I'm aware that all these oldies but goodies I keep issuing on a regular basis may certainly give the impression that I'm a hopeless nostalgic, but I'm definitely not. At least, no longer since I've finally realised (in a rather painful way) that the past is no more real than the future — the only point for holding it in our memories would be to teach and inspire us in the now; happy memories provide warmth in the transient coldness of the moment as sung in the lyrics of the featured song below which I have translated for you — and that was quite a (trilingual) challenge for me to begin with given that my last practice of Spanish dates back to my final year in high school (aeons ago).
Singer/songwriter Tomas Batista is a young talented musician from Argentina, born in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, currently residing in Buenos Aires where he's also a soundscape designer and composer for video games. His music was certainly a great artistic revelation for me even though it's obviously not my usual preferred style. Such consideration being of course, as far as I'm concerned, irrelevant since music is very much a source of inspiration and emotion — some kind of balm for your soul which can only work through authenticity. I must say I was really impressed and captivated by the way he literally made Radiohead's "House Of Cards" his own to the point where I can no longer listen to either version without thinking of the other. “Always learning and seeking new sounds and stories to tell”, he says on the various media platforms where he has uploaded his music. “I like being able to express my feelings through music. I do not embrace any specific musical genre, I embrace the music itself.”
Desconocido
Warmth emanating from the cold
A letter unread
A signpost for the way ahead
Or a look backward
Lost gestures never seen
Lessons not learned
A dormant potential
For anyone willing to tap into
A broken word,
A paper angel,
Issues out of hand
Overdue
A country marching in silence
Stories untold
Excuses that always strip us
Naked in front of the mirror
All this you'll find deep within yourself
A city full of secrets
A sleeping beast
Biding its time
Held back by our trying
Not to disappear
The sound of the falling tree
Thousands of details unknown
Stars that are born and die into the night
As lies distort reality
All this you'll find deep within yourself
A city full of secrets
© Tomas Batista, 2013
About this song
Like all the tracks featured on his entirely self-produced debut album Claroscuro, available since May 2013 on various online stores (Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp...), "Desconocido" is a very personal collection of images, memories and feelings. As Tomas explains, “all these songs are 100% little pieces of me”, adding that with each one, he tries his best every time. “I won't release a song if I don't feel it really represents me in any way. Including cover versions. These songs offer many layers and possibilities as dimensions in reality.”
The reason I chose this particular track is probably because it better meets my favourite kind of music, but not only. The great insight emerging from this poetic patchwork of memories, feelings, regrets, expectations and matters left unsaid that “you will find deep within yourself” is certainly not void of any hope and reminds us of our humanity, of our strengths and weaknesses, and most of all of our interconnection with the Universe, with nature and all beings.
About the line “lost gestures never seen” which I was failing to grasp, Tomas explained that he was referring to a brief encounter he had in a bus a couple of years ago. “I was very sad and melancholic. It was raining. Suddenly my eyes caught that little girl who was travelling with her father. I guess she must have been about 5 years old. She was looking at me with her big eyes wide open and I returned her gaze. We spent some time like this looking at each other, then finally she smiled at me. It was too late for me to respond and smile back as she was getting off the bus with her dad. I did but she never saw it. With that gesture, I meant to say thank you.”
If you like this song, please feel free to leave a comment below. I'm sure it will make him happy. And most importantly, make sure you listen to the other tracks of his album on Bandcamp (that same platform inaugurated by Thom Yorke back in September when he released his latest solo album). The influences on Claroscuro go from Southern Argentinian folk to progressive instrumental and indie rock music. And if you enjoy it (I love it!), download it and pay the price you can afford. A new album with rockier accents is actually in the making and should be available in the forthcoming weeks. I'll definitely let you know about it. In the meantime, you may also want to check his "House Of Cards" cover which is not featured on any album but under the list of recent posts on the right side of this page or HERE. Or his other cover of "All I Need" (another Radiohead song) reposted on Jonny Greenwood's Facebook page.
© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.
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