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๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐˜†โ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ - this week: Pathetic Paradise - CHVRLI BLVCK

Welcome all to ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐˜†โ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, 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 ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ ๐˜ผ๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™Ž๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™ก๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ playlists.


๐™‹๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™‹๐™–๐™ง๐™–๐™™๐™ž๐™จ๐™š - ๐˜พ๐™ƒ๐™‘๐™๐™‡๐™„ ๐˜ฝ๐™‡๐™‘๐˜พ๐™†


Charles wastes your time out of vengeanceโ€ฆ


Would you like some amusement? Would you like to laugh at me and my stupid life? Then letโ€™s begin. I think perhaps a lot of people think I have an idyllic life, free from responsibilities (like children - or blobs), mortgage payments, debt, drug addiction, alcoholism, danger, natural disasters, war and pets. But this โ€œidyllic lifeโ€ of mine is more an idyllic lie. Correction, all of the above is true, but it is not tantamount to paradise. Sure, my job is pretty much my dream job. Sure, I live on the top floor of a lovely house built in 1890, in a lovely leafy area of London. Sure, I live with my girlfriend, and our relationship is just peachy, to say the least. But there are things that make life simply exhausting. The kind of things that would make a stronger, braver (stupider?) man punch a hole in the wall. The kind of things that MOST of us have to deal with.


Two Fridays ago I was attempting to set up the brand new NAS Radio on the New Artist Spotlight website. For this, I needed access to a particular website. I could not access it. Everyone I spoke to could, but I couldnโ€™t. While I am not exactly that technologically minded, I wouldnโ€™t consider myself technologically challenged. I am logical, and I have the internet (or at least I DID - more on that in a bit). When I have a problem, I hunker down and try my damnedest to get to the bottom of it. Firewall? Nope. Proxies? Nope. Off and on again? Numerous times. Checked the router, checked security settings. Look, I donโ€™t pretend to know what a firewall is, but seeing as it was off, I did make sure to have the fire extinguisher at the ready at all times. For around 6 or 7 hours I tried everything I could think of, and everything else the internet spat at me. I was beaten. I simply gave in and gave up. A few days later I casually and with uncrossed fingers went to the unworking website just to see if it had magically fixed itself. Yeah. Like that would ever happen. It magically fixed itself. The bastard worked!! Although this was technically good news, I felt jipped, used, swindled and taken for a ride. 7 hours of that Friday (basically the whole day) was completely wasted because of a technical GLITCH! And is this sort of thing an extreme rarityโ€ฆ? HAH! This is normality. My energy company went bust last year. This happens every couple of years. So every time, I am automatically passed over to another useless company that will no doubt go bust in a couple of years. The first week with them started with an error. A bill that should have been zero, but was in fact ยฃ210. They admitted the error within a day, but it took 10 weeks to get this sorted on my account. This is the age of โ€œinstantโ€, yet it was 10 weeks of me constantly calling them and wasting hour upon hour over their own error. That was the end of last year. Since then their incompetence has not even slowed. I donโ€™t even receive bills from them (the one thing you can usually rely on - bills). Every time I paid a bill there was apparently more money owing. After my most recent spate of calls, they informed me that they completely understand my confusion in there being two figures at all times, and that the figure regularly increased and decreased by the day. Understanding my confusion and apologising doesnโ€™t help the problem. So I dropped another ยฃ200 to settle the bill. The following day I checked the account - another ยฃ70 owed! Should I just divert ALL my income to them from now on? Eat my food! Wear my shoes! I am but nothing! The saga continues.


And then thereโ€™s the internet. I woke up yesterday morning, thinking I would be writing this review. That was my plan. But the internet was not working. So after much sighing and general morning groggery, I did the usual - switch it off, switch it on again. Nothing. Right. Here we go again. So letโ€™s look up what a blue flashing light means. Actually, is it blue? Is it aqua? Is it turquoise? What will the internet understand? Wait, I donโ€™t have internet. Itโ€™s not too handy saying โ€œif your internet is not working, please refer to the manual onlineโ€. Luckily though, I have internet on my mobile phone. The tiniest phone you ever did see. So, thumbs at the ready, I hunkered down once again. Dial tone?? I was told I didnโ€™t need a landline telephone anymore! Now it asks for my landline telephone number. Wasnโ€™t aware I had one! Next, I apparently had to tether my computer to my mobile phone. So there I am with a ball of yarn, wondering how on Earth this can help. It then says I need to text the company with the word โ€œHELPโ€!! I do so. It springs back with โ€œHi, itโ€™s the EE Diagnostics bot hereโ€ - God help us. At this point, CHVRLI BLVCK is wondering if I am EVER going to get to his song. Well, this is the point: I would LOVE to, but I canโ€™t yet. Life is slowing me down. I am then told that due to an error on the line, I should hear from them USUALLY within 24-48 hours, and that I need not call them. Meanwhile, my girlfriend had unexpectedly run out of mobile internet (we both work from home). She checked the app to make sure: โ€œWe are currently undergoing maintenance - please check back laterโ€. Great! On a whim I thought Iโ€™d check my energy companyโ€™s app to see if the erroneous figure had risen or fallen. โ€œThereโ€™s a technical issue with our app and you canโ€™t log in right nowโ€. Great! Just WONDERful! I have SO many more things to tell you, like being made to stand naked in a doctorโ€™s room for nearly 20 minutes - with no doctor - but I feel you music lovers will hunt me down and cut off myโ€ฆ shoelaces.


