May 2019 – that lemon life

‘The definition of ambition’

Hola everyone.

How are we doing today? I hope so far you’ve all had a great week and that your Friday is going great. Today, guys, I have the honour to share something very very very special with you. Some of you might remember that this February, I finally got see one of my favourite bands live – the one and only Hippo Campus (here’s my post about the show – click me). But that wasn’t the most exciting part, oh no. Easily the best part was that, before the show, I also got to interview them. And yes, I know. How crazy is that? I honestly still can’t believe that this really happened. When I think back to it, it feels like I had some kind of weird fever dream and that it was never real. But it was. I really met and talked to them. And they really were the nicest, coolest and most chill people I’ve ever met. I can’t even begin to describe how eternally grateful I am that I really got to do this. What a dream come true.

And, so, now that you know this, you also know what this post is all about. Exactly, the interview. But before you get all excited, no, I don’t mean I’m going to spill the beans of the whole experience. Oh no. Even better. Today, I finally get to share the finished piece I wrote about the interview with you. And trust me, I waited quite a while to be able to say this. But I’m so so so glad the day is finally here. So, without further ado, here’s my feature about one of the best bands ever – Hippo Campus.

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THE DEFINITION OF AMBITION

There comes a point in every band’s existence when the youthful enthusiasm of the early days has to give way to a more sophisticated version of themselves. Formed in 2013, the Minnesota band Hippo Campus was born from a group of high-school friends who were just looking to have a good time. But after releasing their first album, years of touring and gaining popularity, especially in the ranks of indie fans, they suddenly found themselves in a less inspirational atmosphere. They needed a change.

This special desire to shake things up has always been present in the five piece’s music, and their second album ‘Bambi’ is a liberal, maybe darker, more experimental realisation of exactly that. While their debut release ‘Landmark’ was full of bubbly excitement and youthful lightness, they felt driven to change direction and go that little bit deeper. They wanted an honest reflection of themselves. “I think it was mostly reflective of the times. We were all in this weird kind of state. The stress of creating a second album, there’s a lot of pressure on that. And we didn’t want to have that pressure. It’s darker just because of where we were at that time,”, says Whistler Allen, drummer of the indie group.

“Part of that was that we felt chewed up a little bit. You get out of high school and after the first couple of years of touring and after the first album, you experience something that isn’t what you thought it was,” adds Nathan Stocker, lead guitarist of the band and co-writer of most of the Hippo tracks. “People suck sometimes and there’s hurt. The process of maintaining the relationships that actually matter to you and to what you’re doing as a musician, artist or whatever you want to call it, gets really tiring.”

Thus, calling this new era of Hippo Campus “real” would be a strong understatement. As they turned the page to pave the way for ‘Bambi’, the band found freedom in being an open book lyrically, but also personally. “It’s a very vulnerable place to be a songwriter, because it’s like ‘okay, I’m going go outside and use a megaphone to let everybody know what I think and what is going on in my life and feel free to look over my shoulder and hate me or love me’. You’ve got open arms to the world and the audience you have and that’s so scary. Because they can chew you up and spit you out,” Stocker explains and pinpoints the one aspect, the sheer honesty, that gave their newest release a certain feel of relatability. “Really, there’s no reward in it other than making it for the sake of being in that place at all. There’s really no other tangible reward. Even if it resonates with people, it still sucked for me to write.”

It seems that the American band never shies away from acknowledging the fears and emotions of the current generation, actively addressing issues like the #MeToo movement, mental health or toxic masculinity, and using their album to process and accept them at the same time. Whether it be overwhelming worry (‘Anxious’), inescapable self-doubt (‘Mistakes’) or failing relationships (‘Why Even Try’), ‘Bambi’ covers nearly every area when it comes to the highly personal issues the band members had to face. The album fluctuates between blissful calm to vigorous chaos, while the lyrical discomfort fits in with the awkward, socially uncertain times that they were dealing with.

