𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Wildfire - Lekursi

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.

𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 - 𝙇𝙚𝙠𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙞

Charles spreads east…

Today I will be loose in my terms. I will speak of East and West. Please allow me this over-simplicity in order to make this coherent and enjoyable.

Most of us here are familiar with the ways of the West. Not all of us, but most of us. For most of us our life is a Western culture. We do Western things, we dress in Western clothing (not meaning we look like Clint Eastwood), we listen to Western music, we eat… Well okay, we eat all sorts. But even then it will probably be a bastardised version so that our Western palates can cope. This is all fine. We are used to it. This is what most of us know. It makes sense, because most of us are from the West. But while we do enjoy it, as time goes on, some of us can get a wee bit curious about the other side. Now, while the internet may have slaughtered the mysticism and magic of these unusual distant lands, it is still undoubtedly different. I speak here of the East. Eastern culture, Eastern food, Eastern clothing, and Eastern music (among many other Eastern things). Whether you love or hate it, it is unlike anything Western. It is another world. Because of this, it is fascinating. It is something most of us are so unused to. This fascination started centuries ago, but not for everyone. At first, it was only scientists and artists who were keen on the idea of venturing further. Average Western people probably only became interested in the East as late as the 60s. Typically and ironically, it was probably mainly due to two very Western things that brought the East to the West. The Beatles, and Lawrence of Arabia. At least that’s how it was for me. Oh, that and of course Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922. These huge world-conquering things started the whole Western obsession with the East.

For me though, as usual, it’s the music of the East that got me. And only relatively recently. Strangely, I used to be really put off by Eastern music. Indian music bored and irritated me, while traditional Jewish music made me feel sick. That is until probably around a decade ago when something clicked. I suppose before this I had simply been too immersed in Western music that anything else was simply alien to me, therefore the young naïve CC simply couldn’t connect with it. How silly I was. Nowadays, Eastern music does something to me that no Western music can come close to. Perhaps I simply got a little bored of Western music and craved something new. I dunno. Perhaps it’s the expression. Perhaps it’s the newness. Perhaps it’s the unusual scales used. Or maybe even just the instruments themselves. Whatever it is, it seems to make Western music feel a little plodding and even parochial. The thing is, my entire musical life has been drowned in Western music, and no towel in the world will make me dry again. Meaning, I cannot ever go fully Eastern in my music tastes. My heart and soul still need roast beef. But Eastern music is the fresh chili to spice things up a bit.

When listening to Eastern music, it tends to be less like listening, and more like dreaming. There is definitely a dreamy quality about it to a mere Westerner. One can smell the heat and feel the smoke. Just like a dream, it takes me away to a parallel life. And yet, I am not sleeping. I am not dreaming. This is the power of music. Neat, huh? I am fully conscious of everything going on, yet I am in my own little world. I see my own surroundings yet feel another’s. Quite eerie really, when you think about it. It’s almost like lucid dreaming, I suppose. But then again, having never dreamt lucidly, I cannot say for definite.

With last week being my 200th review, I thought I would start the next hundred with a bit of a bang. Okay, not a bit of a bang. A fully-fledged bang. Like a cannon. Something you just can’t ignore. I also thought I’d do something that might seem rather weird at first. You see, you probably haven’t heard this song. In fact, I would be surprised if ANY of you have heard it. Reason being? It is NOT on the New Artist Spotlight playlists. “But, but… But this is wrong! I mean, this goes against the whole point of these reviews!! Well, that’s it. We’ve lost CC. He’s turned to the other side. He’s nothing to me now.” - Hold, Your, HORSES!!! Do you really think there would be no explanation? I will explain. In our community and on our playlists we have an absolutely FABulous band that goes by the name of Lux Dujour. I have yet to review them, not because they lack the musical standard I try to retain in my Corner, but because they haven’t released anything in a while. Although I occasionally break from form, I do generally like to keep things fresh. But they are brilliant, and I strongly advise you to give them a listen. I have no doubt they will eventually appear here in my Corner. Lux Dujour consists of only two people: Christian Licursi and John McAlpine. We all know that despite music being our everything, life can get in the way. It slows things down. It's a pain. It's a bugger. But we have to just deal with it. That's life, as it were. The problem is, it can slow down the musical flow. Releases can become more sporadic. In a solo venture, there is nothing much we can do about this. But with a band, collective or duo, this can be tricky. John was busy being "well lifey" (it unfortunately can't be helped sometimes), but Christian felt the need to create, and evidently had a little more time on his hands. He toyed with the idea of releasing a solo single. This was by no means to be the end of Lux Dujour. Lord no! In 1968, George Harrison released his first solo album, Wonderwall Music. This was never to be a signal of the end of The Beatles. He just wanted to do something different. Something a little Eastern. And this was how Christian saw his own solo venture. Not a replacement, but simply something different. Something that couldn't be done by the two of them. And I mean, it could NOT. I will tell you why.

