Making The Art You Really Believe In
Making The Art You Really Believe In
🔀 Shuffle Sundays #78 • Damien Rice, FKJ, Dennis Lloyd, Sean Tucker, Van Neistat, Anna Broadhurst, and more!
💽 » O, by Damien Rice
folk, singer-songwriter• 10 songs • 67 minutes
20 years ago, Irish folk singer-songwriter Damien Rice released what continues to be one of my favorite albums of all time.
If his name doesn’t ring a bell, I’m almost sure you will recognize the smash-hit The Blower’s Daughter, which you understandably may think it’s his one and only success. But despite his very short discography, with only 3 albums in 20 years, Damien Rice is very far from being a “one-hit wonder”. From the devastating opening track Delicate to the very ending track Eskimo, O is an incredibly powerful album that uses Rice’s ability to be raw and emotional, while also creating grand moments through beautiful string arrangements, in addition to his signature minimalist acoustic guitar compositions.
If you’ve never listened to this album, or if it’s been a long time since you did it for the last time, I beg you to find a quiet moment in your day today and let yourself get lost on this magnificent journey.
🎶 » Way Out, by FKJ
Way Out is the opening track of musician FKJ (Vincent Fenton, known professionally as French Kiwi Juice) new album Vincent, and it’s a great introduction to what’s waiting ahead. The track is a perfect balance between organic instrumentations with a modern and electronic production that opens the path to a mostly instrumental album full of interesting moments and some very special features.
🎶 » Anxious, by Dennis Lloyd
I first came across Dennis Lloyd’s single Anxious when it came out about a year ago and, even though the rest of the subsequent album didn’t really grab me, I still find myself returning to this track quite often. You may think it sounds generic or a bit self-help-ish, but there’s something about these lyrics and music video that really resonates with me.
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🧩 » Random Bits
🎹 • I recently created this playlist on Spotify where you can listen to all the music I recommended in this newsletter since the very first edition in January of 2021. It will be an ongoing playlist, updated weekly with each new issue.
📸 • Sean Tucker is one of my favorite photographers to follow on YouTube, and his recent video “Making the Art you really Believe in” really resonated with me. It’s good for anyone who is “creating”, by the way, not just photographers.
✅ • As someone who spends way too much time looking for new and interesting productivity apps, it always amazes me to see how some people are able to go by with analog systems like this one from Van Neistat.
⚡️ Visual Inspiration
Anna Broadhurst is a London-based Illustrator and Animator using a distinctive color palette and strong geometric shapes to create eye-catching pieces. Check out her website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
🎶 » New Music
this week’s new albums I'm curious to check out
Also, new singles from Finneas, Omar Apollo, Architects, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2022 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
You always find the most interesting art / music / random bits — 1) the Broadhurst work is very cool, and 2) this Van Neistat video is 🤯
Oh, and it's been years since I've listened to any Damien Rice — going back to it today.
I haven’t listened to Damien Rice in years, but that album really hooked me about...15-16 years ago. Hard to believe it was that long ago. Thanks for the reminder about this great album. Will listen to it again soon because of you!