Queen Calida gets real in a soulful and impressively minimalist manner on this latest release. The track is notably raw, but this adds beautifully to the inherent sense of honesty and authenticity that you get from the sound. A simple acoustic guitar rhythm and a lightly hand-drummed beat accompany the artist’s vocal outpouring. The song’s melody and that leading voice are the backbone of the experience – they offer a truthfulness that’s uninhibited and often heartbreaking. At the same time though, there’s a definite level of optimism to the song – the locked inside aspect is in the past, and there’s drive now; motivation, energy, positivity and hope.
There’s beauty within, it’s taking over me…
The free-flowing and even spontaneous feel of the recording makes it all the more endearing. Much like a hip hop freestyle would be, there’s no editing or falseness added to the process. The heart and soul that you hear is precisely what took place in the moment, and for this reason it connects all the more intensely. And yet, even with this, you still get an incredibly memorable melody – a simple ear-worm of a hook that you’re likely to walk away humming.
The song offers a strong sense of overcoming – I’m breathing, I’m gonna start living – it focuses for the most part on tomorrow, on the brightness that’s to come. The darkness and the difficult past is touched upon, particularly during the verses, which is absolutely necessary for that contrast and that impact. The hook rightfully sees things resolve though – it’s a moment of relief, and in being so excited about the future the song subsequently inspires similar feelings in the listener.
It’s often thought that struggle and pain are the darkness that is needed in order to truly appreciate the sun when it reappears. In the same instance, that darkness commonly leads to some of the most interesting and captivating music and art. As is the case here. A pleasure to listen to, that raw quality is everything and works beautifully in this context, though this is clearly just the beginning.
Find out more about the story behind the track here.
