Today is a hard day for me.
It’s my dad’s first birthday since he died on 10 June last year and as with all the first days since someone you loved dearly dies, it has left me feeling deeply reflective, a little sad and lost and not up to dancing around the floor as is my usual wont.
So in honour of my thoughtful, beautiful father, who was never less than open to the world, selflessly loving and willing to mock the silliness and artifice of the world and its entrenched beliefs, and who loved his family more than anything, I give you these songs.
They speak of life, love and the feeling of everything deep, true and real and these artists are my voice and my soul today, and while dad never listened to these songs (he was more of an Andre Rieu and classical music guy), I can’t help but hope he’d have loved the spirit and emotional intelligence behind these songs by five quite remarkable artists who know life and how much it means.
I love you, dad … happy birthday from me and much love, this year and forevermore.
“My City’s Gone” by Francis and the Lights
You would expect someone who has worked with the likes of Drake and Frank Ocean to know their way around a magnetically appealing song and Francis Farewell Starlite, possessed of a magically-wonderful name I want as my own, and the leader of an Oakland, California-collective, Francis and the Lights, most certainly does.
“My City’s Gone” from the group’s debut album Farewell, Starlite – I see what you did there sir; well played, well played indeed! – is possessed of an incomparable emotional resonance that anchors the entire song through its melodically-meditative length.
Drawing on soft piano and electronic flourishes, that beautifully wed the digital and the organic, and with a star turn by Kanye West no less that adds a whole other element to this remarkably poignant song, “My City’s Gone” is exquisitely, transportively beautiful, one of those songs that feels like it is full of every heartfelt emotion that has ever coursed your veins.
He has his more upbeat moments too, which are equally as compelling but it’s this song that has my heart and I daresay yours too, not to mention a firm hold on the repeat button which you will press again and again, oh yes you will.
“Last Night in Los Feliz” by NIIA
New York-based singer/songwriter/pianist NIIA, who hails originally from Needham, Massachusetts, has a commanding presence.
Songs like “Last Night in Feliz” may tend to happily occupy the 3am in a cosy jazz club end of the emotional spectrum but there is a richness to her mellifluously dusky voice which draws you in from the first note.
Much of that appeal comes from her ability to not simply sing but to invest each and every lyric with meaning and emotion in a way that elevates the song and makes them immersive experiences that you are loathe to pull yourself away from.
And in case you think you don’t have five minutes to devote to this amazing song and the talented artist who gives it delightful life, here’s We Are the Guard to explain why you should hang around, and listen and FEEL:
“The track is a slow-grooving banger full of articulate instrumentation that serves as the perfect platform to showcase her smoky-smooth vocals. Things kick off with lonesome keys, echoing beats, and subtle atmospherics to amp up the tack’s haunting and moody feel. “I’m letting it/ yeah I’m letting it go” she admits over orchestral strings that swell into a slow, intoxicating groove that amps up after the 2:00 mark. Just when you think it’s about to end, the mood and intensity heats up with gorgeous backing vocals and menacing strings and soft percussion, that allow you to understand why this track is totally justified in being over 5 minutes in length.”
“2 AM” by Emma Sameth
You know that time of the night, it’s different for everyone, when the cacophony of the day subsides, your mind finally lets go off the hamster wheel of thoughts that have been driving it all day, and you finally fall back and your unconscious finally gets to meander, ponder and think things through?
“2 AM”, with its chilled electronica, and Los Angeles-based Sameth’s ethereally lovely vocals, captures the dreamy thoughtfulness of that special time when your emotions and rational musings mingle together and you think of all the things that matter like someone’s beautiful presence in your life …
“2 in the morning/ faded like the rain/ falling in my bed room and I’m thinking about your face.”
This is my anthem for those quiet meditative moments when life becomes less pronounced, less strident and quite gorgeously moving in ways that may be hard and sad, quietly joyous and content, but always more than worthwhile.
“Looking For Knives” by DYAN
DYAN (Alexis Marsh, Sam Jones and Daniel Dorff Jr), who hail from the US and Canada, aren’t afraid of tackling the issues of life head on.
“Looking For Knives” is emblematic of this artistic and emotional bravery, and the song that We Are the Guard describe as “Slow-burning and exquisitely crafted” came from a real and confronting place says Marsh:
“I wanted out of a relationship with a good man. And there was no explaining why. It was the opposite of what I expected from myself, breaking a promise so easily. And it all felt very dark – anger, impatience, but sorrow above all. So we went after a sound to reflect that – keeping the arrangement clear up until the saxophone solo sort of explodes to finish the song.”
It conjures up all the emotions that DYAN is obviously seeking to articulate and then some, delivering up a song that perfectly sums up the contrary richness and perplexing nature of life with music that complements to a tee.
“Just Yet” by For Esmé
There is a flurry of scattered beats at the start of “Just Yet” that skitters into a rumination that notes at one point that “pity is no place to place your bets”, cautioning against romanticising the mess of life.
These pithy bon mots which resonate with truthful observation of the difficult business of living are embedded in music that the Toronto threesome self-describe on their Facebook bio as “electro-organic dream pop”, a fitting description of music that seamlessly melds the analogue and the digital of life.
Their music and their poignantly-insightful lyrics remind us with every shuddering beat and melodic flourish that the world is a complicated placed and we would be wise to tread carefully and not assume too much.
Great lessons and all the better for being learned against music that is captivating, beautiful and truly rich and meaningful.
NOW THIS IS MUSIC EXTRA EXTRA!
Thanks to TheMusic.com.au, “Final Place to Call Your Home” featuring Jess Lean of The Brains Trust and Brisbane multi-instrumentalist Steve Tyssen (who wrote the track), is a track that fits beautifully into the feel and sound of today’s post, it’s beautiful guitar-based sound complementing a meaningful lyrical intent:
“It’s more or less a metaphor for the seemingly constant struggle to find yourself and find purpose in what you do. Most of the time we only remember good experiences, but I think it’s also the bad experiences that really make us who we are. The song is about taking risks and stepping closer to where you we want to be.”