Written by Alyssa Foley
Alternate Title: The dating app Tinder and the city of Detroit
The dating app Tinder and the city of Detroit, Michigan have contributed many unique things to society, but one of the most significant has to be the contemporary electronic musical duo Snow Strippers. Tatiana Schwaninger and Graham Perez, the key members of the duo, have been releasing tracks together since 2021, the popularity of their music spiking just this year after their track ‘Under Your Spell’ found wide success on TikTok. I was fortunate enough to find myself standing at the barricade for their Springtime of Youth music festival performance at the University of Arkansas, and I was ecstatic to discover that they were the second lead act, coming on just after the delightful indie artist Benet.
The setting sun illuminated the sky with golden streaks as the intermission DJ’s music faded to silence just after 7 p.m., serving as a beautiful contrast to the sped-up background video full of rave imagery that started on the stage’s main screen. The crowd became alive with cheers as Graham stepped on and first grazed the DJ turntable, the sharp, supple sound of an electronic airhorn filling the vastness of the Baum Walker parking lot. That airhorn sounded like potential- a reminder that lives would be changed that night, and that Snow Strippers would singlehandedly be the ones to do it.
As the set began, my heart thrummed with eager anticipation. Snow Strippers have a repertoire of incredibly produced tracks, and picking just one to start would have been a feat I could have never faced myself. As Oscar Wilde once said, “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known,” and Snow Strippers had the task of selecting the single creation they would play first to embody exactly this. They had to show the students at the University of Arkansas that the art they create displays their individuality, passion, and dreams as creators of electronic audio perfection. They did precisely this by starting with the masterpiece of a track: ‘Aching Like It’s.’
Words fail to describe the euphoric rush that enveloped me upon hearing that first haunting rasp of the synth underscored with the quick, head-bobbing thrum of kick drum. As Tatiana skipped angelically onto the stage in rhythm, the lights flashed in beautiful, sporadic bursts of purple and white. I could practically feel my body floating as the background vocals sang siren songs about leaving someone lonely and not sticking around to hold them. It was almost ironic: a track about aching made my soul feel nothing but unadulterated bliss. The back, foot, and joint discomfort I had previously felt from standing at the barricade all afternoon simply washed away like a waterfall- my ache had been stripped from me by Snow Strippers.
The sensation of auditory heaven continued for the rest of the performance, each new, high-energy song filling the crowd with a metaphorical light as the sun’s physical light slipped below the horizon. The tracks ‘So What If I’m a Freak’ and ‘Passionate Highs’ led the set even deeper into perfect territory as Graham and Tatiana exuded masterful stage presence and tangible joy. It felt like watching the creation of fire: encapsulating, mind-altering, and gorgeous. I refused to look away for even a second. It was the most attention-grabbing concert I had experienced in my 21 years of life.
The set ended all too soon when the duo started their performance of the famed track ‘Under Your Spell.’ A spell pales in comparison to what I was truly under when they played that track- I was hypnotized, completely under the control of the Detroit-founded electronic duo performing right in front of me. The hauntingly beautiful ohs and ahs of the backing track vocals blended expertly with the glittery synth and quick drumbeat, strobe lights pulsing along with each measure to heighten the song’s entrancing effects. Any dread I had of upcoming exams and work-life balance had been erased and substituted with the visual of Tatiana twirling around in an adorably 2000s striped skirt and brown moto boots. It was phenomenal.
As the pair said their goodbyes, all the feeling started returning to my body. For one blissful hour, I had been taken to another plane of existence, serenaded with the artful music of the future, then brought back to reality; I was almost unsure of my own name, for all I could comprehend was Snow Strippers. They were the underrated highlight of the Springtime of Youth music festival, and to say that I enjoyed the performance is an absolute understatement. I would recommend seeing them to anybody who wants their life changed by a concert, or who is experiencing joint pain that they wish to relieve for an hour.