Composed and released as a dedication to the people impacted by the Manchester Arena bombing and the Grenfell Tower tragedy alike, Dr Optimiser’s Memories is a song that evokes a certain level of heartbreak and emotional difficulty with its title and artwork alone. By setting the scene in this way, laying down the foundation for what you’re about to experience, the artist and producer effectively gives the music a certain weight and poignancy from the offset. It’s a beautifully performed piece of music, but it comes with such a bittersweet wave of feelings, all in all proving to be about as relevant to the sadness behind it as possible.
Memories emerges as an acoustic guitar piece, there’s a touch of electronic ambiance to the performance – perhaps leaning in the direction of artificial instrumentation – less organic but clearly capable of portraying its underlying ideas regardless. A beautifully delicate acoustic riff starts things off, later accompanied by a smooth and dreamlike wash of strings; plenty of reverb, plenty of space. As things progress, the simple hypnotic beauty of the music is contrasted with a distinct and unexpected new element. The keys that come into play, the piano part, has a notably haunting and quite dissonant energy to it. There’s something manic and slightly unsettling about this moment, perhaps quite powerfully underlining the sheer juxtaposition between childhood innocence, childhood peacefulness and joy, and the dramatic devastation that so quickly tore that away.
At only two minutes and eight seconds long, the track seems to be over before you’re really done exploring those memories. At the same time, it feels like a much longer piece due to the weight that comes with it. It’s not easy to listen more than once, but it feels essential, and in doing so you make certain your mind knows this music, this moment, and remembers what led to it. Dr Optimiser has done a uniquely creative job of expressing the pain of these incidents in a gentle and artistic way. The track ends with softness, familiarity, comfort – a strange sense of possibility and peace returns. A fitting tribute and a well crafted release.
Download the music via iTunes or stream it on Spotify. Find & follow Dr Optimiser on Facebook & Twitter. Visit his Website for more information.
