The sound that changed everything…

From the dead moon to the new…

Starting anew on this journey thats come to end and is slowly, but surely, beginning. No better way to do that then to immerse ones self into the world of powerful lyrics and tones to set the start off right.

Lungs by Florence & The Machine has been the perfect start off album for where I'm currently at. I don’t know exactly what’s to come for me, especially in the near future, but with Florence & The Machine, I feel as if I can take on the world. There’s now a light that’s burning so brightly within the deep recesses of my heart, almost like gasoline to the flame. Florence & The Machine’s classic “Dog Days Are Over” rocks my world off to the best of starts that I can’t even come to think of any other sound to inspire me more. The powerfully, unique vocals and slightly morbid gothic pop sound, twists the perspective(s) on life in such a way, the worst of things are truly in your favor.

I’m currently juicing up on this album (listening to it repeatedly to the point of no return) and I still get a charge. The thing about Lungs is that with tracks like “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)”, “You’ve Got the Love”, “My Boy Builds Coffins”, “Cosmic Love”, and “Howl” is that I find it moves my heart. When coming across music that moves the heart, it’s a good indicator as a perfect resource when needed. It’s that sound that completely hits the spot, in the most satisfying of ways; that nothing would do better than that sound and the perfect timing of such.

I highly recommend giving Florence & The Machine a good listen too if in a similar situation.

For the moment, I’ll be continuing to fill my soul with inspiration and an unquenchable fire for these new steps along this journey.

the sound of love,

Attie

Coming to the end of one journey...

only to begin another...

The time has come where this adventure is coming to an end. I'm on my way to the airport looking forward to seeing an old home once more, as this journey has been very nourishing to this one. Sad to see the current end of what has come to be a new home for me. Madeleine Peyroux's "Smile" brings bittersweet tones to lull me into a deep peace with any sorrow I may be feeling in having to say goodbye.

Her classically jazzy notes with soft depth bring such a warmth to the heart. Madeleine Peyroux brings the soul to similar heights and lows to that of Billie Holiday, Patsy Cline and Edith Piaf in a brilliant weaving of life's lessons in matters of the heart. Feeling the welcoming shift of California's winter after leaving the southern hemisphere's summer is much easier when listening to Madeleine Peyroux's "California Raining" on her Half the Perfect World album.

The dread and worry of catching a flight and going through security eases me into a smooth disposition as long as I've got my Ipod and Madeleine Peyroux to ease my troubled thoughts. Then all I have to do is just sit back, and enjoy the ride...

the sound of love,
Attie

Need to shake the morning blues...

before I hurt something.


Trying to perk up for the day once more, but I'm finding it a bit challenging. Really...does not equal easy mornings! I don't think I've properly emphasized how challenging though.


Luckily I've got Outkast to help me kick start my day. With brilliant lyricists André "André 3000" Benjamin and  Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, I've got my day up and running. Outkast having a southern hip hop, neo-soul, funk, electronic vibe certainly does something to the body in which it's not so harsh to move in this morning funk. I know that I've got a guarantee to a good day.  


There's an innate love for an artist who truly know's their play on words and I can never get my full fill of Outkast when having such a need. Anything from their Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik album to their double solo album of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Outkast has a way of easing me into the morning while pumping me up for the day. Especially with the "Where are My Panties?" track, I can't help but have a good laugh.


Either way it's time for the day to being...


"le sigh..."


the sound of love,
Attie

"I lie awake... "

"...I've gone to ground..."

It's about 3:45am in sweltering heat and humidity. I'm busy not only fighting off an army of mosquitoes, but also the itchy mosquito bites that further add to the difficulty of sleeping. I suppose the hope of getting much (if any) rest tonight doesn't look too good.

Luckily I've got music to help me and I'm turning to the softer tones of Zero 7's "Destiny" off of their Simple Things album for some late night T.L.C. (in the context of tender loving care, not so much T.L.C. the music group, at least not at this point).

Zero 7's chill electronic notes and ambient sound keep the waking world off edge and my sanity at a calm collected bay, which helps considerably when knowing this is going to be a long night. Zero 7 has a way of softening the harshness of reality in similar ways to Doves, in their song "Firesuite" from their Lost Souls album.  Both "Destiny" and "Firesuite" can also be found off of the Blue Crush Soundtrack, which was what first caught my eye with both artists. As far as soundtracks go, Blue Crush was one of the first to give me a good eye opener to the electronic chill genre of music. That I am eternally grateful for!

