Connolly’s Corner

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.

𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙚 – 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞

Charles finds the impostor not guilty…

Everyone knows the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”; but how about, “Don’t judge an author by its book”…? Has it ever occurred to you that I might not be who you think I am? I don’t mean that I quietly identify as a blonde Asian lady or anything like that, because frankly, despite my petite frame I don’t think you’d 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 they’re 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 can’t 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 don’t know how I come across, and I don’t know what you think of me. And the good thing about age…? I don’t really care. I am honest, though. That is one thing I can be sure of.

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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.

𝙄𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨

Charles is neither here nor there…

Lately, I’ve been trying to work it all out. A new year brings much thought. Much pensing. Much consolidating of life in general. Where am I “at”? Where do I fit in? Who am I? What am I? And although I feel rather good right now, I also feel rather mediocre. Let me explain. Life gallops on like a panicked stallion. I am not a teenager anymore. I am not even in my roaring twenties anymore. So am I to be relegated to the “elderly” (we used to call this “old”) cupboard? Well of course not. I am nowhere near old. Or elderly. I am fighting fit! Well, I am healthy anyway. Not quite the Olympian, but I am not dying quietly in a corner. Or loudly. I may be in my corner when you see me, but this is out of choice, and not for health benefits. My teeth may not be falling out, but I am far from dazzling you with a pearly white Hollywood beam. You won’t see me sprinting a marathon, but if I were to do such a peculiar thing, I am sure I wouldn’t come in last place – if I lived to tell the tale, that is. Both legs are functioning pretty well without the need for a cane or a crutch. So that’s nice. My breathing may be a little tight from time to time, due to my asthma, but I am certainly not yet needing a ventilator. Of course, by the time the National Health Service were to have one available, I would be long dead; but that’s beside the point. What about money? Am I absolutely blooming loaded? Well, of course I am! Why else would I do these reviews every single week? How COULD I afford the time otherwise? Okay, you caught me. I lied. I am NOT absolutely blooming loaded. I fit in these reviews when I can, just like you all show your appreciation for other artists when you can. And if you don’t have time, you make time – simples! So am I stony broke? Well luckily, due to my mixing career taking off, I am not. Thank Christ. I am neither rich nor poor. I am not in the gutter with plastic bags wrapped around my naked feet, trying to stay warm under a bush. And I am not watching someone polish the golden finials atop my vast lavish mansion. These days both situations would probably get me arrested – the latter for “slave labour”, and the former for “wasting plastic”. But it at least looks like I won’t be needing “benefits”, or what I have decided to call the National Wealth Service.

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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.

𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 – 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙠𝙚𝙣

Charles is filling a void…

There was a song released weeks ago. Let’s call it “wicked song”. I adored it, but I had already opted for a different song to review that week. Still though, this “wicked song” lingered in my head. I really needed to talk about it. The following week occurred in its usual weekly fashion, and I had not forgotten about said “wicked song”, but in my honest approach I still went ahead and listened to all that was new that week. Alas, another great song took its place and “wicked song” was once again put on hold. Another week passed and although I still listened to all the latest new releases, I was determined this time to finally tell the world about this “wicked song”. I went back to the New Artist Spotlight playlists to find it and refresh my memory. I scrolled up, I scrolled down. I could not find it. I even used the search function within the playlists. It was not there. Fortunately, I had written it down, so all was not lost. “Wicked song” had not let me down; it was still wicked. But I was wondering why it was not on the playlists… After delving through the New Artist Spotlight itself, I found to my horror that the artist had left the community!!! By now, you’re probably all wondering who I’m talking about, or perhaps you are sure you know. But let me throw my spanner in your works (I’m running out of spanners)… Before having heard this “wicked song”, I had never heard of this artist. NOW you’re dumbfounded. You have no idea. But the thing is, I very much doubt you had ever heard of the artist. I believe they were one of those “try it for a bit then opt out because they can’t be bothered” types. Which is a huge shame, because this song is just fabulous and so utterly unique. And get this: it’s rap! Well, sort of rap. Feels more like spoken word in rhythm. And you know what’s REALLY going to annoy you? I’m not going to tell you.

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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.

𝙄𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 – 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧, 𝘼𝙞𝙢𝙚́𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙖

Charles listens wherever egos…

Well, THAT was quite a week, wasn’t it! Phew. That big little article I wrote about Fair Play for Independent Artists garnered rather a lot of attention. Ya see, these things take time to put together. That article was not just cobbled together in half an hour with masking tape temporarily stopping it from falling to bits. It took me hours. And days in the planning. I say planning: it was mildly swimming around my mind for a bit beforehand. I needed to gather together all the information that might have been necessary, and then I knew it had to have some sort of structure. So I proceeded to ignore most of that information and just go by what I knew. This was pure laziness, but I wanted this to feel real. To be from the heart; not just a list of statistics and a rant. Tone was vital. It was all rather daunting if I’m honest. Which I am. Honest, not daunting. I mean, yes, I am used to writing weekly articles. But this was different. I am naturally silly. I like doing the humour thing. With humour. I like to pull facial expressions with words. I like to be light but not pointless. No, I like to think there is weight in what I write, but not deep, dark, depressing weight. No, no. Like Queen. I try to write like the music of Queen. Proper and unexpected, but fun and poppy on the surface. Yeah, that’ll do. This article last week was to be something new. Something different. Something to really stretch me. Lord knows, I need a stretch. It got to the point where I was having dreams about it. Not very healthy, but there you go. This is because it was and is important.

