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.
๐พ๐ค๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฎ – ๐ฝ๐ก๐ช๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ง, ๐ผ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐
Charles undresses the truthโฆ
Dear costumer,
I am he as you are he, as you are me and we are all together. The wise words of a walrus. Today I will be anyone but me. Anyone at all! Sometimes itโs just nice to become invisible and seemingly disappear. Imagine youโre plonked elsewhere. Somewhere youโve never been before. No familiar faces and a chance to โstart againโ. You can be anyone if you put your mind to it. Johnny Depp? Marilyn Monroe? Thomas Edison? That cool kid at school? You can be American if youโre English. You can be Latvian if youโre American. You can be a girl if youโre a bloke. You can be Desperate Dan if youโre a petite lady person. There has never been a time more pertinent than now to pretend and be comfortable in doing so. Remember, thoughโฆ You are only pretending. Donโt get carried away. The thing is, maybe youโre already doing itโฆ Are you hiding? Are you uncomfortable with yourself? Are you attempting to portray yourself as someone you know youโre not? Are you having a bit of private fun in dabbling with a little curiosity? Or are you in fact being deceptive? Consciously or not, this might be the caseโฆ We want to be liked. We want to be loved. It makes sense to appear in a way that people might warm to you. Or at least in a way you THINK they might warm to youโฆ I feel that these days people are more forgiving and more accepting than they used to be. Why not simply try being yourself? You might find people prefer the new (old) you. Authenticity is hard to pull off. Faking it, is so very hard to do. You might be nervous to try being your true self, but imagine the relief in the alleviation of pressure. Now, wouldnโt that be nice?
To an extent, we all โmask-upโ. Typically, women wear makeup, while men grow facial hair. Sometimes it is to add โattractiveโ features, but most often it is to conceal. For a woman, this makeup might be to reduce the appearance of age. For a man, a beard can be to conceal the fact that oneโs chin is completely non-existent. Not that Iโd know anything about that. Ahemโฆ Tailoring is used to flatter someoneโs figure. Heels are worn to add height and slender proportion. Hats are donned to hide bad hair, filthy hair or no hair. Gold chains might make you think you appear rich. Loud black BMWs might make you appear to be a completely obnoxious pinprick. In this case, the disguise is realistic. What IS it about BMW drivers?? Oh, watch those comments flow belowโฆ CC got sidetrackedโฆ Oh yes: usual fakery. So! All of these examples are really just to do with physical appearance. They donโt REALLY tell us anything about the person within. Except for the BMW driver, of course, but that person is not worth thinking about. A lost cause with little but a loud exhaust. Itโs exhausting. The person within should – I think – be clearly visible from without. Within you, without you.
But just suppose you WERE to enjoy a bit of dressing up (metaphorically or literally), wouldnโt it be fun? Well, for a while, perhaps. But what then if everyone around you was doing the same? I donโt mean for a fancy dress party, I mean proper pretence. Say you found outโฆ Wouldnโt you feel rotten? Betrayed? Preyed upon? So why are you doing that very same thing to them? Youโre all just as bad as each otherโฆ I feel that the same idea can be said for music. You know that common feeling you get when listening: itโs all so similarโฆ? Many artists copy many other artists. This leads to the same old stuff, again and again and again. Now, while the first artist might have hit upon something new and exciting, the same effect on the listeners will probably not be achieved after the 119th artist has done exactly the same thing. These artists are making the music they feel they should make, rather than the music that comes naturally to them. I am not remotely saying that one shouldnโt try harder and strive for better every time: I said โnaturallyโ, not โeasilyโ. Do you find that you pick up the guitar every other day, and play soft folk songs, yet when it comes to releases, you release nothing but beaty rad bangersโฆ? If so, is this really authentic? I mean, SHOULD you be doing this? If it does well and earns you loads of moolah, then fine! I completely understand. But letโs face it, most of us are not making music with the hopes of becoming the next Taylor Swift. And this is the very thing. Why would you want to be the โnextโ Taylor Swift? There already is one. Wouldnโt you rather be the next YOU (but successful)โฆ?
โDoomp-tickโ music is a worn road. It is furrowed, right down to the original Roman slabs. Enough mindless partying! I didnโt say โenough partyingโ, mind. Canโt we party in a different way? We are 25 years into this century. A quarter of the 21st century has passed. Isnโt that astounding?? So why are we still doomp-ticking? Shouldnโt we have another beat to which to grind? Right in the middle of the 90s, I fell in love with two artists. While I ADORED the 90s, these two artists were not doing the 90s thing. They were doing something different. Something new. Something that grabbed me then, and has stayed with me throughout the passing decades. Those two artists are Beck and Bjรถrk. I admire them for so much, but I think most of all it is for their courage and natural drive to do something different. But I donโt ever think it was a purposeful trial at โsomething newโ. I think it was that they were simply being themselves, but being bold enough and confident enough to do so. What is most impressive is that their labels said yes. Labels took risks in those days. The A&R men (they were always men back then) would put their jobs on the line with their belief in these artistsโ great music. I say, to HELL with comfort and safety. Let us breathe the air of risk once more! Remove that mask, be bold, be brave, and step out.
