Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, 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 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (2026 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) – 𝘿𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧
Charles makes a good thing different…
You know when you’ve spent just ages on something because you really want to be proud of the finished result? Ain’t it so satisfying when it all goes to plan? Seeing as most of us are artists, let’s talk about this in terms of art. Makes sense. Imagine you’re a painter, and you’ve started with the lightest sketch after having “whitewashed” the canvas. The perspective is just right, the intention is just as you had envisioned; you know this is going to work. And so, the first stroke of oil licks the canvas. The brush starts to guide your hand into the right areas, impressing and releasing pressure as it goes. Sometimes delicately, sometimes almost stabbing. Sometimes slow and languid, sometimes ferocious like the quick whip of a sabre. The layers build over several weeks until eventually you step back and see the painting not as a series daubs, but as one whole piece; a scene; a work of art.
The exhausted satisfaction runs over and through you like an ongoing windless, flickering sizzle; a firework’s continuous cascading last gasp. The feeling endures without regret or hesitation. You have succeeded. Up to now, it could be your finest. But as the years go by, you continue to sit with it. The “now” becomes a “then”. Since that moment of inspiration you have had many more. And since those weeks of expression your personality has changed. You think differently now. You work differently now. You wonder if that piece was the best it could have been. You have learnt so much over the years. You have improved in some ways, and changed in others. You have also become very critical of your own past work. You have even toyed with the phase of “nothing is good enough”. And so, with frustration and determination, you start again. Realising the merit in the original, you don’t begin with a violent whitewash; a destruction of the past; a deleting of history – thank the lord. Instead, you set it to one side, its pane reversed. You don’t want to be impressed upon, encouraged to copy what you believe to be less than perfect.
You start with a goal of current-minded perfection, knowing full well that perfection is impossible. Staring at the palette of similar hues, you wonder if these were quite right in the first place. A little more blue here, a little more red there, even a touch of yellow… Yellow! You would never have added yellow all those years ago. And yet yellow seemed so natural now. Huh! It’s funny how time can change one’s persuasions. The conviction is strong; passion riding high. Why is it that this time everything is so much swifter…? Are you more focussed? Do you care more? Was it always just a niggling irritation that needed eventual fixing so that finally you could move on to something new? Whichever reason, it is of no matter. The piece is coming together before your very eyes, and before long, it is done. You step back to admire, and admire is exactly what you do. A relief comes over you like that final debt repayment. You are free. THIS is what you meant. THIS is it……… You flip over the original and place them side-by-side. Hmmm…… Now you start to wonder… It turns out that the initial painting was indeed the very best it could have been. Much like the new version. Neither is better than the other. They are simply different.
And on that note, it is time to whisper with Dorian. That’s right folks, Dorian Whisper is in the house with his latest release, ‘Take To The Skies’. But wait, some of you might have thought that familiar… And to that, I say “my, look at YOU with the memory”!! ‘Take To The Skies’ was indeed a song of Dorian’s from quite long ago (2020, as it happens), but this is a brand new version. The 2026 Version, to be precise. But I don’t mean a quick re-jig of the faders or the sprucing up of a tired dry vocal. And neither do I mean one of those doomp-tick doomp-tick remixes. This is a full re-recording; a reenactment from a different angle, with a different view. Dorian (not his birth name, but we all know him as Dorian, so let’s stick with that) certainly has a signature sound in recent years. One with echoes of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The crispness of the 80s and 90s, with the smooth warmth of Steely Dan. However, he didn’t always have this sound. He used to be more a soft lamenting crooner (velvet bow tie and a twinkle in his eye) in a bossanova jazz bar than the happy-go-lucky marine biologist we have come to know and love. Yes, when doffing the musical cape, he is genuinely a globe-trotting marine biologist (Egyptian by origin).
I think on the whole, many music artists do tend to shudder or cringe when they hear their earlier stuff. They shouldn’t. Very often it is not bad, but simply different. And sometimes, it is actually better than their current output, but the artist rarely sees it this way. Dorian’s earlier music fortunately falls into the category of simply being different. Not better or worse. However he thought of his mature song ‘Take To The Skies’, he evidently felt it necessary to bring it up to date with his more recent releases. And considering the original remains available for all to hear, I think this quite a wise move. Why ever not! It’s also nice because this song was part of his very first release; an EP called ‘As Long as You Want’ – cheeky. And frankly, I bet most of you have never heard it, because listeners almost never delve far back enough. I think there’s this peculiar assumption/notion that if something is old, it is probably not very good; where newness trumps goodness. Even for this reason alone I think it’s great that Dorian decided to revamp his song. But the main reason I’m pleased he did is because it’s just fascinating to listen to the two entirely different versions, side-by-side. I could never say I preferred one over the other; they’re simply different.
The original is more dry, more intimate, somehow more Spanish, with a lethargic heat. It is sadder and more private. But is also more cheeky in a subtle way. The piano and jazz guitar stand together in unity, sharing limelight equally. The whole piece is cosy and quite personal, with restraint and modesty. This brand new version, however, is something else. Firstly, the key has been shifted up a whole step, for a brighter shine. From the very first guitar strum, this has money. There is an expensive sheen of confidence and reassurance. What was previously a classical guitar motif has been usurped by a wide, ringing duo of distorted electric guitars. It feels almost like the LIVE version for a band that has played this song a million times and wants to finally try something new. Which I suppose in a way, it is. The drums have reverb. The rimshot strikes with a vibrant shimmer. Everything has very much more presence and gusto. Those guitars are more akin to Zappa than to Gilberto. And then, there’s that voice. The most changed of everything, to me. The longing sounds more determined. It’s like the difference between “something has gone wrong, how sad” and “something has gone wrong, let’s make it right”. Dorian’s vocal is altogether much brighter, happier and positive. The pre-chorus is also one of the most changed parts. The original slinks into a soft bossa style (think Girl from Ipanema) while the new version rides and builds into a half-time funky groove complete with OWgan and choppy guitar strikes; the snare wallops the water with an almighty splash! The mix in general is technically far superior to the original, but that is not to say the original sounds worse. It’s an interesting thing, sound. What one listener might call muffled, another might call warm. What one listener might call harsh, another might call effervescent. Like those paintings, neither is better or worse, they’re simply different.
Let me know in the comments which version you prefer and why. And if you’re (for some reason) uncomfortable about picking one over the other, just say what you like about each version. Links to both are below.
After many tireless weeks, I’ve stepped back to admire my own masterpiece. Turns out it’s just a series of daubs. Ah well, I’ll call it modern art.
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (2026 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (2026 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Apple Music playlist HERE!
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (2026 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on YouTube HERE!
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on Spotify HERE!
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on Apple Music HERE!
Listen to 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) on YouTube HERE!
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