Enough of this. My brain hasnโ€™t stop working, or gone on holiday. I donโ€™t need the internet to write. Lord knows how Iโ€™m going to post this article though. I suppose Iโ€™ll cross that bridge when I come to it. โ€œDue to maintenance, this bridge cannot be crossed at this present moment. We apologise for the inconvenience. Please feel free to write a strongly worded letter, which will subsequently be ignored. Or, feel free to ignore the bridge altogether and throw yourself into the abyss below. We feel confident that you will not even attempt to sue us, on account of you being thoroughly deceased. Have a nice death! Signed Bot-Bot.โ€


THIS is my paradise. My pathetic paradise.


Dearest CHVRLI, your time has FINALLY come. I feel I do not need to introduce this chap to any of you, as in the New Artist Spotlight he is basically famous. Please welcome CHVRLI BLVCK to his third appearance in my Corner. In fact, he even brings his own directorโ€™s chair with โ€œBLVCK LIVES MVTTERโ€ on the back. Because CHVRLI BLVCK really does matter. If there is to be any one artist in the community who has a chance of making it in the big-time, itโ€™s CHV. Sure, there are of course others, but this man is doing everything in his power to be noticed. To be picked up. In short, he is taking it seriously. When in Rome, Just Do It! Nike. Last year he was releasing in order to show that he has talent. But as of his previous stunningly beautiful single - Why Did You Go? - he is taking it all 10 steps further. He has grabbed the chicken by its wings while shouting โ€œChicken? CHICKEN?? Who you calling CHICKEN?? I ainโ€™t no chicken!!โ€ - yes, he may be slightly losing his mind in the process (have a look at his fabulously hilarious yet extremely cool social media videos), but I think itโ€™s worth it. We ALL talk about mental health these days, as itโ€™s vitally important. BUT!! Sometimes you gotta go through the rough to get what you want. Mental health must not be an excuse to take it easy and be lazy. CHV is being a one man soldier, in order to win the war. And I believe he actually will. And if he doesnโ€™t, well weโ€™ll ALL need a mental health check.


CHVโ€™s brand new single is called Pathetic Paradise. And it is absolutely bloody brilliant! Did he look at the success of his previous single and learn that this is what people want? Nope. He did what I consider to be the correct way of thinking: been there, done that, move on. Something equally brilliant yet totally different. We went from soft beauty with the last single, to angry thrashing rock with Pathetic Paradise! Yep, you read that right. Within one release he has gone from timidly expressing his feelings and revealing his world, to letting his hair down and rocking out like a crazy person! Is it believable though? Does it seem and feel natural? Well, the answer is yes and yes. Without a doubt. This is called talent. Raw, versatile talent. We all have a variety of emotions, so why not express ourselves in a variety of ways? With a little help from recording engineer and producer Will Davies and (ahem) myself, the song was able to be heard the way CHV envisioned it in the first place. And this doesnโ€™t degrade his talents in the slightest. We all agree Strawberry Fields is genius, but Lennon still needed George Martin and Paul McCartney to make it โ€œcome togetherโ€. It never weakened our sense of Lennonโ€™s artistry. Every known artist you can think of has/had a producer and engineer. CHV is no different. Writing though, is the most important aspect of music. And boy, can this man write! And when it comes to performance, bejeezus he just gives it his ALL! Every recording session of his must feel like Wembley with your eyes closed.