And although it’s a reckless existence, the Minnesota five-piece wouldn’t have it any other way – gig by thrilling gig – their path so far has surpassed even their greatest expectations. Now, it’s even the small issues and tiny stones that stop them in their ways they get excited about. “That’s part of why we love it so much, actually. If you don’t get irritated by little things, then you won’t know that you’re having a ton of fun with your friends every day,” exclaims DeCarlo Jackson, trumpet player and newest addition to the band. Stocker adds, “I’m excited to be irritated by stuff that actually matters. That’s the definition of ambition. It’s tackling problems that actually further us.”

This is where their newest LP comes into play, as where ‘Landmark’ only touched the surface, ‘Bambi’ dives in head first. It’s the new side of music and writing that the band hopes can shine a light on the gap between reality and society’s expectations of constant perfection. Especially at current times, social media and the pressure that comes with it push down on a lot of bands. A pressure Hippo Campus isn’t willing to accept. “Naturally, if you’re not being the most honest version of yourself, there’s nothing else you could be except somebody else. Because if you’re not being you, then you’re definitely trying to marble yourself after someone else. But you know, sometimes we dress up,” Allen insists.

It’s this way of wearing their hearts on their sleeves and being their truest forms that seems to capture their fans. Together, they share this powerful connection that has been there from the start and only gotten stronger through their newest release. “The fans are everything,” Stocker agrees. “They just continue to be unbelievable people, who, for whatever reason, love our music. It’s always really bizarre to interact with them. Because it’s like ‘what have I done to deserves this?’. It’s just really good to feel the love and support and to see they’re real people who are experiencing real things and sharing a space with us. I know it could be a lot more segregated in terms of feeling like we have some superior upper hand to them, but it is pretty communal, on and off stage.”

From the start, always returning to this certain kind of passion and unapologetic honesty, Hippo Campus have looked to create a release that is both enchantingly light and devastatingly dark when it needs to be. While it focuses strongly on issues that clearly mean a lot to the band, the general tone of their newest record is one of optimism, looking for the brief moments of joy in a world with little to spare. And at the end, it’s the sheer love for music that brings them all together and provides the album with its special glow. Stocker concludes: “Music is the most interesting and spiritual example of memory that humans can have, to me. There’s nothing else really that is as fascinatingly metaphysical than the feeling when you listen to a really good song for the first time. For me as a person, there’s no other thing that exists other than memory. In the end, that’s all we have. Our entire progress is based on it, it’s the foundation of life. The fact that we can remember, the fact that I can play my instrument, is entirely based on memory. And music is the prime exemplification and personification of memory. And fin.”

So, there you go, guys. I dearly hope that you enjoyed reading this piece. Also, please do go and check out this band, they really deserve all the attention they are receiving right now and so much more. Here are all their social media handles: Spotify, YouTube and their official website.

As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below and do please get in contact if you’ve got any questions. And until then, I wish you all an amazing weekend and, of course, thanks for reading. x

New Music Monday

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and another New Music post. This time, a Monday one. I thought I’d change it up a bit and start this week off by sharing all the songs and hits we’ve you that I’ve fallen in love with over the past few weeks. As always, I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do. Oh, and I hope you’ve all had an amazing weekend. And that the following songs will make this week even better for you. So, without further ado, let’s get right to it, shall we?

It Won’t Always Be Like this – Inhaler

I present to you my current favourite song. And I know, who, why, what? Well, basically, I saw this band together with my mum at the Great Escape festival about two weeks ago and immediately fell in love with them. Not only are they amazing live, but all of their songs are fantastic as well. And I might just add that Elijah, the lead singer, is the son of Bono, so now you know where they get their talent from. I seriously can’t get enough of this band and am so excited for what’s to come for them in the future.

Hi – Indoor Pets

Another amazing band I got to see at the Great Escape festival. And oh wow, what a show it was. If you’ve ever had the desire to see a moshpit in a tiny room, packed with about a hundred people, go and see them, because they sure can guarantee a energetic-moshpit-packed concert. I loved every single second of their set and am so glad I found them.

Lula, I’m Not Mad – Hunny

Honestly, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve already listened to this hit right here. I mean, I’ve always been a big fan of Hunny, basically, because their music is freaking awesome. But now that their new album is just about to be released and they’ve put out this gem, I’m even more excited. If you ever feel like you need a bit of a happy push, go and listen to this song. It works miracles, trust me.

