Charles Connolly

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.

𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮 – 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙩 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡

Charles quotes 10cc: “Art for Art’s Sake”

I had the privilege of seeing 10cc at the Royal Albert Hall, back in 2019 when things were normal and we could enjoy such things without wondering if we were threatening our health in doing so. We’ll get back to that form of life soon enough – just a matter of time. I told you this for absolutely no reason other than to tell you this (told for telling’s sake). But the band’s famous message, originally coined in the early 19th century in France (l’art pour l’art), really made me think. Art for Art’s Sake. Art for the sake of art. No statements, no morals, no politics. Just art to enjoy. Art to enliven the soul. Speaking of things returning to normal, I am hoping that when things open up here in London I will be able to visit a gallery or two. The artist David Hockney, has always intrigued and irritated me. I very much like how he started in the 60s with his Splash paintings, but then quickly went off him. For decades his art didn’t excite me. In fact, it didn’t really move me in any way – it was simply there, and my eyes drifted over and past it. What irritated me was actually the general public praising him for the mediocre work of his middle years. This century however, he has come back strong, starting with his tree paintings in the mid 00s (I say ‘paintings’ loosely as he mainly works digitally these days). He is a man of nature. Like the old greats (Monet, Renoir etc.) he is obsessed with light and feel. The passing of time, and how this changes our surroundings through the seasons. A splash of colour; a dose of light. This is pure art – art for art’s sake. I am hoping to see his new summer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in the coming months. For those who don’t know, Hockney is an extremely famous artist from England. For those who don’t know, England is a country in Britain. For those who don’t know, Britain is also a country, because we’re weird like that.

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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.

𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 – 𝙀𝙙 𝙀𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙚 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙮)

Charles crosses his fingers and touches wood as he covers a cover.

As I switch on, switch off and switch on the light again, a blind man sways with a smile from behind his electric piano. He rounds off a soothing ballad and segues into a funky number. Something changes in the air. From clouds of cirrus to bolts of loytneen, there’s a storm a-brewin’. A god is in charge and the genius is at work. I speak of Lord Stevie of Wonder. One of the greatest people in music lending us one of the greatest riffs ever known to man, and not a guitar in sight! Superstition is perfection from beginning to end. Unbetterable (ahem). This is clear to almost any musician. So why cover it…?

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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.

𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles refuses to go…

I am somewhat known for my regularity. Without fail and without the need for prodding, poking or coaxing, I will deliver another instalment of my column (article/piece/chunk). But this has been a weak week. I have become irregular. Things have stopped working and come to a standstill. Let me explain.

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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 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 – 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨

Charles takes it easy…

Why do I work hard? Why do I take it so seriously? It’s WORK, for God’s sake (that could be taken in two ways…). Well, why should I take ANYTHING seriously, for that matter…? I mean, as long as it isn’t hurting anyone, why not be silly and float aimlessly through life like a butterfly…? All relatively decent questions, but what’s it all about? Huh. Another question. Well, this is just something I’ve been pondering lately. When you’re young, it’s all about fun and wasting time. That’s what youth is for. Then you get a bit older, and you start to panic. You knuckle down to the point of exhaustion. This continues for quite a while, and perhaps gets even worse. But there comes a time when you realise mortality, and you start to feel you owe yourself a little bit of selfishness. Sod the partner, sod the kids, sod work. Okay, not sod ANY of them (that’s absurd) – because “sharing is caring” (bleurghh). My point is, that up until this point, you have basically been doing your life a certain way for other people. To make sure your partner is comfortable, relaxed, happy, content and at ease. To make sure your children have the best start in life, and that they don’t quite yet have some sort of crushing or debilitating mental disorder. To make sure your work colleagues like you, and more importantly to make sure your boss is pleased with your performance so they’re not quite ready to sack you. Never give them a reason.

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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.