Each release of CHVโ€™s brings not only stunning music, but unique lyrics. Lyrics that make you think, cry, dream, wonder, laugh and say HELL YEAH!! But also every song brings one or two โ€œspecialโ€ lines. The ones that stick in your head and make you kick the air. The last single had โ€œthe scrambled eggs lineโ€ - we all know it. And if you donโ€™t, damned well catch up and get with the programme! Or program. Pathetic Paradise has a couple that get me every time. One of those is โ€œI wake up and make noises, and watch my body making questionable choicesโ€ - stunning. But the absolute humdinger for me is โ€œIโ€™ve broken both my legs because itโ€™s easier than walkingโ€ - staggering. However, throughout the mixing process, I was absolutely convinced (bear in mind I even had the raw vocal stems) that it was โ€œIโ€™ve broken both my legs because it sees the oven walkingโ€! I just thought it was CHV being CHV. But no. It was Cha being Cha - a thoughtful idiot. We did have a good chuckle though, once I had asked him. I even envisioned an animation of a walking oven! Too much Looney Tunes for me. But having mentioned all these wonderful lines, my favourite bit overall is the combination of words, music, performance and sound, when he sings: โ€œI lay down fake track marks. This ainโ€™t the way to the top, I assure you, son!โ€ - and at that moment it kicks like a horse! The dynamics this song carries through from beginning to end are probably what make it so powerful. Itโ€™s something that Oasis never learnt. If you start huge, you have nowhere to go. Ever played Whack Attack (or Whac-A-Mole)? Thatโ€™s basically how it feels: up, down, up, down, up, down, up, but always thrilling! It has the energy of a sugared-up kid on a hot day, who occasionally pauses to lick a lolly. Or: CHVRLI BLVCK.


In the words of Clarence in Itโ€™s a Wonderful Life: โ€œYou see, George, youโ€™ve really had a wonderful lifeโ€โ€ฆ Well, Clarence was right about George Bailey, and you were all right about me. Despite this continuous string of utter crap we have to deal with, I suppose I do have a wonderful life. Pathetic or not, itโ€™s my paradise.


Listen to ๐™‹๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™‹๐™–๐™ง๐™–๐™™๐™ž๐™จ๐™š on the ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐˜†โ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ Spotify playlist HERE!

Listen to ๐™‹๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™‹๐™–๐™ง๐™–๐™™๐™ž๐™จ๐™š on the ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐˜†โ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ Apple Music playlist HERE!


Follow ๐˜พ๐™ƒ๐™‘๐™๐™‡๐™„ ๐˜ฝ๐™‡๐™‘๐˜พ๐™† on Instagram HERE!


Hire Charles to mix/master/produce your song HERE!


Please share this post and let me know your thoughts in the comments below



130 ๅ‰‡็•™่จ€


Keyon Harris
Keyon Harris
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ09ๆ—ฅ

Excellent write up as always Charles. Congratulations Chvrli Blvck on the new release ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฟ

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andelectro music
andelectro music
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ08ๆ—ฅ

This resonates. Just been on holiday for a week in Colonsay and a couple of days after we arrived, until the day we left, the main wi-fi mast for the island was being upgraded which meant more or less no internet for a week. On the plus side you can always listen to music and even if it is full of anger and frustration it sill heals your own. Having had the chance to work with Brad Williams recently have to agree that in recorded music the producer is pivotal in turning a great idea into a great noise. For the song itself. Great lyrical imagery with a bit of punch.

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Charles Connolly
Charles Connolly
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ08ๆ—ฅ
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Sensible chap.

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Patrik Ahlm
Patrik Ahlm
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ08ๆ—ฅ

Wow! Such energy in 'Pathetic Paradise' I was almost out of breath after every listen. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Chvrli Blvck is a genuine talent and performer. That's kind of rare these days of (over)produced solo artists. To me this is the real deal and I believe there is a bright future ahead of him. And I must add a shout out to the utter brilliance of the production - kudos to another Charlie ๐Ÿ˜‰. Btw, I love the cover art. Very clever :)


Been a bit out of phase and off the grid lately - Summertime ey... Modern tech is a b***ch (sometimes) This week I had to change to another host for my homepage. Downloaded backup and everything necessary for aโ€ฆ


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Charles Connolly
Charles Connolly
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ08ๆ—ฅ
ๅ›ž่ฆ†

Thanks, Patrik! The song is a corker. You just couldn't ignore it if you tried. As to tech, this is JUST the sort of thing I mean. The modern way was supposed to be the opposite of having to start from scratch. It was all supposed to be a helping hand. But in reality, this hand is a dead, limp burden.

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Tyler Cressman
Tyler Cressman
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ07ๆ—ฅ

Charli is a fab artists and your review does this justice! Great as always!

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Charles Connolly
Charles Connolly
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ08ๆ—ฅ
ๅ›ž่ฆ†

CHV has that thang. Pleased you enjoyed the review.

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Emma Dupรฉrรฉ
Emma Dupรฉrรฉ
2023ๅนด7ๆœˆ07ๆ—ฅ

Thanks for the great review as usual !!


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