Satellite – Two Door Cinema Club

I think I don’t really need to explain why this song is part of this list, right? I mean, TDCC has been MY band since 2013, ever since my very first concert, so yeah. I love them deeply and literally cannot wait for their upcoming album. Also, I’ll be seeing them live again at the beginning of July, together with The 1975, so you could say it will be like 2013 all over again. A family reunion, how lovely. Also, the video for this song is so good and so bad at the same time, I love it.

Devil Town – Cavetown

Another very recent find of mine, thanks to the amazing lineup of Sziget festival. They added a few last names a couple of weeks ago and, lucky for me, Cavetown was one of those names. I’m honestly so excited to see him at Sziget, it will be such a great show.

Headspace – Lewis Capaldi

Oh, how long I’ve been waiting to finally be able to listen to this song over and over again. Quick storytime for context: when I saw Lewis last year in October here in Brighton, I wasn’t as big of a fan as I am today. So I was standing there, in the crowd, taking it all in when he began singing this very song. Suddenly the crowd went really quiet and all I could hear was Lewis and his guitar. And while I stood there, listening to him sing, I knew that I was witnessing something utterly magical. I cried. And fell deeply in love with Lewis and his talent. A few weeks after that I saw him again in London, cried once more and now, nearly half a year later, his new album is finally out, with this song on it. Whenever I listen to it, I’m immediately thrown back to the show in Brighton and feel this incredible gratitude. That’s what Lewis’ music does to you.

So, there you go, guys, these are all the songs I’ve been loving the most the past few weeks. As already mentioned, I really hope that you enjoy them just as much I do. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And until then I wish you all a great week, and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Why Endgame broke me

Hola everyone.

Yes, the day has finally come. I am here and I’m finally going to talk about Endgame. I know, it really took me long enough, but those of you who have seen it and have followed my blog for a while will know exactly why. I needed time to recover. But now I’m ready to let all my thoughts and emotions spill. Just a quick note at the beginning: No, I don’t think that Avengers: Endgame is the best Marvel movie ever, but before you start shouting at me, please first let me tell you why I think this way. Naturally, this means that the following paragraphs will contain a freaking HUGE amount of spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet – first of all, what are you even doing, and secondly, well freaking done not getting spoiled until now – please stop reading now. Trust me, it will definitely ruin the experience of the movie. Go and see it at the cinema (preferably in IMAX) and just enjoy the movie. Seriously.

So, for one last time…

HUGE AMOUNT OF SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME COMING YOUR WAY

Before I actually start discussing the movie, let me quickly explain why this movie, from the day I knew it would be coming, meant so much to me. In 2009 I was sat in front of my tv at home, flicking through the channels and ended up on one particular scene, showing a guy dressed in a metal suit, flying around in the air. I decided to keep watching it and in that very moment, I started off a journey into a completely different, wonderfully fascinating universe that would continue being by my side for the next 10 years. I didn’t know it then, but the strange guy, who, back then, was a bit too full of himself, although I still thought he looked cool in the golden and red suit, would soon become my all-time favourite fictional character and my ultimate hero (besides my mum, but we’re talking about fictional stuff). I soon went from calling him Iron Man to referring to him as Tony. My Tony. I remember writing down a list of all the upcoming highlights of 2013 and proudly putting the release of Iron Man 3 right up there. That’s how much I loved the movies. And not just Tony, but also all the others (we don’t talk about Thor 1 & 2). Doctor Strange blew my mind with all its endless colours and realities, while Thor: Ragnarok had me shed tears of laughter. Civil War had me broken for the one character I loved the most, while Spiderman combined my two favourite heroes (Tony and Peter) and made me fall in love with the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman all over again. And then came Infinity War. The one movie that still is, even after Endgame, the single best movie, no, the single best cinematic experience, I’ve ever had and seen in my entire life. It is and will always be pure perfection. At least for me. No other movie has ever made my feel such a complex mix of emotions within the duration of two and a half hours. And that’s the most important part when it comes to the MCU – it makes me feel things. Over the course of those 10 years, I’ve gotten attached to certain characters, fought discussions for them, had them guide me on my own path in life. Marvel has become a part of my life, a part of me.

