Welcome all to ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐น๐น๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ playlists.
๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ – ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐
Charles finds the impostor not guiltyโฆ
Everyone knows the saying, โDonโt judge a book by its coverโ; but how about, โDonโt judge an author by its bookโโฆ? Has it ever occurred to you that I might not be who you think I am? I donโt mean that I quietly identify as a blonde Asian lady or anything like that, because frankly, despite my petite frame I donโt think youโd believe me. But we generally have our thoughts and ideas of who someone is. What someone is like. This is all based on what we have so far managed to gather from whatever they have chosen to show and tell us. Lies are everywhere. Deception is rife. Not necessarily here, and not necessarily in me. But there are many people around today who spend their life pretending to be someone theyโre not. This could be to draw attention to themselves and win friends. This could be because they are so ashamed of who they are, that they try their very best to be perhaps even the complete opposite. It could be because they are hiding a dark secret. It could be simply because they are naturally dull. It could be any number of reasons, but I canโt imagine there is much satisfaction in being an impostor. As to me, chances are, I am who you think I am. But I could be wrong. I donโt know how I come across, and I donโt know what you think of me. And the good thing about ageโฆ? I donโt really care. I am honest, though. That is one thing I can be sure of.
I can usually see through impostors, but lord knows how many Iโve missed. They have become very good at it these days. The problem is, the world has become a stage. Everyoneโs an actor these days. This could be innocent acting like smiling for social media when you donโt feel like smiling. Not that smiling on social media is very prevalent these daysโฆ The real impostors are the ones who are so believable and they do it so frequently, that they themselves start to believe it. This is when it can become harmful. And what really doesnโt help is when people egg them on and keep telling them how great they are – again, they start to believe it. The thing is, it seems to be the honest ones who are feeling guilty. Iโm talking artists. Let me explain. For a while now, I have noticed the correlation between high-tier talent and modesty. These artists tend not to shout about their work. It is almost as though they create the art only for themselves. Something to get out of their system, with a feeling of having achieved. It is almost a bonus to these artists if anyone else wants to hear it and likes what they hear. The goal seems not to be attention and success. While artists CAN be very flamboyant and outgoing, more often than not they are very much the opposite. Many artists like to quietly get on with their art. They see it as far purer than a โproductโ. So when a random stranger (or friend) tells the artist how much they enjoyed their song, the artist is of course delighted! But something else can come with it. A feeling of having duped the listener. An almost perfect knowledge that the listenerโs opinion is wrong, or that this artist is just not worthy of such high praise. All of which is of course absurd.
What it comes down to, is the artist not realising how talented they are. An extremely modest, humble and perhaps somewhat warped reaction. So what is happening here? Is it paranoia formed from nothing? Is it a sense of guilt? If so, what has the artist done wrong? What in their show of talents is fraudulent? Itโs not like they are pretending to have written, sung and played everything themselves, when it is in fact all HAL (A.I.). Could it just be a lack of confidence? Perhaps. But there could be more to it than thisโฆ Sometimes itโs a dream when the title or lyrics of my weekly pick give me a gift of a subject to talk about. The thing is, whenever itโs this weekโs artist, itโs a godsend – for Kaminski is a god of mine. Some sort of magical, spiritual being from the Netherlands. He gives me everything I wish for, and more. Off air, he said something extremely interesting to me. Fascinating, in fact. It was an idea I had not really thought about properly:
โKnowing you through your music is so valuable. I really think that in real life we would be disappointed in each other.โ – mind, blown. A hilariously fabulous observation and theory. It made me think and realise the possible reason why so many great artists feel like impostors. We artists are kind of like actors in a way. The recording is our stage. We change from our usual small (s)elves, into giants among men (yes, and among women too – this is neither sexist nor size-ist). The thing is, it can even be the other way around too. In real life, an artist might be loud, bold and even brash. You stick a microphone in front of them and the audience goes wild for the Mick Jagger impersonation they have just witnessed. But if you stick a microphone in front of them, walk away and close the door, you might discover a softly crooning Paul Simon when you play back the tape. You see, we will never know. Is the recording artist the fraud? Is the real person the fraud? Is it a case of alter-egos? Or is it none of the above? Couldnโt it just be a wonderfully talented, affable, modest young man making the music he wishes to make? It could. In the case of this weekโs choice, I believe it is. Please welcome Kaminski with his brand new single, Impostor Syndrome.
