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.
𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 - 𝙏𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙫
Charles is heard but not seen…
Am I an introvert, or do I just have English manners? Am I scared of the world and its things and its people, or do I just prefer to live within the boundaries of my own little world? One can limp along in life, doing little and getting by. Anyone is free to do so. The darkness of the world will attempt to grab you by the ankles whenever possible, though. To mould you into a "standardised" member of society. I would say it takes more courage, determination and guts to pull away from the natural tide and do one's own thing. A person such as this may seem to hide and shy away from "the norm", but really they are only ridding themselves of the mundane and quietly getting on with their own way of doing things. It may seem like they are threatened by the lions and sharks of the land and the sea, but in fact they are batting away the irritating flies of the world wide wet.
If someone is quiet, it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't doing anything. I find so often that the loudest people have the least to say. Turn up the volume and listen to the “little” people. I might be said to be quiet, and therefore pointless - in today’s society - or maybe simply less serious about things in which everyone else is involved. I am not a thumb twiddler, however. I just choose not to show my face at every given opportunity. And neither will I make the opportunity arise just for the sake of it. If I have something to show, I will tell. Should I not have something to show, I will try not to disappear into the crowds of the blank faces either. It is a difficult balance to be partly invisible and yet not to vanish into insignificance. I won’t be coaxed or bullied. I won’t be stamped down upon. But I also won’t be “just another one”. I do what I do, in the way that I do it, because I can, and because I choose to. And I am not alone. Many artists have this frame of mind and try to develop it as best they can. But because of the modern way and the short attention span with which most of us are afflicted, there is somewhat of a battle between two sides. We are forced to stay present at all times. The spotlight has a lifetime guarantee and refuses to switch off and say goodnight. But if you were to snooze, your spotlight might be stolen by another young hopeful. The battle consists of one side wanting to stay in the shadows until ready to bloom, and the other is marred by the threat of extinction. It’s enough to make me want to be “normal”…! But no, anything but that. Pottering along in the way “they” want you to: I’d really rather not.
Speaking of spotlights… Our brave, cuddly, reliably brilliant and multi-faceted friend, the New Artist Spotlight, has something new to add to the table. An artist that has been with us for only a matter of weeks. Tade Loov has stormed in and rocketed right to our eardrums. He has something to show, and here I am to tell you about it. Here’s Mr. Loov with his brand new single, Wandering In the Shadows!
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I have occasionally and recently mentioned intros and their importance. It is the very first thing we hear, and therefore absolutely and utterly vital in getting the listener’s attention. This doesn’t mean it has to be fireworks, pulling out the big guns - that’s usually best saved for the chorus, or we have nowhere to rise. It is about sucking in the listener and making them stop what they’re doing. We have to own their ears for a few minutes until we hand over the baton to another brave soldier of sound. It seems easy enough, and it CAN be. But what I find more common than a dud intro, is NO intro. It just starts with wisps of almost nothing, or we have several bars of instrumental verse. And for my harsh judging ears, that’s just simply not good enough. “Call yourself an artist, cadet?? On the floor and give me twenty!” - high standards is a good thing, or there isn’t any real point (unless you simply enjoy making music for your own fulfilment - which is utterly fine!). I’m talking about the pros here. The crème de la crème. YOU sir, have NO excuses. Why do I bring this up? Because I think Tade Loov has created my favourite intro to any song on the New Artist Spotlight. And that is no mean feat. There is SO much competition on the New Artist Spotlight in terms of the high level of art. The Argentinian has managed this with a sense of looming bigness. Yes, bigness. The piano chords suggest an impending explosion soon to come. And sure enough, we get that explosion we wanted on the twelfth second. The chords themselves are simple enough, but they create an instant darkness and intrigue. The explosion makes you slow head-bang to your heart’s content. There is the weight of Led Zeppelin with the raw assertiveness of U2. This thing has swagger. Verve-like swagger.
We come down from the fire and into the verse for a quick breath of thick gas. Tade starts to rap. A sort of rap. A rap with melody. It could maybe be called melodic speech! There is no defined melody, but it is far from monotonous. The sense of melody transports us from line to line. Loov is a master of orchestration and instrumentation as part two of the verse enters. The deep, rasping overdriven guitar underpins Tade’s escalating vocal tension before the cool air seeps in for a brief moment. Just enough time to get your protective gloves on, or this chorus will be too hot to handle… A satisfyingly heavy chorus shows off Tade’s talents as he rips off his rapping mask to reveal a powerful singer!
Verse two, much the same as verse one? Think again. Palm-muted chugs descend as he returns the mask to his ever-changing face. These guitar “chugs” conjure the grit and girth of the song, in suppressed power, only for the chuggers to be joined by wailers. It’s no wonder every kid wants to be a guitarist!! I mentioned instrumentation earlier. I think a lot of people misunderstand what this is. Orchestration is how something is orchestrated in terms of choosing instrument or sound. Instrumentation is about HOW that instrument or sound is played. Tade’s instrumentation has been sensational throughout every second of the song, that surely he is spent…? What happens next…? The guitar riff takes centre stage as the drums double in tempo. For those with long wet hair, now is the time to pretend hair dryers don’t exist, should you wish to exert those neck muscles… Then what…? Cor, you’re needy! Well, you’re in luck. Obviously we’re not going to go into the realms of jazz or even vocoder sounds… Oh, my mistake. We then have a full-on jazz/prog section, sprinkled with vocoder!!! And no, I am not joking - it’s incredible! Now imagine Hans Zimmer walks into a heavy metal concert. Thick strings take on the presence of horns as the band summons the devil. By this point, I have truly lost track of how many sections this song has. But I really don’t care - it makes for a spectacular piece of music from beginning to…… Oh wait, we’re not at the end yet. We have a few bars of beautiful indie-inspired guitar and vocals. Our final minute or so brings us stunning choruses full of the amalgamation of most of everything we have heard so far, with those stunning strings coating the instruments with class. The whole piece is capped, sanded and polished with that stunner of an intro, complete with strident Zimmer strings.
PHEW!! Wow. I really could say far more about Tade Loov’s latest masterpiece, like his production and mixing, or his techniques in sound design, but I must wrap things up so you can all get on with your doings.
I must now get back to my cocoon. You’ll hear from me again when I have something to say.
Listen to 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
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