And this is why Endgame was so important to me. And also why it hurt so much. I went into the cinema, thinking that I would be walking out as the same person I walked in. But no. Endgame did something to me no other movie or tv show, basically anything fictional, has ever done to me. It broke me. And here’s why.

They killed him.

They really made my most feared scenario become reality and killed off the one character I loved the most. They killed Tony. My Tony. The one character that has been with me for the past ten years and now he’s just gone and I don’t know what to do. Honestly, I swear, if I hadn’t been crying so much, it would have been quiet enough in the cinema to literally hear my heart burst into a million pieces. I felt like someone had just ripped out my heart, set it on fire, jumped on it, torn it into pieces and then thrown these pieces down a cliff, just to scrape them off the ground and give them back to me with an evil grin on their face. Leni, who I watched the movie with, later told me that she could actually hear me whisper “please no. please no. I don’t want to see this. I don’t want to see this.” over and over again. I was literally begging for his life, although I knew I couldn’t do anything. I wish I could have.

I don’t know how long I cried for. I mean, I started to tear up as soon as we saw Clint’s family turn to dust, and Nat sacrificing herself for the soul stone had me in ugly tears as well, but that was nothing compared to my state when Tony died. I actually don’t remember most of the movie after that moment, I just know that when everyone had left the room and I was finally able to get up, I went to the toilet, locked myself in and started to cry again. I just couldn’t help myself. But there was this nice moment that happened as I was sitting there, bawling my eyes out. I could hear someone next to me crying as well and at that moment I didn’t feel alone anymore. I knew I wasn’t the only one going through this and that helped.

It took me about three weeks to fully recover and to go through all the stages of grief. Which I really did go through, I’m not even kidding. First came the shock, the obvious stage. And as soon as we got out of the cinema, I said: “I’ve never seen that movie, that never happened, Tony is still alive, Marvel can f* off.” Yep, that right there is denial in it’s most perfect form. And the rest was just a few cries, mixed with A LOT of anger, that’s still lurking around in the back of my head, topped with a few bits and bops of hope. But I think I’ve got it now. I mean, I still cried yesterday when RDJ posted his goodbye video of his last day on set on Instagram, but besides that I’m fine. I think.

To be honest, if I didn’t love Tony that much, I think I would actually be fine with his ending. But you never want someone you love to die, do you? But I get it. He’s the hero. He’s always been the hero. And he could have never fully settled down if he didn’t know that the world was a 1000000000 % safe. That’s just who he is. So, I get it. And I’m proud to be a fan of the best one. I recently read an interview in which Joe Russo answered the question of why it had to be Tony. Why he had to be the one to defeat Thanos. Here’s what he said: “Stark is the most formidable of all of them. Because of his heart.” I can’t even begin to describe how much that sentence means to me. I think that’s also why I partly love Endgame. It’s a homage to Tony. He was the one to start it all. He was the one to make it all happen. They would have never been able to even go back in time and get the stones without having him figure out time travel in the first place. It’s always been him. He has always been and will always be the best of all of them and Endgame proved that.

I’m just not quite sure if I wouldn’t have liked him to just be a mediocre hero who actually got to survive. But then it wouldn’t be Tony, I guess. His arc is the defining arc of the MCU and his story has always been the core of it all. He’s the heart of the MCU and I honestly have no idea what they’re going to do without him now. I mean, I’ve slightly got my hopes up for Far From Home and a Tony A.I., but after watching that video that Robert posted, I’m not so convinced anymore. I guess I just need to accept that I won’t see this man in that role ever again and that’s actually the hardest step of all of them.