Getting lost in, the lovely Aussie feat. artist of Zero 7, Sia Fuller's dreamy tones of "Destiny" turns me to her first debut album Color the Small One. When I first came across Color the Small One, Sia's fanciful sounds caught me in a hypnotic lull, taking me through my own recesses of my mind, heart and soul. With her Color the Small One album, I could feel the awareness of my own life and its events shift and change with each passing moment. I choose to go deep with this album, and deep it took me. From sorrowful sounds, to hopeful wishes and lost in love moments, I experienced it all. Color the Small One is slow and bittersweet to me, which at the time of discovery was exactly what I was needing to reflect where I was at in my life.

It's certainly come in handy, considering the current circumstances.

The last time I had a rocky night my friend and I were stuck on a hotel balcony locked out for hours into the night. I wonder what the sound for that experience would have been...?

At least I've got music for this one...

the sound of love,
Attie

"Peace & blessins' manifest with every lesson learned..."

"... If yo knowledge were yo wealth, then it would be well earned..."

Clear days with a heat that demands the body to sweat, I find when I'm looking for the cool down I turn to Erykah Badu. Her cool musical stylings leaves me in the heat with a smooth appreciation for the world around me, despite the possible discomfort. 

Erykah Badu takes me on the smoothest of journeys, telling the stories of everyday life, with full acceptance for what is and what needs to be done. Whether it's sinking into the day so comfortably with "On & On", or listening to how it is with "Bag Lady", Erykah Badu breaks it down for you in the best of ways. She has a way of letting me be apart of my world in such a way, I feel I'm meant to be where I'm at.

I also came upon Erykah Badu feat. Common (who is an amazing artist as well) "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip Hop)" in the Brown Sugar Soundtrack, which I turn to when I need a slow down and change of pace. The movie is really great if you're into romantic comedies (which I am from time to time) staring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. 

I also find myself becoming comfortably lazy and resourcing to Esthero's "Superheroes" from her Breath from Another album. Esthero's Breath from Another takes the mix of electronic, trip hop, lounge, and indie to a whole new level. It is a must for me to indulge in! Esthero just takes dreamy to a whole new level... and (at times) to a sexier one as well. I suppose it depends on the mood, but if you're there for the slow love making "Baby have you ever felt this safe before?" kind of moment, then it's right there for you. 

For the moment though, I think I'll just do a little day dreaming and see what the future unfolds...

the sound of love,

Attie

Why is it, that at the end of a holiday...

things seem to be much more exhausting than they may be?

Only a few more days till flipping hemispheres once more and then back on the fast track of life. Not that life ever stopped or was put on pause, but more so every day obligations seems just a little bit more daunting than normal. I suppose that's because of the change of setting and daily routine.

The stresses of tomorrow seem to bleed into my today and the only songs on my mind are the folk sounds of Nelly Furtado's first album release Whoa, Nelly!, which tend to twist and turn my reality into something a little bit softer; like shifting out of realities hard concrete structures and begin to see those cracks in the cement from the nature that had always resided. Nelly Furtado has a way of showing me that life's harsh reality can be a bit more twisted and weaved into something more joyous than hard lines and rigid thinking.

Whatever woes I may have, Nelly Furtado's lightness of being in her Whoa, Nelly! album soars me above the rainy days with her "I'm like a Bird", "Baby Girl", "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)", "Legend"... I just let her take me on a lighter journey with life.

It's a joy to have music that lifts in such a way, especially when it get's me looking in the right places and moving in the right direction.

the sound of love,
Attie

Windy days of rolling hills...

Finally finding a place to rest and relax, my days have been full of an exploration of constant change.

The wind seems to never stop and the skies are in a state of constant flux that leaves my mind reflecting and shifting just as consistently as the wind, so I let my mind drift.

The sound of The Weekend Players Jericho leave me laying on a grassy hill gazing up at the swiftly moving clouds. The down tempo, deeply rhythmic sounds anchor me to the earth, as the lyrics "I feel no pain when you hold me, pull me in and draw me near... come fill my senses up with you...." echoing throughout my mind.

Whenever I listen to The Weekend Players I find myself embracing the world from a distance. It always feels like such a sweet sensation for the ears to encounter. I usually couple The Weekend Players with Wax Poetic's trip-hop sound in Angels featuring Norah Jones. The trip-hop slightly jazzy sounds of Wax Poetic move me to great depths, almost like watching one of those movies that always opens your mind to something new (e.g. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie, Luc Besson's Angel-A, Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep...etc).

It's a lovely thing to be able to encounter music to fill dreamy, cloud gazing days. Sometimes when I find just the right sound to the moment, I no longer feel I'm on the ground, but flying amongst the skies.

the sound of love,
Attie

Echos through the night...

from the Northland to the South.

The ways of time have become blurred, lost amidst the cross country journeying.

