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.

𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 – 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙮

Charles is in mourning…

I very nearly did not and could not write this. But if I did not write this, there would not have been a “review” this week. Small though it may be, this is my duty.

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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.

𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨 – 𝙇𝙪𝙭 𝘿𝙪𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧

Charles remembers it well…

Memories. We all have them. Well, except for those with Alzheimer’s. But even then, some memories will remain. Usually earlier ones, as they tend to be cast in stone. And it’s those earlier memories on which I would like to dwell. Not the memories of a few months or years ago, but the memories of another era. An era when those who have now passed were still among us. An era when things were done differently. An altogether simpler time, when all generations were – to an extent – in sync with one another. When older people taught the young, as opposed to the other way around. A time when experience actually meant something. When one could spend decades building upon one’s skill without fear of said skill being surplus to requirements. When the word “entertainment” meant a board game at home with the family, or a few bottles of ale with the lads in the smoky local, as old Joanna played the old Joanna in the corner. Not THIS Corner; another corner. A time when going to work meant physically going to work, and when work was not optional. A tie was not only for job interviews and weddings. Footwear was either leather or a gym shoe. Smoking was seen simply as an alternative form of air, and buildings looked like buildings. They also smoked.

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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.

𝙀𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 – 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢

Charles imagines a journey…

I am writing from the comfort and safety of my own home. Well, not my OWN, but “my own”. I dwell here for as long as I keep up my monthly chunk of pennies. I OWN nothing. Not a brick of it. But here, I sit. Peacefully and calmly. This chair of four legs, dutifully upholding this body of two. Day after day after day. This is the life of a producer. Or rather, the life of THIS producer. And despite all that I relentlessly produce, what with my own music, other artists’ music and indeed these very articles, I cannot help but wonder what lies outside these walls. I see it all through the window. The light, the dark. The rain, the shine. The angry drivers shouting at each other at the junction. Sunday was a particularly sunny, warm day and I was waiting to hear back from a client about his thoughts on my mix. I was “between jobs”. I decided to see what the outside was actually like. After snatching my earphones and sunglasses, I ventured out for a wander. A much needed breath of air. A chance to make my legs go Left Right Left again. I realised there and then that if life were a journey, then I should perhaps start moving and see where this journey takes me.

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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.

𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙞’𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 – 𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙧

Charles looks better on the radio…

I think I’ll start by being a crashing bore. One of my many talents. Just 4 weeks ago, I wrote about Kaminski’s latest fabulous track “A.I. Jesus”. I based the entire piece around A.I. (HAL, as I like to call it). I just wanted to briefly (I promise) step on HAL once more. It is awful. It is wrong. It is bad. It is fake. It is deception. And it is all too bloody easy. But I wanted to lean towards this idea of deception. In fact, it is not an idea. It IS deception. The real threat of HAL lies in the lies. Some people say the use of HAL is completely fine as long as users are honest about it… But who is going to do that?? That’s like finding a way of making flawless undetectable fake banknotes, then telling the world how they made them, and that it was all just proof of concept. They are OF COURSE going to conceal the fact, and use said banknotes to buy mucho sweeties. Moving from banknotes to artists, it feels good to have talent. Those who don’t have talent can get jealous of those with talent. So they steal talent by means of a machine, and pass off this work (no work at all) as their own. So that’s fraud, then. But this would be to the general public. To real artists, this is personal and it hurts. To be duped. To be lied to. As if it were not painful enough to have a machine that can make art as well as a talented human, we have to also deal with the deception. The machine ends up having more morals than the human! And on top of it all, these fraudsters then make money (admittedly not a lot) from streaming royalties!!! And of course, they lap up the praise for the work they did not create. It is sick. And not “sick” in the more modern sense of the word, meaning cool. And not “cool” in the more traditional sense of the word, meaning colder than tepid. I mean it makes me feel sick. Like BLEURRGHH. That kind of sick.

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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.

𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 – 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

Charles finds significance in retrospect.

Occasionally I mention mainstream artists in my reviews. Sometimes for comparison, sometimes because they often simply can’t be avoided – here’s looking at you, Beatles. When sifting through new releases, we are unlikely to stumble across a new Beatles album, unfortunately – not counting the 2021 Let It Be mix of a few weeks back. It will be the usual huge artists of the last 10 or 20 years. Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Spheres’ (universally deemed mediocre by the press), Ed Sheeran’s ‘=‘ (said to be dated and very unexceptional indeed), and Adele’s latest single, ‘Easy On Me’ (another masterpiece from the mastress – well okay, if you say so). But – if it hadn’t been for the pummelling of pricey advertising – we maybe didn’t expect a brand new album by one of the old greats: ABBA.

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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.

𝙁𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙎𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 – 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙣

Charles lies, lies and lies again.

A couple of weeks ago I touched on the idea that people are nicer these days. A comforting thought, no? Well, yes! Anything positive these days can only be a good thing, right? People seem more caring. Everyone has the chance to open up and speak their most heartfelt thoughts, and receive nothing but beautiful heartfelt replies. So much love seems to flow around the internet. Discrimination is a thing of the past. Everyone is happy and the world is but a bubble of tranquil peace. So many decades of bitter, harsh coldness have passed. People bound in their own dark beliefs and views since birth have now seen the light and seen their wrongdoing. They have seen the error of their ways, gone to confession and had their sins washed away by a great tide of minty fresh goodness. What a relief it is to be alive at a time like this, where honesty is at the heart of it all. A time when resentment and judgement are long forgotten. And breathe.

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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.

𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝘽𝙞𝙜 – 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝘾𝙖𝙮

Charles tries, tries again…

Big bucks. Big corporations. Fat cats. Think Amazon. Think Apple. Think Shell. Think Facebook. Think Elon Musk. Think Jeff Bezos. Think Mark Zuckerberg. Think Trump (simmer down). Think… Taylor Swift… “Wait, what does SHE have to do with these pigs??” – I didn’t say they were pigs; YOU said they were pigs. “Okay, but what is SHE doing there??” – This intrigues me. Barring the last name mentioned, these are the things and people we are all supposed to hate. Hate with a passion. This whole corporate attitude STINKS!! How DARE they be rich and successful! Okay, okay. Ethically, you’ve got a point. Politically, you’ve got a point. But what it tends to boil down to is entrepreneur minds turning into business people, turning into wealth. Big wealth. I find it interesting that we apparently all love Steve Jobs, yet all detest Tim Cook. Apparently the reason behind this is that “Steve Jobs was some sort of spiritual guru, and Tim Cook is just a money man” (not actually a quote). Wait a sec, you think Jobs was simply passionate about making our lives better…? He was an entrepreneur with unbelievable business skills! He wanted to make a tonne of money! Same as Cook. And both have done rather well.

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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.

𝙁𝙪𝙨𝙨 – 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠 𝘼𝙝𝙡𝙢

Charles lost his soul…

The other night I rediscovered jazz. I had one little melody stuck in my head but I couldn’t think what it was. I was sure it was something from jazz singer Stacey Kent. I scanned through her entire discography. I was wrong. In my head it was both old and relatively new sounding. It wasn’t quite the old grainy jazz of the late 40s and early 50s, but it also didn’t quite have the lustre and close sparkle of newer jazz. I was mainly a bit stuck because I knew that I knew it extremely well, and yet I know VERY little jazz… At first I thought this melody (which introduces the song – I knew THAT much) was piano, but I quickly realised it was saxophone (or trumpet – I just couldn’t quite solidify it in my mind). I had the feel of the playing, but I still couldn’t be definite about the sound. It bugged me for a good half hour. I even tried many Miles Davis tracks, hoping it was either his own trumpet playing, or perhaps John Coltrane on the saxophone. Still couldn’t find it. Something suddenly clicked. I got it instantly. It was Paul Desmond playing the sax. The sound was cemented in my mind and I knew that had to mean one thing. It was a Dave Brubeck song. I have only ever had one album by Brubeck. But it’s an album you all own in one way or an other. Literally each and every one of you has this LP in your possession. And yet, you will all have different versions by different artists. So different that it’s impossible to believe they share the same title. I personally have loads of copies by numerous artists. Any guesses for the title of said album? No…? All right, I’ll tell you. It’s called Greatest Hits. Despite this song I was searching for apparently being on his 1963 album Bossa Nova USA, I only knew it from his 1966 Greatest Hits album. And I cannot imagine how many times I have played this record. It must be hundreds. I know almost every single note of every solo. And yet… I have never really been into jazz…

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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.

𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙 – 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙆𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

Charles questions the system…

The night before writing this, my girlfriend and I had a little chat after a delicious dinner with a glass of vino; just the two of us. It was a civilised chat. A mature chat. A really rather adulty chat, if you must know. I mean, you mustn’t know. That is, you need not know. You probably don’t care. But I will say anyway. I want to tell you. Because that’s the kind of bad boy I am. The kind of lad to force information down your throat, whether you want it or not. You only came here for a lighthearted music review…! Well, okay, I’m not really that bad, but I will nevertheless continue like the beastly bully that I am. So yes, between sips of the red stuff we chatted about theories, ideologies and the general way of the world. Vague enough for you? We spoke of early humans. Cavemen being not much more than intelligent animals, spending their days hunting, in order to eat. Just like an animal in the wild. Survival and procreation were literally all to be done. To keep things going, basically. Food, water, shelter and warmth. Nothing more. A traditional farmer was pretty much a more civilised modern version of cavemen (and please, “cavemen” encompasses women as well – let not this article be a chore nor a bore). We spoke of communities in villages, where instead of essentials being bought from a local shop, it was a game of swapsies. A thing for a thing. A skill for a skill. Money, as we know it, was little more than a notion. A concept. Currency had no meaning. No purpose. “More wine, my dear?”, I asked like a charming gentleman. Well actually, I pointed at the bottle and murmured “mm?”, but it has much the same meaning. It’s the thought that counts. Either way, the girl nodded and said “wouldn’t it be lovely if we could get back to those days?”. I filled her glass but had no reply. We then swiftly moved on to more recent times. Not too recent, but let’s say the last few hundred years, for the sake of debate. I need you to stick with me.

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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.

𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙚 – 𝘿𝙤𝙢 𝙋𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧

Charles proverbially quotes: Many hands make light work…

“Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Help!” Where would we be without a little help from our friends? What would we do without a helping hand? How much worse off would we be without that leg up from people and things? I think most of us would be pretty useless without stuff and people. Sure, we would still have our wonderfully tailored minds and expertly honed skills, but could we do it alone? What are doctors without medicine? And could they deal with critical procedures without nurses? With all that knowledge and experience, they can’t ALL just say “you’ll get better soon”, because they won’t. Not without help. Does that mean the doctor is not needed if we have medicine and nurses? Of course not. Can’t just pop pills with the hope that one will do the trick. And what about a humble cobbler? For those of a foreign nature or those less endowed with knowledge, a cobbler is not someone who cobbles, but someone who mends shoes (just so you know). Surely this would be a solitary affair and would need no help from others? Well, yes, this is true. But take away their hammer and anvil, and ultimately all you have is a worn booty admirer. So with these tools at hand, is there really a need for said cobbler? Well unless you’re content with hurty feet and hurty thumbs, there is.

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