It’s been a punishing month for me and my colleagues at work. After three back-to-back weeks of events with no end in sight due to another production being put on in mid-May, people are getting not just physically sick, but also mentally sick of not having our welfare prioritised and pleas for time to rest heard.
I owe a lot of my YouTube channel’s growth to the Taylor Swift x Bridgerton fanbase, and was looking forward to starting another campaign of 13 covers from her new album The Tortured Poets Department. That’s been put on hold until I have a minimum of 2 whole days to myself to rest and create.
Let me know if there’s a song you’d like to hear my rendition of! On my list, I have: Fortnight – Down Bad – Florida!!! – Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me? – I Can Do It with a Broken Heart – Clara Bow – Imgonnagetyouback – How Did It End? – The Prophecy – Peter.
It’s been interesting to see the culture shift from loving Taylor to hating her again in just over a year. I agree with some of the criticism such as the capitalisation in “Thank You Aimee” being unnecessary and borderline childish, but on the whole, I found this album one of her most honest lyrically. It’s also been an album that has stuck with me after just 1-2 listens in comparison to the last 3 albums which took me literal years to appreciate.
I find that no matter what, her songs have a habit of reaching me just when I need them – “august” during the pandemic, “right where you left me” after the pandemic, “You’re On Your Own, Kid” while navigating changes and letting go of things that don’t serve me, and now, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” as I prepare to reset my life again.
{ 3 drops of golden sound }
“What are we dreaming” by Rusanda Panfili & Oliver Poole
The sounds produced in this free improvisation session by Moldovan violinist Rusanda Panfili and pianist Oliver Poole remind me of the soundtracks for series like Westworld (composed by Ramin Djawadi) and Arcane (composed by Mako). I first started following Rusanda after watching her perform as one of Hans Zimmer’s musicians in the Live in Prague concert film as well as live at the 2019 Singapore Formula 1 GP.
“Inner Nomad” by Baiju Bhatt & Red Sun
I first learned of Baiju Bhatt in a newsletter by fiddler Christian Howes, who he runs the Creative Strings Workshop with. I’ve been going down a rabbit hole of his transcendental jazz fusion albums since. This is one of my favourite tracks from his latest album, People Of Tomorrow.
“Love Song From Kauhava” by Casey Driessen with Maija Pokela & Antti Järvelä
I’ve written about Casey being an inspiration of mine in my second drop. I am constantly inspired by the way he pushes the possibilities of the violin through technology, technique and collaborations such as the “Otherlands” series, where he travels to different parts of the world and makes music with other fiddlers and folk musicians. He’s conducting a fiddle camp in August with other prominent fiddlers like Darol Anger and Scott Tixier and I’m excited to tell you all that I’ll be attending this camp! It’ll be my first time in North America, fingers crossed that this time my Canada visa will be approved so I can visit my best friend in Vancouver too. 🤞
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope to see you again at the end of next month! I’ll be announcing a major life update then. Here’s a picture of me and my younger brother at Hamilton.
LoL,
rae