𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Tom - Kaminski

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.

𝙏𝙤𝙢 - 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞

Charles is just being friendly…

Last week was all about ballads. It was about how music makes you feel. I don’t quite mean HOW it makes you feel, but THAT it makes you feel. Dud music doesn’t make me feel. Songs about things I can’t relate to, do little for me. They don’t make me feel. The best music should make you feel, in some way or other. It could be that it makes you cry, it could be that it makes you glow, and it could be that it makes you tingle; up here, or down there. But if there’s none of that, there’s none of that. So there isn’t a great deal of point in listening. Which is the main problem I have with generic pop. It plays, I hear, and that’s about it. It’s as nutritious as a leaf of iceberg lettuce. Basically crunchy tap water without the sweetness of watermelon. I seem to have a thing for that cruddy song ‘Watermelon Sugar’… Anyway! I said last week how sadness is a bigger feeling than happiness. Hence the Blues. But the Blues isn’t just a genre of music; it’s a lifestyle. Well, for some it is, but I only really said that because it sounded cool in my head. What I really meant was, the Blues doesn’t really need to be in the style of Blues music. It’s about feeling blue. So in a way, any sad song is a Blues song. Which sounds ridiculous, but it’s kinda true if you think about it.

While the loss of a love is painful, there is rarely anything more painful than the loss of a life. Here’s a personal little story for “y’all”…

I’m sure we’ve all had that awkward transition from school to school. You go from one where you know everything and everyone, to another where you know nothing and no one. It feels like starting again. It IS like starting again. I was VERY happy at my first proper school, and I was very UNhappy at my next and final school. You need a friend. At the first school there was this unusual curly-haired podgy fellow who I didn’t really know that well. In fact, he used to make fun of me a bit. But when it became time to transition (a different meaning to these days), we were both plonked in the same second school. I’m saying “first” and “second” school because each country seems to have different names for different schools, so this keeps things simple. At this second school, we were 13 and as lost as each other. Our friendship blossomed in the land of Bunsen burners and flamboyant purple smoke. Chemistry class. We just couldn’t stop giggling together. It was wonderful! We learnt absolutely nothing, but we had each other. And no, neither of us was gay. I think it was necessity. It kept us from boredom, sadness and panic. We didn’t share ALL our classes together, but those we did, we learnt exactly zero, because we were busy having too much fun. I suppose, in a way, we were technically a bad influence on each other, in terms of schooling… But who CARES!!

We became very close over the following 4 years or so. We used to go to each other’s houses. We sang and played together - him badly on piano, me marginally better on guitar. We shared our first cigarette together. I kept it cool while he hacked his lungs out (proud to say). I suppose I could blame that addiction on him, but I won’t. Our first pub outing was together too. Underage drinking while playing pool. I’ll never forget it. That pub is now no more. We saw the Spice Girls together. Time to make up for that admission. We saw the Rolling Stones together. We saw Paul Simon together (front row!), where Paul Simon himself shook everyone’s hand (except mine), then proceeded to spray the entire contents of a bottle of water over me. My friend’s dad pointed and laughed like Homer Simpson. Ah, memories… Basically, my friend and I were inseparable. Inevitably, though, we drifted apart. Mainly due to things like music and girls taking over (as they do). Our likes and passions differed more and more, and we grew up. I bumped into him years later in a corner shop - we were both buying smokes. He was… ach… a changed man… He was not really there. He was however aware of how he seemed, probably due to everyone asking him “are you okay, dude? Are you on drugs?”… The thing is, he was. Or rather, he had been. He had taken too much of something (I never found out what), and it had permanently flicked his brain inside out. It was shocking to see; to experience. My friend was slow and simple and strange. But there was still a spark of “him” in those bright blue eyes. That was the last time I saw him. More years passed, and I got a call from his older brother (who I also used to know quite well). Sacha had died.

How? “He was self-medicating, and it went wrong”… Translation in plain English: he died from a drug overdose. It all came flooding back. The memories of all those years ago. It was horrible. The funeral was worse. I completely broke. I wasn’t expecting it in the slightest. I was completely fine - I mean, deeply sad, but stable. And then at the end, I touched that coffin (lord knows why), and I just broke. I was drooling and barely able to communicate. I have never known tears to actually LEAP out of the eyes. But I cannot express the beauty of it all. The beauty of this feeling that I had never felt before or since. It was the deepest pain, but also the most euphoric relief. Not that there was any relief. Perhaps release…? It was - dare I say - like a drug. Whatever it was, it was unique to me. I wrote and recorded a song at the time. It was more so I had something to give his family at the funeral. Lyrically, most of it is Sacha speaking to each of them, as if he is trying to put a smile on their face. Here’s to Sacha. My dear, sweet friend.

