mattogravy
I have to buy any album that contains such beauty, positivity & nihilism in the same breath. Our breath is short and fast, like our time in the universe.
nvan92
I hate filling this out because I LOVED EVERY SONG. Speck of Dust is the fav because the first time I heard it, I was drawn to the beat (which made me download a Flower Chyld album) and then the lyrics - though a bit depressing - were stuck in my head. I love the inflection choices in here, like how her voice soars high (gives some air allowing the words to carry) then she sinks low on the line "still on a search for more reason/ still have to pick myself up."
Favorite track: Speck Of Dust w/ Flwr Chyld.
V1
Maybe I can’t write no more
Maybe I’ll spend the rest of my days doing savasana on the floor
Maybe I will have to draw
For old poems
I don’t know if
I still got it
Anymore
Pre
‘cause I feel pressure
that I put on myself
self-imposed pressure
and I need to be held
and shaken to
wake me up
awaken
see just how amazing
it is to be alive here,
to survive here
it is to be alive here,
to survive here
Chorus
Who says I need to do anything,
I could just breathe, take it all in (x2)
V2
My capitalist mindset,
Has got me feeling I’m not winning
If I prioritise rest.
My confidante Ahmed
Told me to try renewing my mind,
Reset
Pre
‘cause I feel pressure
that I put on myself
self-imposed pressure
don’t come from no one else
I need help
To forgive myself
Awaken
See just how amazing
It is to be alive here,
To survive here
Chorus x4
Verse 1
Will we just keep on going 'til they say stop?
cos when I start to question you'll say that's enough
well I've been digging lately
and shit don't add up
but we just keep on going on
yeah we just keep on going on
pre-hook
from one thing until it's another
it's profitable when we suffer
get us to turn on each other
flip the story to cover-up
so we do not discover
the lies I guess I look crazy
my lover keeps tell me 'baby, give it a rest don't make me
question the system that made me
look in the mirror and not see it
chorus
like a yoyo
I know and then I don't know
and the green grass keeps calling me
verse 2
I'm thankful for my sisters
who let me vent
about this dream to live off grid
grow my own veg
trade my iPhone for a brick though
I just need texts
think that will keep me going
yeah that will keep me going
pre-hook
I would wake up with the sunrise
give thanks for freedom of mind
learn Erykah's 'next lifetime' on my guitar, I got time
read 'the bell jar', I might cry
in a good way for once
it's a good thing because
I'm free to live like I really want
no more agendas being pushed to the front
of my eyes, my mind
chorus
outro
like a yoyo
I know and then I don't know
I'm sure and then I'm not sure
but the only thing I'm sure of is
I'm gonna runaway
and build a tiny house
it will be rent free
I'll build a community
we'll make our own clothes
there won't be a TV
we will think freely
do you wanna come with me?
Still on a search for more meaning
Still have to pick myself up
Still finding words for these feelings
Leaving space to see what will come up
Oh I don’t wanna feel so bad
Sick of writing songs like that
I wanna fly to a retreat
Verocai on repeat
Lose my mind for a week
Recognise I’m…
Just a speck of dust
So why should I worry?
Why do I worry?
When I’m just a speck of dust
about
'Fieldnotes refer to qualitative notes recorded by scientists or researchers in the course of field research, during or after their observation of a specific organism or phenomenon they are studying. ... Fieldnotes allow the researcher to access the subject and record what they observe in an unobtrusive manner.'
These 4 songs were written in lockdown and became my findings about myself during such a weird and confusing time. I was observing what was going on, and writing about it for my own sanity and as usually these songs helped me to understand myself a lot better and cope with what was going on. This EP is the first in the series of releases coming over the following months.
1. Breathe
It's funny because the song order is the order in which the songs were actually written. I remember writing this song in the peak of the first lockdown because it felt like everywhere I looked people were trying to make the most of being in a global pandemic. It was their opportunity to realise their dreams!! write a novel, make the best banana bread, get fit, and not let this precious time go to waste, and I was just bewildered because.. we're in a pandemic! no1 has a clue what's going on, and even now we are still trying to push ourselves to be working non-stop and on the grind. I thought if this time wasn't a call to rest then what was it gonna take?
I also wrote it because it seemed I was the only one who was doing nothing! I started to feel pressure to 'be someone' but then deepening my yoga practice helped me to realise that just being during this time is more than enough. I don't need to DO anything. I can simply observe, take my time, and breathe.
This is the first collab I did with Geo Jordan and it just felt so natural that we did another.. (yoyo)
2. YoYo
I wrote this because the media was pissing me off. I felt like a lot of things were being exaggerated which resulted in lots of fear and separation. I was still in a period where I didn't have an understanding of anything really going on and so my views changed daily and I was questioning everything.. it felt like I was doing a lot of yoyo-ing simply because I was so confused. I felt like an alien and in my annoyance about that I dreamt about living off grid, where there's no TV and no iPhone, I'm with like-minded people and we just grow our veg and make clothes, and cook and sing and dance and make up our own rules, and that's how yoyo came about. It's a song about my dream life. Aside from that I really love the production on this song! it's so feel good, and was produced once again by Geo Jordan.
3. I Feel Something
I wrote this song when I ran away to Margate for a few weeks to live by the sea during yet another lockdown. It was in February, it was cold, snowing, and everyone was miserable. I wanted to be on a beach somewhere but I felt trapped here. I ran away because I wanted to try something new, I actually took up running for a little while simply because for the most part I just felt numb and in a routine that was slowly killing my creative. So Eun (producer) sent me some stuff to work on and I freestyled this song and never changed it. The end of the song feels like a light at the end of the tunnel when I say 'somethings lit up, they won't get us' - I had gotten to the end of the song and felt like "ok, still got it!" because I hadn't recorded anything in a while.
4. Speck Of Dust
The last song I wrote for the EP, and a good closing song because it made me realise that I was no longer in that 'I feel something' headspace. The weather was getting warmer, and my mind was getting clearer and I suppose I was getting used to this 'new normal'. I'd survived a dark time! This song is about how miniscule your problems can be sometimes, in the grand scheme of life. I'm just a speck of dust in this really big world. An ant! and none of this matters- and I mean that in the best possible way! all of this will simply fade away, so why worry?? It made me feel good to think about life in that way..
I worked on this song with Flwr Chyld and I'm still so blown away by the production- it's one of my faves.
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell
The brilliant Madison McFerrin unveils her first full-length, a lush pop-soul triumph full of gorgeously textured songs. Bandcamp New & Notable May 7, 2023
A special, special talent.
The music and melody Cleo Sol is so healing to me.
Her music is inviting, and her spirit is receiving.
a musical maven in complete control. brother imhotep