So, that’s that about Tony and how Endgame broke my heart. But, honestly, that’s not why I’m just not such a big fan of the movie. Don’t get me wrong, the movie had some of the best moments in cinematic history, and scenes I deeply loved. It basically gave me everything I was hoping for and then crushed it all in front of my eyes. But still, it had so many good parts. I loved seeing Tony interact with Nebula, who, in my opinion, is one of the best characters of the whole movie. The scene when Tony finally gets back to earth and then goes up against Cap in that amazing monologue is one of the most empowering scenes ever. I wanted to scream at that part, no joke. I’ve always wanted Tony to call Cap out on his mistakes and he finally did it and it made me feel so alive. Because Cap just had to stand there and endure it. And he deserved it. Also, it was one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen from Robert and if the Academy doesn’t nominate him for an Oscar I’ll be knocking on their door very very soon.

I loved seeing Tony with his young daughter Morgan, who, I’m not going to lie, is the cutest kid ever. And I was so happy to finally see him get what he always wanted – a family. I might just have to add now that I’m still furious with the Russos and the writers McFeely and Markus for saying that giving Tony five years of perfect retirement life was enough, but I’ve been angry about that for long enough now. I’d rather focus on the fact that these were the cutest scenes of the whole movie and the fact that the “I love you 3000” line actually comes from Robert himself because his own kids say that to him, which nearly brings my heart to a burst. Isn’t that the sweetest thing ever?

Also, finally putting Pepper into a suit was definitely one of the best decisions they could make. Again, this all happened thanks to Robert, who told the directors that Pepper needed to become a more important character, which again proves that the MCU would never be what it is now without this amazing actor and his love for this franchise. I can just repeat myself – I really don’t know what they’re going to do without him now.

Besides that, despite what most people say, it made total sense to me that Nat had to sacrifice herself. She would never be the one to watch her best friend kill himself for her, so I always knew it would be her. And I liked how they made the scene turn out, them fighting over the sacrifice, it made it all that bit more dramatic. I have to admit that I like the idea of her sacrificing herself in order to prove how much she loves her Avengers family more than the thought of the writers of how Clint had to stay alive because he had a family. What a dumb thing to say. They killed Tony, who also had family, so what do they even mean?

And I liked that Clint got to be in the bigger picture again, as I’ve always really enjoyed the character. I still don’t quite get why they had to show him kill some Asian guys as Ronin, but oh well. I don’t know if they will show him in future movies, but I would be quite happy if they did.

So far about the characters I did like. Now, let’s talk about the most epic part – the end fight. Holy moly. Leni and I watched the movie in IMAX, so, without exaggerating, I was sitting there, watching that part, and I had no idea where to look. There was just so much going on. First, the holy trinity (Tony, Cap and Thor) fighting Thanos. Clint running away from the Chitauri with the gauntlet in his hand. Then Cap fighting Thanos on his own and suddenly being able to wield Mjølnir. And then him suddenly hearing “on your left”, said by Falcon, and seeing all the portals open up around him and all the dusted characters being alive again and coming to help them fight Thanos. Pepper becoming Rescue and fighting Thanos’ army alongside Tony. Tony hugging Peter after he finally came back and uttering “hold me, kid, hold me”. All the female characters teaming up to beat Thanos. Wanda basically being the baddest of them all and saying “you took everything from me” to Thanos – which also kind of describes how I’m feeling about Endgame, to be honest. Just the overall fight and being able to watch all of these different characters fighting alongside each other blew my mind. Definitely one of the best scenes I’ve ever been able to experience.

Overall, the production of this movie is out of this world. The dynamics, the colours, the cinematography. All the people working in the CGI apartment for Marvel should receive an award for this because they sure outdid themselves with this one. Apart from that, I absolutely love the score – a big thank you to Alan Silvestri for that one. And last but not least, the actors. RDJ (obviously), Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Karen Gillan, Tom Holland (who always receives the script the day they are shooting and basically improvises nearly every single scene), Josh Brolin, just to name a few. All of them brought their A-game to this movie and I’m still stunned by that. They deserve all the recognition they get and I’m so glad we got to see all of these amazing actors together in one movie. Also, let’s not forget the fantastic stunt doubles who did an incredible job as well. Basically, the whole movie is a compilation of amazing people doing their best.