But many others have had a Sacha. Kaminski had a Sacha. His Sacha was Tom. “Wait a second… Not Kaminski again”. Yes. Kaminski again. Because he continues to be absolutely brilliant. I listen unbiased to all new releases and I review what I believe to be the best. And this week was surprisingly close! But ultimately ‘Tom’ touched me like no other. Yes, I am veering back to what I was saying. ‘Tom’ - the latest release from the greatest New Artist Spotlight artist (my opinion, and you are welcome to your own). Yes, I consider him to be the very greatest that the NAS has to offer. I have extremely high standards here in my Corner (in terms of song choice), and that is why many take me seriously; because I haven’t “gone soft”. Back to ‘Tom’. Tom was that close school chum of Kaminski (Derek). They were very close for many years, and then drifted apart. Although he didn’t die from drugs, he died nevertheless. The cause is usually not very important. The point is, that the man is no longer. This is the cryptic, personal story of Tom and Kaminski…

What, did you think I was going to TELL you? It’s private! But the words are there, and they will mean the right meaning to the right people. Those who know, know. EYE know, but that’s only because I asked. I will tell you one thing, though: it’s not actually that cryptic at all, once you know the story. Suddenly it’s very straightforward. Lines like “My name is Susan. Mine is Tom. Your pronunciation is all wrong”. But I’m not going to tell you, because that’s the kind of annoying person I am. Tom was, however, troubled. Let’s just say “unfinished business”, but not in a Mafia way. Kaminski was not aware of this until his death. Just like my Sacha. Things are hidden; buried deep inside, until it is too late. And it really is too late. Little good can come from such a tragedy, but we do have this little ditty from Kaminski to be getting along with, so let’s get along with it. Let’s become close and get to know it. I will be open and I will allow it to course through my veins as it was intended. I will succumb to its dark magic.

Does your boiler make a noise? A hum? How about the extractor fan in the bathroom? Do you find yourself humming in key with it in the shower? A duet of man and machine? No? Just me? Most hums have a discernible key, ya know. Kaminski realised this, and asked if it would be so kind as to introduce the song. With little to do but hum, it accepted the offer and hummed in the way to which it is accustomed. This is the moment that man and machine part company. From now on, Kaminski is all analogue man. It’s analogue, man! I’m finding it quite difficult to write this article because of two things. The memories of Sacha, and the song itself. This song keeps stealing me away from you. You see, I would far rather just listen to the song than write about it. Isn’t this really what music is all about? Just listening? Well, tough, CC. You gotta do whatcha gotta do. So! That hum. It is real. It is natural, so it's not tuned to “perfect pitch”. It is flat. Why does this matter? Why am I bothering to tell you this? Because with just the hum of a machine, the song already feels organic. And because as soon as the beautiful Guild acoustic tiptoes in, the air is sharpened by its correct pitch. There is brightness in this sadness. Said guitar is accompanied by something a cross between a piano, a vibraphone and a plucked synth. This holds the leading melody. A melody that Kaminski will now bring to the fore in his vocals. Those vocals… As fragile as a Murano glass swan. It’s crisp, but it’s soft. This is the sound of analogue. I know some of you are getting annoyed with me spelling “analogue” like this, but it’s the English way, and I am English. Kaminski, however, is not. And it is his Dutch accent (for he is Dutch - roughly speaking) that makes for this captivating sound in his singing voice. It would not be the same with an English accent or an American accent. But don’t worry, the words are indeed in English. Kaminski holds the gravel at the side of his throat, to use when necessary, but tuck away beneath the glands when a purer tone is needed. He is in full control.

A solitary cello kneels by his side (almost certainly an analogue synth rather than a cello, but as always, I could be wrong). It soothes his exhausted heart and stops it from sputtering. The lightest harmonies are sent to deliver letters from Heaven. But so unexpectedly, the most wondrous layers of drums and percussion filter through like a rippling stream, bleeding in a new section complete with one heck of a pokey bass. Drum fills (or should I say “Tom” fills) trip us into the light fantastic. The following verse has SUCH a groove to it. Not something we're so used to from Kaminski. Then again, is it grooving, or is it grieving? His is a grieving groove. It sort of has a Madonna/William Orbit (Ray of Light era) feel to it, but newer and fresher, yet older. People always say this music is retro and 70s, but I never could find music like this from the 70s... So, that's the first two minutes of a song that is longer than five. The following two and a half minutes are instrumental and intensely dark, yet very much alive. Not dark like the devil. Dark like a man out of control. There is volatility and unknowing, like a volcano. The final thirty seconds brings us back to firm ground as Kaminski freshens the fiery air with a cooling mist. The embers continue to smoulder underfoot. Here’s to Tom. Kaminski’s dear, sweet friend.

Now. The video. I rarely talk about artists' music videos around here. Many artists don't bother even making them - myself included. Another reason I like to forgo the visual side of things is because I find it often detracts from the music itself. But my main reason for not having much video chat in my articles, is because most of them are quite bad. Or simply incredibly dull. These days they seem to come in one of four forms. HAL (A.I.), stock footage, static phone filming, or something that looks like it was made on Microsoft Word '98. Occasionally, though, something special comes along. Something different. Is it any wonder that such a thing should come from Kaminski? Hardly. It is a family piece, containing equal amounts of Kaminski (finally in person) and his daughter, Noï, who has acted/performed in previous videos of his. It’s all so captivating, and for those who aren’t keen on instrumental sections, your brain will have something on which to concentrate. The video demands witnesses.

I feel like I have only scratched the surface of this trojan piece, but that’s the great thing about Kaminski. You can listen SO many times, and always find new things to latch on to. I’ll let YOU scratch beneath the surface. Let me know what you find! Kaminski has done it again. But please, man… You’re making us look bad…

Sacha left a good impression on me. His dad…? Not so much. Do you know, he even joked about the water saga in the car on the way back home… Repeatedly… I wanted to set fire to his hair, but he barely had any. Besides, there’s never a Bunsen burner when you need one. Ah, memories.

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

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

Watch 𝙏𝙤𝙢 on YouTube HERE!

Follow 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞 on Instagram HERE!

Follow 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞 on TwiX HERE!

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