𝙏𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙩 (𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙇𝙞𝙯 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨

Charles deals the cards…

Are you religious? Are you spiritual? Do you believe (in life after l- shut up, Cher)? Is there a Heaven and a Hell? Will God reward you for your good deeds on Earth? Will the Devil smite you for being a bad, bad girl. Do you believe in witchcraft? Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in fate? Do you believe in destiny? What about séances, tea leaves, and fortune tellers? Are you superstitious? Very superstitious? If so, there’s nothing more to say; the devil’s on his way… Do EYE believe in any of this…? I feel that one of the biggest problems almost all of us incur in life is the very thing that can sway one towards belief. Which in turn usually enhances said incurrence. And what is it…? Fear. Fear is rife. Fear is everywhere, and with all of us, pretty much. Fear of doing the wrong thing. Fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of spending too much money. Fear of not having enough money. Fear of letting someone down. Fear of climate change. Fear of harm. Fear of world politics. Fear of natural disasters. Fear of what others might think. Fear of God. Fear of the future. And THIS is the crux of the matter. The future. Fear of the consequence. Good old conscience making life more difficult than it already is.

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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.

𝙏𝙚𝙖 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 – 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙨

Charles sits down with a nice cuppa, and attempts to tell your fortune.

I drink one cup of coffee a day. I say ‘drink’, but it is more like a ritual. In fact, it is the closest I come to religion. I will never have more than one cup, but I would certainly not even try to attempt a day’s life without that one. Call it habit, routine, addiction, compulsion, it’s just what I do, and it does no harm. Tea however, is a completely different kettle of water. It is something that I enjoy several times a week, with not a hint of schedule. It rarely ever occurs to me but is suggested as an option by my girlfriend, and I usually take her up on the idea. Tea is a great comfort. A simple pleasure. A pastime and an English institution. So why not! And so go the leaves into the shiny sprung infuser, or actually this time loosely tossed into the floral teapot. There are always far more saucers in the cupboard than cups – this is just how it is. Perhaps saucers are more resilient than the elegant slender handle of the receptacle. The teapot is to be filled with boiling water. It must be ferociously bubbling. I wait at least 4 minutes for the brew to brew, pour, et voilà. Actually, I dunk a teabag in a mug for less than a minute, slug in a spoon of brown sugar – yes, brown – and slosh in some milk for completion. But let’s just pretend we’re civilised, for now.

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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.

𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙈𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 – 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖 𝙇𝙤

Charles feels he knows you well enough to say…

What lurks beneath the surface of a seemingly good soul…? What darker things to discover under cover of a bad egg? This week brings another brand new release from Rich Allen: Lily Flower (his best yet). For a human, he is the epitome of “good”. But is there a darker side to this bag of positively charged beans…? We will probably never know. My scepticism is what brings me here. I always wonder about people. I always wonder about things. Let’s face it, I wonder about just about everything. Except sport. I very rarely wonder about that. Those who know Rich, will realise that he is in fact perfect in every way, so there are no worries there. But what about me? I am not perfect, in any way at all! But people seem not to entirely loathe my guts. I am apparently a good person. But I even wonder about myself. Am I really a good person? Underneath this fancy linen, am I the devil incarnate…? Do I hide the horns in my hair…? Well, no. Because my hair is far from thick… My natural scepticism always makes me wonder why the good are good. How pessimistic is THAT?? These days I find it hard to believe that people are good simply through morals and a decent upbringing. Or maybe it is a rather dreadful upbringing that has made them good. A sort of mid-life realisation…? Teenagers tend naturally to be selfish and pretty bloody awful. But they also tend to grow out of this “phase”. I always wonder though, which is the phase… Perhaps this “new you” is actually a very realistic façade. You see? I am less an inquisitive questioner, more a paranoid android. First impressions can tell you a lot. Although I am basically a non-believer, I do believe in that. I am sometimes wrong with first impressions, but usually right. Maybe often wrong, but usually right. Luckily, because of my ongoing scepticism, my initial mistaken assumption swings the needle to positive after realisation that I was wrong. Very rarely do I instantly trust someone from first meeting them. Even more rare is when I turn around and they stab me in the back. Metaphorically, of course. It has been ages since I was literally stabbed in the back.

