoying right now

Below is a roundup of new YouTube videos I’m enjoying.

These cover a range of topics, but let’s start with a very unusual band—maybe the most mysterious ensemble in music today.

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Who is Sault, really?

When I first wrote about Sault, the band was like a riddle. They released five brilliant albums over the course of just a few months as “an offering to God” (according to their enigmatic website). But the musicians were unknown, and the genre context was constantly shifting.

The music, however, was wickedly good. They could do it all, from funk to classical, and at the highest level. I eventually put one of their albums on my best of year list, but it was hard to decide which one—I loved them all.

In total defiance of music industry conventional wisdom, this band built its following on secrecy and scarcity. Then finally they gave a live concert in London—one night only—and The Guardian called it “utterly astonishing.”

The ensemble was ridiculously turbocharged—with strings, choir, dancers, costumes, and anything else you could imagine.

Here’s a screenshot of scenes from an amateur video of the concert (which hasn’t yet been taken down from YouTube). See if you can figure out what’s going on.

Sault gives one concert—but who can figure it out?

This one live performance hardly answers all the unresolved questions about Sault, which again has disappeared from view. “Sault may finally be in the building,” The Guardian concluded, “but their enigma remains intact.”

Now the band has released a new album, a kind of cross between trance rock, gospel, and soul. There’s also a music video (loosely defined) on YouTube, but it doesn’t let you see the band, merely an unchanging TV screen with an image of late night traffic and the album title.

But don’t be discouraged by the total lack of glamour and video production values—Sault is one of the best bands in the world, and delivers the goods every time.

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What happens when a millionaire decides to star in his own James Bond-style movie?

A lot of dudes wish they were James Bond. But this guy actually made it happen.

It helps if you’re a millionaire. In this instance, Michael Flatley takes full advantage of his wealth, even featuring his comfy home in the film. Well, maybe comfy isn’t the right word….

His cinematic effort is testimony to something, but I’m not sure what.