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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.

𝙄 𝙂𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 – 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣

Captivated, Charles stops staring at the screen, looks up and discovers a true shining star – in his most in-depth review yet.

The telephone. The humble ring-ring telephone. A simple, everyday tool we have used for many decades, well, every day. Of late, however, you might have noticed that they are somewhat different and more habitual these days than of those. In fact, rarely is the thing to leave one’s hands for more than a few moments, before being swiftly whipped up again. Or swiped to ground with the aim of a clumsy child – thank goodness for cases and carpets! What exactly are we staring at this entire time? What are we actually doing? Does that thumb of yours get tired? Do you ever wonder if in years to come, one thumb will be horrifically disfigured when compared to the other? Should we be frequently swapping hands to avoid this concern? Maybe using the little pinky from time to time…? Phones have in many cases taken the place of a laptop. Hell, in a lot of cases they have taken the place of LIFE! They are capable of just about anything you can think of. We have come a long way from texting. Keyboards have disappeared entirely (R.I.P. Blackberry). The blower has moved on from being a handy tool to being a way of life. It is all about consumption. Not meaning the phone will give you tuberculosis…! It forgoes conversation and closeness and replaces with content. One can also take beautiful (or inane) photos and videos in breathtaking resolution. One can use A.I. to pretend one has a puppy – I’m not that lonely yet. One can beam one’s location to another on the other side of the world – should one wish to. Even 3D graphics can be cast and rendered on these tiny little devices. They are how most people watch and listen to anything and everything all over the world. Tens of millions of songs at your fingertips. Hundreds of billions of videos to go blind to. And then there’s gaming – God help us. One of the most handy things for me is the Voice Memos app – what with coming up with some sort of musical idea every few hours… What is your most used app? What do you use your phone for the most? I’ll bet isn’t making a phone call… Let me know in the comments below!

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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.

𝙄 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 (𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣) – 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗

Charles travels the world (musically speaking), and ends up back in Europe.

I have seen very few places in the world. I have always wanted to go to America – New York, Arizona, Chicago – but have never quite managed it. I have never travelled to the opposite side of the world where the large island of Australia resides. I certainly have never immersed myself in deeply foreign cultures, found in places such as India or Africa. Through music however, I have been on a lifelong journey, giving me the feeling of having travelled the entire planet. Music gives me the thoughts, observations, dreams, imagination and cravings that I need to survive. Music has educated me to an extent and shown me the various cultures of the world. Black soul, blues and funk artists have allowed me aboard their ship on which to groove. Latin elements have made me understand the importance of rhythm, and given me the ability to not only count differently but almost think differently. Eastern music has brought me new sounds in instruments with which I had not previously been familiar, and has shown me there is far more to harmony than I had initially realised. My soul however seems to lie in Europe, with its many micro-cultures that exist clustered together in a relatively small chunk of the world. Eastern Europe has shown me its own take on classical and folk music. It fascinates and haunts me, yet I cannot help but smile in wonder. TRUE Europe though – ‘classic’ Europe is what makes my heart sit in its right place. The amalgamation of just a few countries’ music is enough to make me spark. France, with its kookiness and pride. Germany, with its boldness and strength. Italy, with its fondness and warmth. And Spain, with its rhythm and fun.

(more…)

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.

𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙚 – 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨

Given the choice, Charles is unimaginative…

Choice is a wonderful thing. It is something with which we are all so familiar these days, to the extent that we might feel spoilt rotten. We have choice in everything. So many options. Say you’re in a shop and you need to buy shampoo (or hair soap, if you’re far too macho to use such a frilly word). When you eventually find the section for degreasing those soiled roots – that in itself is quite a task – you are confronted by banks and banks of ugly white plastic bottles (or black, for said macho types). Why is shampoo always hideously designed, and oh-so outdated…? Good question. You look among the labels and start to read. Who said reading was a thing of the past…? “For dry, dull hair”. “For fine, flat hair”. You’ve got to admire the alliteration here, but who wants dry, dull, fine or flat hair?? This confused me for years. I mean YEARS. Should I opt for the one that boasts 50% more volume? Or should I maybe opt for the one that boasts 50% more volume, with added keratin and argan oil. I am slightly concerned that this much volume might be just a tad too loud and may cause damage to my sensitive ears. Ah, here we are. “For sensitive skin” – definitely not one for the machista. What would the girl at the checkout think…? If you’re thinking about that, you ain’t no macho man. So this one for my sensitive skin boasts what it DOESN’T have. No parabens. No phosphates. No paraffins. Again, the marvellous use of alliteration, but… Headache pills? Toxic gas? Flammable liquid? There is evidently so much I don’t know. So am I to assume that all the other shampoos contain these fearful ingredients?? Well if this simplistic hair soap is free from almost everything, it must at least be mighty cheap. But no. It’s the most expensive one! Quel surprise. 10 minutes have passed, and I am still staring at ugly bottles… I think I’ll get it online, where everyone isn’t staring at me.