But, as I stated at the beginning, the movie, for me, is far from being perfect. I have to admit that I had indeed set the bar very high. Infinity War had, actually. I wanted Endgame to be perfect, maybe even more than that, and, unfortunately, it couldn’t live up to that. Which would be fine, if it didn’t have obvious issues. First of all, and some people might not agree with me on that one, I hated what they did with Thor and Hulk. Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best Marvel movies ever and it made me fall in love with the two characters, whereas Endgame made a joke out of both of them. I know that Thor had to be the one character to prove that he indeed suffers, but making him fat just for laughs was cheap (the filmmakers indeed admitted that it was meant to be a joke). And what happened to Hulk? Why did he have to dab? The more they showed him, the more I started to lose respect and it made me feel so bad because I honestly love Bruce. I read a theory that Hulk could become Hulk again through his pain after hearing that Nat had died and I honestly would have loved that take so much more.

On the other hand, I would have also liked the ending to be a bit different. Not different as in an alternate ending – although I would do nearly anything to have Tony back. I would have just liked the movie to end on another note. Personally, I always knew that Cap would go back in time and stay there with Peggy. I even betted on that with Leni. I just knew. But I didn’t want it to be the last scene of the movie. Because it left me with a feeling that we had all just watched another Captain America movie and not an Avengers one. It shouldn’t have been just him with Peggy. The funeral should have been the end. Because it was the scene where all of them were together (slight note: did you all see Harley? I’m so happy to have him back). It would have given us the sense of togetherness and how the movie was about THEM and not just Cap and his lovey-dovey ending (frankly, I’m a bit bitter about that) (also, I won’t talk about the time travel aspect, because it still is a plot hole, but oh well). That should have been the post-credit scene and at the very end, before the lights turned on, we should have heard the sound of Tony making his very first suit in that cave from a bunch of scraps. That would have been the perfect ending for me (besides having Tony live – and no, I’ll never stop complaining about that).

And lastly, I also have to say that I have a slight problem with the overall story. I know that the movie was meant to be a celebration of the past ten years, which is why they had us relive Avengers again and Thor 2 and the first Guardians movie. And I loved that, I really did. But after much deliberation, I think it was kind of lazy as well. It relied way too much on the concept of fan service. And of course I am a huge fan of fan service, because, you guessed it, I am indeed a fan. But at the end of the day, I am an even bigger fan of innovation. Having us watch the battle of New York again and giving us a glance behind the scenes is fan service. Putting Doctor Strange, Spidey and Tony in one ship and having them collide with the Guardians on a planet called Titan, which none of them has ever been on, is innovation. And that’s where Endgame is different. It lacks innovation. Of course, it was nice to relive the past 22 movies, but I would have loved to see something new. Something I would remember for the rest of my life (besides the end fight and losing Tony).

So yeah, guys, there you go. That’s my take on Avengers: Endgame. I’m pretty sure I forgot to include a bunch of other scenes, but I think I managed to discuss my personal most important aspects. I’m sure you all have your own takes on the movie and I’m even more sure that some of you won’t agree with me at all. But maybe some of you will. Either way, I would love to hear your opinions, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. I’m always open to a nice discussion.

In the end, I just have to say, that despite my feelings about the movie, I am incredibly happy to be able to experience something like this. 11 years ago absolutely nobody would have dared to dream about something like this and now we are here. A moment in time where a superhero movie could become the biggest movie of all time. How incredible is that? And personally, I’m incredibly grateful that I got to spend my time growing up with the one and only Robert Downey Jr. accompanying me on my path as the one and only Tony Stark. After losing him, I suddenly noticed how much this character really means to me and I’ll be forever grateful for being able to go on this journey with him. He’s the character I could always identify myself with the most – despite not being a billionaire and a genius myself (I wish). He was always the most relatable one. The one who wasn’t born or made a superhero, the one who wasn’t trained or calls himself a god. He’s just a human being, but the smartest one I know, with the biggest heart. And that’s why I’ve always loved him. And despite how much the movie has hurt me, I still love Marvel with all of my heart. 3000.