By the end of the night, I'd found myself in a sound state of a musical expression and as an extension of exhaustion that had me synergistically blending into Moby's I'm not worried at all...  being cradled by the dreamlike state and vibe of Moby's way of creating electronic lullabies. With the scenery in such a constant flux and change, it was easy to be in humble admiration of mountains to seas, bubbling mud springs to desert lands; geysers to passing trains with desert night skies back lighting with such an extraordinary sight of stars. Moby helps me remember that there is truly something beautiful in every moment of this life, if you allow yourself to witness it.

I find that beauty is a driven force that is most often forgotten or misplaced. It is beauty that may bring about wonder, humility, perspective; those breathtaking moments which may never be fully expressed to its known truth... those moments in time that make us feel alive, that remind us that we are alive. Moby, although needing to be in a space to hear his vision of life, will take you through the wonders of the world, if you allow him to. His music is much like assessing who would be a good travel partner. He may work for only a moment in that journey, but when Moby is on and present to that moment, the world becomes more beautiful as space of possibility and wonder.

the sound of love,
Attie

A pluck and twist...

to the early morning mediocrity of the industrial, grey world of a grand city.

Left to my own meanderings (currently without coffee) in this early morning city is challenging when one is still struggling to wake up. I've just about paid way too much for a simple half hours use of the internet and it seems the only thing that's currently animating my life is the musical violin cords of Emily Wells on her album The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties.

Her musical lulls and twists between a myriad of stringed instruments and eclectic tones begin to turn this grey morning into somewhat of an Alice in Wonderland of thoughts and adventures. Not that I'm out and about exploring physically, but the siren sounds of the Symphonies album tends to start my morning with a mindful of adventure, intrigue and wonder. A lot better than the sound of my stomach rumbling and the hollow echo of my mind lacking caffeine.

Too bad I'm lacking in the current energy to go out and about for the moment. At least I've got Emily to ease my pain (bad case of the early morning blues... is it obvious as of yet that I'm not a morning person? If not, then do know that with music I'm trying to correct this. So far, my few attempts have been working, which seems to be a good sign)...

I've also got to give her props on her new sound and violin skills. Really... coming from someone who only made it to her one, and only recital of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I've got massive respect for people who play stringed instruments. It is not an easy feat, but listening to artists like Emily Wells and harpist Joanna Newsom (e.g. Sprout and the Bean) really inspire me to pick it up again. Maybe next time I give it a try, I'll advance beyond Twinkle Twinkle. After all, it's said someone who's mastered their profession has dedicated 10,000 hours of their time to such a skill.

I guess I better start counting...

the sound of love,
Attie

When the only bar in town has a broken jukebox...

... I get mighty happy about carrying my Ipod and mini speaker set.

Being in a 'middle of no where' town and just discovering that beyond the two cafes, library, general store, police station, and surprisingly, out of place art gallery, there was a lovely hole in the wall bar; with an even lovelier pool table! Just the thing to do when the heat makes me a little stir crazy and distance between one person in this tiny town is high compared to my once 1,200 populated high school.

Settling into the excitement of seeing a juke box with classics I could work with, I was disappointed to find that the thing was broken. Feeling a little downtrodden, I remembered my Ipod and mini speakers I had with me. Really... life just seems so bland without music around at times!

Creating a setting for a great pool game experience can be quite challenging at times. There's nothing that bothers me more than when I hear someone put on completely unsuitable music when playing pool. No offense to Britney Spears, but I'd rather be listening to a classic Led Zeppelin tune like "That's the way" when shooting for the kill with pool.

I ended up creating an awesome vibe with the grungy, backwater, bluesy sound of The Black Keys. I set myself up for a great shuffle mix between there many albums (Attack & Release, The Big Come Up, Brothers, Chulahoma, LenArt, The Moan, Your Touch...etc.). I highly recommend all and any of The Black Keys albums. They really seem to bring back a bluesy rock sound that is so refreshing to hear! Yes people! Blues is still alive and kicking! I also feel the need to make a point of recognition from The Raconteurs (also known as The Saboteurs from the Aussie side of things) with specifically their song "Blue Veins" off of their Broken Boy Soldiers album. It's amazing to see such a backbone for today's structured music begin to be widely recognized again. It brings a tear to my eye and a deep movement to the dusty corners of my soul. "Le sigh..."

It seemed to do just the trick. Hot day. Gin & Tonic. Beating the boyfriend at pool... okay maybe not so much with the win with pool (lost best out of 5; I was down only 1 though!) I guess The Black Keys get me a little cocky with the playful banter. I ended up serving the win up for him on a platter. Go figure.

I guess it's just the way it goes with pool sometimes...

the sound of love,
Attie