𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Collide - DeBlocka

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.

𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 - 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙖

Charles hits the wall and bounces off…

YouTube is a thing. A thing we all use for one thing or another. Or maybe both one thing AND another. In fact, it is the second most viewed website in the world, with a figure that is slightly staggering. Utterly staggering, really: around 5 billion views… PER DAY!!! And that’s just me and Adele! Nah, just kidding. Adele doesn’t get those kinds of figures. So what are we all watching? What is it that glues us to that screen? Are you more of a “pot luck” kind of person? Do you just dip in occasionally to see what YouTube has pushed you this time? Maybe “pot luck” of a different sort. Maybe you like videos on decorating pots. Making pots? Collecting pots, perhaps? Rare Roman pots unearthed? Or maybe you like videos on different strains of pot and how best to grow it? Whatever you feel like viewing (within reason…), it is there. It has become the video version of Google. You will never find “Your search did not match any videos”. My personal YouTube obsession is using it for education. It schools me and helps me to find better ways of mixing. All for no pennies. Utterly free! Who’da thunk it?? So this is what I do. Whether I am looking for a specific technique when attempting to compress a bass guitar, or maybe more information on “different kinds of saturation”, there will always be many videos to help me along my journey to perfection. Sometimes I just browse and think “that looks interesting” - only to find it wasn’t. But I’m nevertheless eager to learn. Dedicated to the core, to my profession. Of course, REAL one-to-one tuition would be far superior and more helpful, but it comes at a price. A price I cannot afford right now.

Sometimes however, I get bored. Or I want to switch off. Late at night, my mind cannot concentrate on such things, and if I can’t concentrate, there is just no point. It would be disrespectful to the creators. God, how kind am I?? And so, I look for other things to unwind to. Unwind with? Unwind is what I wish to do. There. For a time, I found myself engrossed in fine art restoration. Fascinating stuff, and rather therapeutic too. It’s the attention to detail and inclination towards perfection that pleases me so. So what tickles my fancy of late? What is currently floating my boat? Well I will leave you in suspense no longer. In a word: Parkour. I know. You probably weren’t expecting that. If you are not familiar with the concept or term, please visit the world’s MOST popular website to alleviate your curiosity. Or if you are that lazy (or more importantly don’t wish to interrupt these words), I will tell you. Basically, it’s about running and jumping, rather dangerously. It involves impressively deft technique, and usually height. The key is smoothness. It is obviously about agility and skill, but ultimately it is more like choreographed dance with elegance enhancing their evident strength. Ballet may look soft, but my word, their chests are a-heaving after each performance. In parkour, their feet, arms and entire bodies are colliding with all sorts of things. They collide with a wall and spring straight off it again, almost defying gravity. The key is not to collide with a crunching thud, followed by very little indeed. I am sure that if I were to even attempt such a thing, I would have no trouble with the initial collision - that bit’s easy - but with both legs broken, it’s very hard to achieve elegance in bouncing back. So yes. This is what I currently “chill” to. Chill with? Chill is what I wish to do. There. The knowledge that others are breaking a sweat and risking their lives, while I sit in my old padded wooden chair in comfort and safety. The closest I currently come to adrenaline. Sad old bastard. Colliding is not something I choose to do. It is something that occasionally happens when drunk, or when miscalculating the distance of the table leg in relation to my foot. We all make mistakes. We don’t all bounce back again.

The New Artist Spotlight is just the place where worlds collide. Where one artist is thrown into the world of another. This bounces back and forth, and we are often hit in the face by brilliance and sheer talent, luckily from the safety of our own homes. No facial reconstruction necessary. One such artist of immense power is none other than Deblocka. Not only an artist but also a moderator, doing what we do. A man who is no stranger to YouTube - more on that later… Deblocka’s unusual name stems from a lifetime of people being unable to pronounce his Irish name, and so we are left with his own phonetic version. Despite it now being “impossible” to get wrong, some people will still manage. I personally empathise with this, as I have quite recently been referred to as an Italian pastry (Cannoli) - made me chuckle. Let’s now leap from Parkour to Parka...

With the Dubliner’s latest single, Collide, he has channelled the Gallagher brothers to amazing effect. Quite uncanny, actually! Deblocka lives in the world of the 90s. A time when things were SUPPOSED to collide. The decade of juxtaposition. This feeling has been so well achieved with his back catalogue that it is impossible to believe you aren’t wearing a tie-dye t-shirt, baggy cargo pants and an anorak right now. However, he does somehow manage to add something modern to it, while still retaining the tried and tested sound of back then. Liam Gallagher has such a distinctive voice, like no other. He does NOT sound like John Lennon - despite what everyone says. Liam sounds like Liam. And it is not an easy tone to master. The songs of Oasis are written by the masterful brother, Noel. I say masterful, because they sound like easy songs to write, yet they are not. Sounding simple does not mean anyone can do it. Deblocka has taken that famous guitar wall of sound, with a riff that bites balls (if you’ll excuse the expression), and morphed into the arrogant swagger of the Gallaghers. “Come and ‘ave a go if ya think yer ‘ard enough” - Deblocka came, had a go, and conquered. This is more than a realistic impression or exercise. He has snaked into their souls and BECOME one of them. Not so much a brother from another mother, as a brother from the very same unfortunate lady. Imagine giving birth to THREE beer-touting hooligans!! Actually, let’s put that image far from our minds - best not thought about. Deblocka’s writing does what you want it to. The thick, hypnotic chords chug from one to the next, with such weight and assurance. His solos are relatively simple (I couldn’t play them) yet musically wailing. This brand new single comes in at over 6 minutes, and SOMEHOW this doesn’t seem too long. It just flows and grooves from beginning to end. And then you press play again. Swagger is the name of the game. Shades on, hands clasped out of sight, the microphone is intimidated by this man’s leer. Noel would approve. Liam would probably say it’s a “fookin’ load-a shite”, but that’s his answer to everything.

I mentioned Deblocka’s relationship with YouTube. Some (or most) of you might be familiar with the graphics and characters of the popular classic computer game, Grand Theft Auto (aka GTA). Well “our kid” has managed to release a series of videos on YouTube using those very graphics and characters. They’re astounding to watch. Deblocka has made his own scenes and plots in directing his own mini-films. Collide, does not yet have a matching video, but I have been assured that it is on the way very soon.

So, to sum things up, this song is absolutely “ah F-“ (sorry about that). Table leg again. My head collided with my precious painting. Looks like those restoration videos might come in handy after all.

Listen to 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!

Listen to 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Apple Music playlist HERE!

Watch 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙖 on YouTube HERE!

Follow 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙖 on Instagram HERE!

Please share this post and let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or on Facebook HERE!

#review #song #songreview #Deblocka #Collide #Ireland #Dublin #90s #Oasis #Gallagher #Liam #Noel #rock #pop #guitar #singing #YouTube #parkour #graphics #art #ConnollysCorner #CharlesConnolly #CC #NAS #IWantMyNAS