Christian does something very few of us can do, and very few of us have even tried. He dreams lucidly. He is a lucid dreamer. He has been perfecting it for quite a while, honing this skill to a fine art. And I am extremely jealous. For those who don't know, lucid dreaming is the act of dreaming while being conscious of dreaming. And in being so, one can alter or influence the dream without waking up. Crazy stuff, I tells ya! I used to think it was a myth and that it was in actual fact just daydreaming and imagining. In other words, the mind of a novelist. But I was simply completely wrong. It is very much a thing. A thing I wish I could do. Maybe I could, but in order to find out, I would have to try. Which I haven’t. So, while Christian is fortunate enough in having this skill, he uses it in a different way. This is honestly quite thrilling to me. In his dreams he writes music. He actually uses lucid dreaming to write songs!!! I mean, how bloody cool is THAT?? So, you now see why this simply HAD to be a solo effort. And of course, John was completely fine with this. Christian decided on Lekursi for an artist name. Almost his surname, but not quite. Lekursi’s debut, Wildfire, was born. So why is it not on any of the NAS playlists? Was this stupidity? Forgetfulness? A mindless omission? An admin error? Nope. It was out of respect for John. Christian also didn’t want the problem or hassle of having to manage two artists within the New Artist Spotlight. The thing is, this respect meant that the song has not had a proper airing. I thought I would hang it out to dry. No: to breathe! Good songs deserve airtime. Besides, it was released at the end of June! I just couldn’t let a song as good as this disappear without ever having been given a chance to be heard.

I’m not alone in thinking Wildfire is something special. Britain’s leading independent radio show, BBC Introducing, picked it up instantly. TWICE!! (bastard). But rightly so. The song couldn’t be ignored. The BBC called it “sitar indie desert blues”. While this retains the usual incoherent nonsensical BBC journalism, it certainly gives you an idea as to the sound and feel of the track. And they’re not wrong. I personally feel the BBC has not done it justice here. The important thing is, they picked it, and they played it. HURRAH!! And for a debut single, this really is all a British musician can hope for. Wildfire goes beyond “sitar”. It is simply FULL of Eastern remedies. Of course, with a load of Western antibiotics thrown in for good measure. - just in case. This is an exciting song. Plucked Eastern strings of all varieties start us off to set the scene. It is hot and it is hazy. The air is thick. Christian’s voice begins the story within 10 seconds. It has a mantra-like quality in an Eastern key. It is as if the desert is ready for a meal, and you are easy pickings in being stranded. Calling out, no one hears. There is no one else there. The sand ripples without actually moving. Call it lucid rippling. A thick Western drum kit joins the scene to emphasise the power of his beating heart. Strings pick out suspense with quick strident unison legatos, which to me are like sharp camera-zooms to the vultures on the upper perimeter. The first chorus has the passion of an artful tough guy. The second verse has more aggression, as if an entire army has moved in. The strings battle with the syncopated brass, which in turn battles with the ever-increasing sweaty jabs of the drums. You can almost feel the heat of the battle, as fire engulfs the entire area. But it is the second chorus that really gets me. Brief though it is. It is courageous, brave and forceful. There is even romance there! Like watching the men on the frontline charging towards their enemy as if their life depended on it, knowing full well that their life was about to be over. The beauty in this massacre. And yes, somehow Christian and his fellow harmonies manage to sound like the Pet Shop Boys in this Hollywood drama. Stunning. The whole song is constantly captivating and leaves not a second without thrill. Quite the cannon boom, you see. Wildfire should never be ignored. It pains me to say that right now Lekursi has 10 monthly listeners. TEN. This is criminal!!! So let’s all play the thing, realise how damned amazing it is, then play it again (and again)! Some things are destined to spread like Wildfire.

Never again will you say “it was just a dream”…

Now. Dinner. Fish and chips again? I think for a change I’ll try Uber East.

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

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