Something Completely Different
And a list!!
A note on SubStack’s “Chat” feature. Chat is now available for Android users. Great. The announcement indicated the feature would also be available for web users “in the coming months”. My stats lead me to believe most of my readers are not using the app, either Android or iOS to read Michael Acoustic, so I won’t be using Chat until it is available for all readers. That said, if you are using one of the apps and have a question or comment, please do use it to convey that to me and indicate if I can provide an answer or response (without identifying you, though the chat will be seen by other Chat users) in one of the weekly posts. I’ll probably use it more regularly when the feature becomes available to all users.
For today, a tip o’ the hat to fellow Substack writer Gilby's Pop Culture Roundup for some inspiration today. His SubStack has interesting reviews and commentary about current films and television shows, but he also includes a short Spotify listing of what he’s currently listening to. His post this morning, Slow Horses, included a song in the “currently listening” section called “Freedom” by Jadu Heart.
“Jadu Heart is an English electronic music duo consisting of Diva-Sachy Jeffrey and Alex Headford.[1]
The duo is known for their conceptual storytelling through their characters (Jeffery as Dina and Headford as Faro) and their "theatrical" masks seen donned during their live performances and press runs.[3]
The group formed as a result of a project assigned to Jeffery and Headford while studying at The British and Irish Modern Music Institute. The project, which tasked the class to depict a 'cycle' audibly, led Jadu Heart to create their first EP, Wanderflower. According to Jeffery, “Every song in our first EP corresponds to a different chapter in [Dina and Faro's] story.”” Credit: Wikipedia
Here’s the song:
So, yeah - outside my current usual tastes in music by a ways. Regardless, I think it’s important as musicians that we “listen widely” and not just get stuck in our own genre. For me, that’s usually Americana/folk/blues, most often with an upfront acoustic guitar sound. At least, that’s what I listen to and play (and write in) the most now, but over the years I’ve been captured by many different styles and genres, from pop and rock to Goth, country, Christian, and whatnot.
Listening to “Freedom” today it struck me that while it’s a reasonably complex mix of processed keyboard and probably synth overlays and vocals, the underlying chordal structure seemed fairly simple. A quick check on Chordify pretty much confirmed that: A fast tempo at 150 BPM, but in a common key, though most likely written in the relative minor of Am, rather than the C Major key the key signature would at first glance indicate. As an aside, if it seems unfamiliar, the C chord notation with the superscript triangle that’s interspersed in the pattern is just a jazz and Nashville Notation/Numbering inspired notation of CMaj7:
So, even though the timing information for chord changes isn’t given in a Chordify chart (no lyrics to indicate and practically everything is shown as a whole note) you can see it’s relatively simple in chordal patterns, but when you listen to it, it’s rich in melodic, percussive and vocal overlays with a great bass line that make it a catchy and interesting song. Dynamically it’s fairly flat, and the spoken word interlude doesn’t intrude overmuch. It’s probably one I’ll play along with on the acoustic later today just to get a feel for how the elements all fit together. You should, too, if it’s outside your usual comfort zone.
For today, here’s what I’m listening to, some of these I play, some I just listen to.
Bonus Round clue: A cougar’s list
Cheers and keep playing!
Michael Acoustic