Things That Bemuse Me #8 - Art

'We have art in order not to die of the truth.' - Friedrich Nietzsche

Where do I start with this topic, hm? I've recently been reading the beautiful Charlotte Eriksson's book Empty Roads & Broken Bottles: In search for The Great Perhaps and it's made me think about a lot of things. If you aren't familiar with Charlotte, The Glass Child, she is a Swedish musician who left behind her home and set out with nothing on a journey that changed her life into a work of art. Her songs, writings and personality are simply inspirational and she has the social media following that proves it.

Something which I have begun to ponder, thanks to her, is this: how exactly do you define 'art', and could you really decide on a formula for it as so many people seem to do? Is it defined by how many records you sell, or how much money you make for somebody else? Is it defined by numbers, letters, reviews written by so-called 'experts' in their field or is it just simply a means of expression? Is it craftsmanship? Does it have to have been fuelled by pain, love, suffering and joy, or can it just be created scientifically?

The purpose of this post is not to write a conclusive answer, but rather to allow you to ponder with me on the phenomena that is art. A phenomena that is fundamental to our very existence in many ways.

If I were to give you an answer, I would tell you that art is a complicated blend of all or some of the above. Even listening to some of the crap that is churned out on mainstream radio there are elements of pure art somewhere in there you just have to listen closely to find them.

For example, if you were to dislike something does that make it any less like art? People disliked the works of Monet and Van Gogh in their times, but just because one person didn't like them it didn't mean that nobody else did. Leah McFall on BBC's talent show The Voice is another example of this. She has a voice like marmite - I love it personally, but I know people who completely hate it.

At the end of the day though, it doesn't matter whether you love or hate something because if it was still born out of passion, love, faith, belief or conviction then it can still surely be classed as art. In Leah's case she is still clearly a very talented vocalist with excellent control - which you can appreciate even if you don't like the sound. So that is my job for you today.

I ask you today to please go and listen to something you wouldn't normally listen to, read something you wouldn't read or admire something you would never look at and try to at least see why it is art. Try to appreciate the meaning behind it, the meaning in it, or the reason it exists - or find the one aspect that you can do that with. If you are a musician then just be you and show your fans.  Tell your story, because art must live on.

Things That Bemuse Me #7 - The Horsemeat Scandal

This is a post that is very overdue and has been sitting in my 'draft' box for about 4 months. As now the hype about this topic has gone it is probably about time to get around to posting it. I'll begin with a huge disclaimer, however, and admit that I am a vegetarian from birth (and by privilege) because I simply do not like the taste of meat.

© KitAy

 The horse meat scandal is something that inevitably had caused chaos within the UK and Western Europe, but the media admittedly kicked up the most fuss with the endless news articles, TV documentaries, talk shows and jokes.

 Speaking to a friend of mine who originates from Uzbekistan, she was finding the whole thing rather amusing as she remembers a time when for her to eat horse it was considered a privilege. Many of the interviews shown on TV would be animal rights protesters saying that horses should not be eaten for moral reasons and that it is completely wrong to murder a horse for human food and then not tell people.

 Of course, it is wrong not to tell people, but the main problem was the lack of regulation of potentially harmful drugs to humans that could be found in the meat - which is a fair enough reason to be outraged, and certain journalists did a fantastic job of highlighting this fact. Unfortunately, the majority of people shown on TV and 'shocked' were not, in fact, shocked by this potential threat to human health. They were 'shocked' because they are convinced that eating horse is a complete mortal sin. From this, I can either conclude one of three things:

• Everybody outside of Yorkshire but in the UK is a horse loving animal rights fanatic. (Possible) 
• People in the UK do not know that they are born. (Likely) 
• The Media has decided to paint the general public as delinquent or crazy. (Again, possible) 

 The reason why I disclude Yorkshire is that after speaking to many strong independent Yorkshire people on this topic, I found that the only problem they had with it was that they did not know they were eating horse. In fact, the majority of people I spoke to would have happily eaten horse had it been on the label. The question still bemusing me now that this topic has died down is quite simply this; Do British people overreact because we live sheltered, cushioned lives by comparison to other parts of the world or are we all lunatics? My guess is the latter.

A Note From Astrid-Gwynedd xx

I made the decision today to unlist my YouTube videos and work on re-recording them now that I have means of producing a better quality sound and a decent picture. Will start work on this later this week but in the meantime I'm working putting together voice acting demo reels as it's something I have been planning for a very long time. I've been very distant from online presence the last few months for various reasons - particularly including lack of self confidence for my musical abilities alongside illness and college work- but returning and seeing how I still have so much support on Twitter and Reverbnation in particular has made me realise that I just need to keep learning and improving and NOT giving up. Thank you to those who have been with me from the start; my amazing family and friends, and to those who haven't who have purely come across me due to my music or my blog. We're well into 2013 now and it's time for a change in me and the way that I 'market' myself, so to speak. A new, more confident, more ambitious, more hard-working and more flamboyant Astrid has been born, and I hope that she will do you proud. This will be posted across every social media platform that I use because I feel it important to say thank you for your continued support and being such an inspiration.

- Kisses! xx

The Sunday Review: Portrait (Josephine)

I mentioned in a previous post about Paloma Faith's 2013 tour, and her amazing support act Josephine. Since then, as I said, I have been constantly playing her album so I figured that this would be my review for the week.

Josephine (Oniyama) - Portrait
Amazon | Itunes
Rating: 5/5

1. When We Were Trespassers
2. A Freak A
3. Portrait
4. Original Love
5. I Think It Was Love
6. What a Day
7.  The Last Minute
8. Pepper Shaker
9. Pray That I Move 
10. House of Mirrors

It's safe to say that this album has been very well put together. I don't think her music could be pidgeonholed into a specific genre so to speak but all of the songs compliment and contrast each other perfectly, and you could certainly not accuse the her of writing to a formula.

What I really love about this album is the use of real acoustic instruments and the way that everything compliments each other to create a really natural yet overwhelming musical experience. The mixing is amazing - I've yet to find out who was the technician behind this masterpiece, but what really is the most important for me is Josephine's natural talent and how she is so simply brilliant.

In all honesty I can not stress enough how beautiful I find the voice of Josephine Oniyama. It is the perfect mellow tone without being lifeless and is full of sparkle, and it's completely unique. I have never heard another voice with a combination like hers. If anybody could link me to one, go ahead and I'll stand corrected, but it won't take away from her amazing talent.

This album will undoubtedly be a February hit for me because there is a song for every occasion on it. There are melancholy songs that haunt you and make your spine tingle- 'When We Were Tresspassers', 'Pray That I Move', 'House of Mirrors' - there is a fantastic feel-good song, 'A Freak A', and songs that just make you want to get up and move such as 'Pepper Shaker' and 'What a Day'. All in all, this is an album you can keep coming back to and I think that everybody who appreciates raw talent should have a copy of this album.

A link to Josephine's single, What A Day, on Soundcloud for those who have never ecountered her before.

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