Can I name two other artists who have recently stepped out of their comfort zone? I can indeed. Please welcome Blue Scarr and Ariel Petrie, with their brand new โjungle/drumโnโbassโ single, Cosplay. I will start by saying this: While these artists have decided to label the song as โjungle/drumโnโbassโ, I wouldnโt call this jungle or drumโnโbass. This is simply because it doesnโt have that โtripโ in the beat. For the youths, I mean there are only 8th notes; no 16th notes. For the oldies, I mean there are only quavers; no semi-quavers. And for the (perhaps) larger majority who understands none of this, youโll have to just take my word for it. Unsatisfyingly, however, I donโt have an alternative genre name to hand. Iโm really not sure what to call it. Breakbeat, perhaps? Nah, definitely not. Liquid drumโnโbass? Maybe. Getting closer. The beat is very smooth, very cool, and very โbackseatโ. Like lounge electronicaโฆ Despite being really rather peppy in tempo. It has a certain amount of bite, but itโs soft to the touch. Like a wolf in sheepโs clothingโฆ
Carl (Blue Scarr) is evidently done (at least for now) with doomp-tick music, and so has made something altogether different. Carl Broadbent (presumably no relation to Jim) is showing his gutsy UK side in doing so. As for Ariel Petrie (real name: Ariel Petrie, but weโll call her Ariel Petrie for the sake of simplicity) was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but has since moved to Nay-ash-veal. Or Nashville, Tennessee. She writes the words and the melodies, as well as (of course) singing them. A satisfying setup of one on music and the other on all things vocaline. Just makes sense. I would call Cosplay โmood popโ. Production-wise, it is subtle and mature. Donโt even try it with inferior headphones or speakers. I must say, this song will not really have the desired effect through a phone speaker. It will sound shallow and dull. The vocals will seem too loud for the music. The whole thing will simply drift relatively pleasantly for 3 minutes. But if you get yourself some decent headphones or speakers (I must say, headphones seems better to me), there is instant full immersion. Not just because one is closed off from the world, but because the music becomes a rich, deep, warm blanket. And it is THIS I believe to be the intended effect.
When I see the word Cosplay, I ALWAYS read it as Coldplay. And there the similarity does not endโฆ I HEAR Coldplay too! Birds, Anotherโs Arms, All I Can Think About Is You, the first part of Something Just Like This (before the chorus), and generally their softer more ethereal side (think their Ghost Stories album). But mainly Birds. Coldplay gets a LOT of stick for โbeing Coldplayโ. I get it: you โlike the first couple of albums and everything after that was shiteโ. So you all keep telling me. But I have remained a fan throughout their entire career. Is it too much for a band to want to change? Should they keep doing the same old stuff for two and a half decades just because itโs what you early fans want? I believe every artist should make what they want to make, and I admire Coldplay for pushing forward in this vein. They never โsold outโ, as some of you might have thought. Chris Martin and the boys are so evidently in love with all the music they make. And those of you who switched off after their second or third album might be sorely missing out. Their b-sides (yes, theyโve done many-a b-side) have always been different and refreshing, albums such as Everyday Life and Ghost Stories are very special indeed, and every album contains such gems (in between candy pop tracks with artists half their age – I do wish they wouldnโt do that). My point is that there are songs like the ones I mentioned above that have this true vibe-like quality to them. The opposite of the singles you hate. Theyโre real. And it is this vibe and this reality that I hear when listening to Cosplay. Carl and Ariel keep it smooth and they keep it real.
Speaking of Ariel – โabout bloody timeโ, I hear you all cry – her presence is absolutely vital to the song. Without her, with all the trackโs beauty and comfort, it would have little to hold on to. Her vocal tone is exactly what this instrumental asked for. So youthful and honest. But more to the point, those woyds! Such clever wordplay. She pretends, and so does her โloverโ. Itโs about lies and deception – both ways. They just keep telling themselves theyโre happyโฆ When I first heard about the song, I was very jealous of the idea of looking at cosplay from a different angle. Then I heard the song: it was just as I had hoped. From the mellow beats, to the understated bass, to the slow pulsing synth, to the delicate felt piano, to the filtered soft synth stabs, itโs all so mesmeric. But it is Ariel who brings lightness to the whole affair. I think what makes Cosplay so different is the fast tempo. It is just not what one would generally associate with what is essentially a sad song. One of the most โupliftingโ and calming sad songs I have heard in a long time. Possibly partly because Arielโs words show that she might have learnt from her mistakes. Sheโs being honest with herself.
Oh, and Carl, top marks on those subs – theyโre deep. No submarine should be shallow. I just adore how soft the whole song is, without coming close to being muffled. Cosplay is a fabulous comeback track from the coolest twosome.
As the mask is removed, you realise: the walrus was me. Jump in my black BMW and Iโll tell you all about itโฆ VROOM VROOM!!
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