(more…)

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.

𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 – 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝘼𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡

Charles packs it all in…

Each week comes with private messages from artists wishing me to review their latest single. While some might think I find this annoying or tedious, I am actually flattered. It suggests that my Corner is somewhat of an aspiration. Something special for which to strive. Like a poor man’s Mercury Music Prize, but weekly. Which makes the whole thing rather difficult. The more popular my Corner gets, the more pressure there is on choosing the “right” artist and song. Back when I started, it was getting only a handful of views, then rather quickly it started taking off. Soon it was reaching something like 60-80 views. In recent months however, it is now being read by around 300 people per week. Which astounds me. Having said that, the New Artist Spotlight currently has close to 1,000 members, so therefore more than two thirds of them are not even glancing at it. Seems a shame perhaps, but I am certainly content with a few hundred views. My goal has always been to popularise a certain song by a certain artist. A song which I feel deserves that spotlight. This could be a relatively unknown artist who’s been with us a while, or it could be one of the notoriously talented top dogs of the community. Lately, however, I have been trying to review artists I have never reviewed before. Incredible talent that very few know about. It’s fair, and it’s right. It can also help to coax a quieter artist out of its shell. But it’s also a gamble. What I do is so much more than picking a decent song and briefly telling you it’s good. It involves a lot of work, time, effort and thought – which in a way I hope does not come across when reading them – I like them to seem effortless and natural.

(more…)

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.

𝙄𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 – 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙖

Charles sees the relevance in longevity…

The fun and games are over. Well, the games are over. The Olympics is done for another 4 years. The fun continues however, for we are still alive. Who were YOU rooting for? No doubt your own country. The only bit of the tournament I actually watched was the volleyball. Because Great Britain was playing? Nope. Because Poland was playing. My girlfriend is Polish and she wanted to see it. I suffered the ordeal for a minute or two, before realising that I was actually really enjoying it! Poland ended up with a shiny silver medal, by the way. Not bad at all! The pesky French got the gold. Huh! Zut. But you know what was missing in the Olympics? Cricket. Cricket, which hasn’t been part of the Olympics since 1900. In fact, 1900 was the only year it was ever included! Why? Apparently lack of participation… Bit weird, but okay. The good news is, it is due to make a grand comeback in the 2028 L.A. Olympics! Which is perfect timing because this week I scored a double century! The problem being, it’s just not cricket!

(more…)

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.

𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙈𝙞𝙖) – 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚

Charles waxes lyrical…

Tact is a funny one, isn’t it. It’s a tricky bugger. Some people have it, and some people don’t. It involves quick decision making. It involves empathy. A “put yourself in their shoes” moment. Say for example, if someone has gone through a traumatic experience (and continues to do so), what do you say? What words do you use? Do you say the usual politician/celebrity line: “My deepest condolences to the family and friends of…”? Do you ignore them all together, with the excuse of “I just wanted to give you space”, but in fact you were simply stuck for what to say? Do you speak to them as though nothing has happened, in the hope that this will cheer them up and take their mind off things? Do you stay deadly serious? Do you joke? I personally probably do a mixture of all of these things. But the one thing I definitely DON’T do, is imagine that everyone is the same, and that every saddening experience is carbon copy of the last one you heard about. Each instance needs to be addressed uniquely and personally. If you don’t really know the person well at all, it’s probably best to say nothing. Cold, empty sympathy from a relative stranger can do little for the person involved. But this is the thing. These days with half our world conducted over the internet, who is to say the true meaning of “friend” or “stranger”…? With the written word, one has to try harder in order to portray what one really means or feels. In real life, just one look of “I got you” (eurghh) and a hug can suffice. But in messages, things can look so cold and automatic. I think this must be why I write the way I write. Some might try to emulate who they are by the way they string words together in text. But because I write so much these days, I think I am becoming more like I write. Rather than the words portraying the personality, the personality is becoming the words! And I don’t mind a bit. I’ve become a better person for it. I think more. I am kinder. I am calmer. I give things a chance to sink in before blurting out an ill-judged response.

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