Some of you might be thinking his seat is still warmโฆ โKaminski again?? But you just reviewed him!!โ – Actually, that was over 3 months ago – โthat HAL articleโ and Derekโs stunning song evidently simply stuck with you, which can only be seen as a good thing, no? The point is, I desperately try to seek out new artists I have either never previously reviewed, or havenโt reviewed in a very long time. However, if a fabulous artist is consistently bloody brilliant, why should they be penalised for being so good? Why should someone less deserving (in terms of my personal musical preference) be praised for something I didnโt like as much? While I had several other songs in my maybe list, this was the clear winner in my eyes. Great talent deserves great praise. I was just about to mention one particular song that came very close this week, but I wonโt, as there is a chance I might save it for next week. While the New Artist Spotlight continues to be as inclusive as possible, this little Corner of mine is my own personal views, thoughts, takes and tastes, in public. Itโs like a lonely version of the weekly Top 20. CCโs weekly Top 1. Nothing wrong with that. Smiley face.
I do love sharing my release day with other artists; it makes a good thing better. Friday was ours to enjoy. We listened and admired each otherโs work, then chatted about music and things. Thatโs where his quote came from. I had only listened to a couple of new releases by the time I got to Kaminski. But once Impostor Syndrome had started, I was gone for about half an hour. I donโt mean the song is that long! I mean the song is that addictive that I needed to play it around 10 times! In fact, it was slowing me down with my release day promo (ya know, that thing we all do for no reason at all other than to tick it off the list). I was whisked away by intrigue and interest. By layers, by atmosphere and by depth. Kaminski is one such master of all these things and more. The โmoreโ including timing. This was the thing I was obsessed with on first listen. Bloody weird timing. Whereโs the โONEโ??!! Is it in 3/4? 4/4? Maybe 6/8? Wait, is it alternating between various time signatures? Ach!! But near the end of that first play, I started to realise his cheeky trick. Displaced drums?? Jeez!! Who DOES that?? Kam duz dat. The whole song is indeed unusual and somewhat complicated in terms of timing, but predominantly it is in the friendliest of time signatures: 4/4. Meaning you can just count 1, 2, 3, 4, with vital confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Hurrah for you! But the thing is, the drums seem to be in 3/4 (or 6/8) – meaning theyโre crossing the beat of 4/4, so the general lilt is shifted. Or perhaps the drums are playing a shuffle groove in another tempo entirely! Itโs completely okay to say you have no idea what Iโm talking about, because I too didnโt understand what I just wrote. Something about algebra, numbers, code, and complicated boring crap. The thing is, I donโt have much of an interest in any of this either. I like the song. I like the sound. And this displacement confusion only adds another aspect of interest. You donโt HAVE to know whatโs going on. Music is for people, not nerds. I mean, there IS music for nerds, but thatโs more like aural MENSA conundrums. This ainโt no test. Impostor Syndrome is about cool vibe, while refusing to let you drift away.
Derek – whose musical alter ego is Kaminski – is unsure of his talents. He is seemingly unaware of them. He genuinely has impostor syndrome. When he sings lyrics like โYou think everyoneโs watching you. This time it nearly got to you; itโs dangerous, itโs okayโ, we can clearly see a state of discomfort verging on paranoia. And this is real! Aside from knowing Derek well enough, we can clearly hear the angst and honesty in his voice as it bleeds through the determined drums and upfront bass. This is real. Unusually, it is more the hypnotic guitar that holds the tempo, or the rhythm. The drums are treated more like a powerful percussion part than a backbeat. And yes, you will hear clear influence from Radiohead (the awkwardly titled Weird Fishes, among other kettles), but this is undoubtedly the sound of Kaminski, not of Radiohead. You see, as much as Derek canโt take the attention and the praise, people love Kaminski for his music. Sure, he is a lovely chap, but it is his music that holds the wand. But who made the music? That lovely chap! So you see, Derek, you and Kaminski are one and the same, and we love you for it. Learn to realise and appreciate that you have a natural unaided gift. A gift that you manage solo, in the back end of a garage. Be as proud of yourself as I am of you, and that syndrome will wither and cease.
So, am I who you thought I was? I personally identify as the elephant in the room.
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