segunda-feira, 28 de maio de 2018

Why sometimes less is more - A dissertation on the love of music and other things


Nota: o post que se segue é escrito em inglês. Ainda não me decidi se o vou reescrever na nossa língua materna, mas, para os que não se importam com pontuação, gramática, contexto e outros pormenores que tais, podem sempre pegar no link do post (https://uncertainsmilex.blogspot.pt/2018/05/why-sometimes-less-is-more-dissertation.html) e ir ao Google Translate. Bem sei que se perde toda a intimidade... but that's the future, no? 😛


As some of you might know or have figured it out, I like to discover new music and a little more than a decade ago I found out my favourite way to do it: by reading blogs! I use to read a few blogs of people that wanted to share their music.

Now, for a short story:

In late 2013 while browsing around - can't really remember where - I found this brilliant piece of synth-pop:

Ranger by Me and Karen



This song really captivated me. It was one of those songs that I immediately wanted to share with my friends and father (which I did!) and made me look for whatever other songs these guys - Me and Karen (https://soundcloud.com/meandkaren) - had. 

4 songs. And that was it. Problem? They're all very good! So, predictably,  I kept listening to the same 4 songs very intensively for months and - now for a bit of trivia about me and her - by March of 2014, Cláudia and me were getting to know each other and "Ranger" was among the first songs I showed her. And expectedly enough, Cláudia, as a true lover of pop as it is, also was hooked on all of the songs by Me and Karen.

A few months later on an EP appeared on their Soundclound but alas... nothing more ever since. Cláudia and myself kept on listening to them but, naturally, the airplay had shifted to other things and Me and Karen songs went from recursive to frequent to occasional a year after.

Fast-forwarding to a few Saturdays ago: Me and Karen start playing - shuffle, how I love you sometimes - and we had that same reaction "Ohhh... this song!!" (and I also had a bit of a laugh trying to make Cláudia's forgotten mind about the name of the band) and I went to their Facebook and Soundcloud pages... nada! Nothing new to see.

But then, just a few days later, someone just contacted me:




 Michael Bartlett - one of the minds behind Me and Karen (the other being Karen, obviously)


Michael wanted me to know (and Cláudia, as well) he had made a new song under his new guise Bruce James!!

(https://soundcloud.com/brucejamestunes/plastic - a very cool synthwave tune!)

This was really nice of him and truly an unexpected coincidence given the story above! 😃 (and the reason that made me want to write this lengthy post)

Eventually we chatted up a bit and I found out they also doing more work in another band, a more progressive-rock act called Oh So Peligroso (https://soundcloud.com/ohsopeligroso), and other bits and pieces regarding his work.

It's funny how, sometimes, one doesn't realise the fact that showing someone appreciation  - even if by a inconsequent (!) like on a band Facebook page - of their work is important enough so they can continue sharing with us the fruition of their creations. I can surely understand why Michael approached me in the first place: it's much more easy to share with someone who has showed appreciation before. According to Michael, me and Cláudia were some of their non-family-and-friends fans. 

One thought came to my mind: a remembrance that not every artist gets instant recognition of their work, as good and relevant as it is (and should be). Along with it came the fact/judgement: having more ways and opportunity to show yourself to the world is not a guarantee that it will happen.

 As for me... I'd be very happy if someone would share the same fondness for these wonderful artists. 



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