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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.

𝙏𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 – 𝘽𝙧𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧

Charles is bound to hide…

So Track 1 of my “Hands Up!” album is now released, and the journey has begun. The wheels are in motion, and I forgot to attach the brakes. Yes, this is what I am going to be talking about this week. Me and my music. Ow, ow, OWW!!! That HURTS! Stop hitting me with that, that, what IS that?? Oh I see. You wish me not to talk about me and my music. Well fine then. I won’t. Huh! I’ll have to cry later, won’t I. But I had it all planned! It was nice and simple – I didn’t have to sift through the hundred new releases from members of the New Artist Spotlight. I didn’t have to excruciatingly choose just one of the no doubt fabulous singles released in the past week or so. There was simply mine, and that was good enough for me. I mean, why bother listening to other artists’ music when I can listen to my own?? I mean, REALLY. Well okay. Fine. If that’s what you want. If you want me off my high horse, then so be it.

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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.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙂𝙪𝙮 – 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙢𝙞 𝙃𝙖𝙯𝙚

Charles is “that guy”…

“PWhat’s up, everybody?? IT’S ya boy CC, BACK with another episode of Connolly’s Corner. YO favourite place for news, reviews and ALL the latest goings-on-in-the-world-of-unsigned-music. And toDAY we’ve got something real special for ya. THIS time, it’s…” …Wait. This isn’t me. This isn’t me at all. This is everyone else. This isn’t how I do things. This is how everyone else does things. I don’t say “everybody”. I say “everyone”. I don’t copy people. I ain’t afraid to be me. I ain’t afraid of no ghost. By now, you probably know me well enough. You probably think you know me well enough. I’m that guy. That one with the quill. That one boring the hell out of you, week in, week out. That one with the headphones permanently stapled to his ears. That one listening to absolutely everything all of the time, to the extent that everything in life becomes musical. That clink of the teaspoon against the rim of a coffee cup. That ding of the microwave. The tempo of that nearby car alarm that just won’t shut up. That vitamin B pill that could easily double as a shaker if I only had a microphone sensitive enough to capture it. I hear everything. I hear it all too well, and too much. The slightest noise in the middle of the night wakes me with such sudden aggression. My life is attuned to sound. I don’t have perfect pitch, and neither do I have perfect hearing – few do. But still, sound really is my everything. I’m that guy. That guy you’re so eager to please, if you’ve heard of me, because then I might review your latest masterpiece. But you know I am keen on honesty. You just KNOW that. In fact, I detest lying. And you KNOW I also like praise and being liked. Genuine praise. I am human, and I am an artist. So what if you don’t like me? What if I’m NOT your bestest buddy in the world? What if I irritate you to the ends of the Earth with my words and my face? What if being honest and being nice are in conflict with one another? You’d have to choose. Or say nothing. There is always tact, but I can usually see through that. At least you’ve tried. Top marks for trying! Noted. I’m not a judge. I’m not a teacher you have to suck up to. I’m just that guy. That guy who’s always listening.

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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.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼 𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙨 – 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙣

Charles leaves the city for a higher grade…

Cities are impressive. Cities are huge and buzzy. It can sometimes seem like a big city would be able to continue living without the presence of actual life! The buildings, the museums, the galleries, the parks, the clubs, the architecture (you’ve said that, you said buildings. Yes, all right, clever clogs). The heights and grandeur, the world famous stature. The hub of where it all happens. It’s all so compelling. Genuinely exciting! But sometimes it can feel a little overbearing. Would you like to eat a 7 course meal in a swanky restaurant every single day of your life? To me, this is what it can sometimes feel like. Oftentimes (utterly LOATHE this word) one just wants to live a smaller life. A simpler life. To eat a burger while ambling the littler side of the street. Where your thoughts are allowed to wander without getting distracted by awe-inspiring structures (same as buildings, same as architecture. Yes, all right, clever clogs). Say, by the sea? Imagine a little town where the atmosphere is not cloaked in pollution, but simply a sea breeze. A coastal town.

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