And I love you guys as well. If you’ve made it until here, thanks so much for reading all of my thoughts, you’re amazing. I dearly hope you enjoyed them. And, as always, I wish you a lovely weekend and thanks for reading. x

By the Shore

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing? I hope you’ve all had a good week so far. On my behalf, I’m currently spending a few nice days with my mum here in Brighton and visiting the Great Escape festival, which I’m honestly so excited about. I can’t believe I’ll really be seeing HalfNoise and The Jungle Giants. Who would have thought that I’d ever be able to experience them live? Certainly not me. Which makes all of this even crazier.

But now, let’s jump to today’s topic… as some of you might know, my best friend Leni recently visited me as well, which I was and still am so damn happy about. And it was actually kind of freaky too, thinking that we’ll both move to London together in a few months. Among all the awesome stuff we did during the time she was here, we went on this one special trip to the Brighton Marina, where we went on a little walk next to the sea and the cliffs, which was absolutely stunning. I had never been to such a place before, so obviously I had to take my camera with me to snap a few pictures, which is actually the purpose of this post. Because today, I’d like to share my favourite snaps of that day with you. As always, I hope you enjoy them and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And until then I wish you all a great weekend and thanks for reading. x

Interview with Saint Raymond

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. I’m sorry for being gone for so long, but I hope you’ve all had a great time and that you’re doing well. I know at the end of my last post I said that I’d be coming back with a huge post about Avengers: Endgame, but, honestly, it’s been over a week since I saw it and I still haven’t been able to fully process it. My plan now is to watch Infinity War and then see Endgame again straight the day after, so I can really say which one I prefer. And then I want to put all my thoughts, emotions and opinions into one long, deserving post for you all to read. Unfortunately, that means it will be packed with spoilers, so I’ll just say it now – if you haven’t seen the movie, don’t read anything about it, don’t ruin it for yourself and just watch it. Also, props to you if you’ve made it this far without coming across spoilers. Well done.

So, now that we’ve talked about that, let’s get to the real deal, which is something I’ve been burning to tell you ever since it happened. Some of you might remember the concert review I did of the Saint Raymond show I went to in March (here’s the link if you want to check it out). I absolutely loved the show, but I didn’t tell you everything that happened on that day. So, here comes the crazy part: I didn’t just go to the concert, I actually met up with Callum (Saint Raymond) before his show in Brighton to do a little interview with him. I know, I know. Holy moly. I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around it either. And oh wow, it was such a lovely interview. I felt so welcome and it was just so chill and nice. And Callum was absolutely fantastic as well. Definitely one of those hours of my life that I’ll never ever forget. And I’m so happy that I finally get to share the piece I wrote about it for my university magazine with you. I really hope you enjoy it. Also, please don’t forget to show Callum some love (here’s the link to his Spotify and his website), he really deserves it. And, as always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts down below and thanks for reading. x

‘It’s a show-off world’

Nottingham born and bred Callum Burrows, aka singer-songwriter Saint Raymond, exploded on to the music scene in 2013 with his EP release ‘Escapade’. Following that the young artist not only went on to open for some of the biggest names in music, but also toured festivals including Glastonbury, right before releasing his No. 1 debut album. After a short hiatus, the singer is now ready to go bigger than ever. I met up with Callum at Patterns in Brighton before his show to chat about standing your ground in the music industry, crime-podcasts and supporting music-star Ed Sheeran.

Did you ever expect to end up where you are now?

No, not at all. Obviously I hoped I would, but I never thought I’d be doing music as a career. I never expected it to get to a point where I get to do it for a living. Which is still weird for me to say, because I think I sometimes take it for granted. Like with anything, you have your highs and lows and I often forget that music is my job. Which is pretty cool. Ten years on, still get to play shows. It’s crazy.

What is the one memory you will never forget?

There was this special moment when I played a hometown show in Nottingham, at Rock City. I actually played it three times, but that first gig was an unreal experience, because I had grown up going to gigs there. And suddenly people were queuing to see me and I just thought ‘what the hell is going on?’. So, that will always live long in my memory. And besides that, the tour with Ed was super crazy as well.

Speaking of that – how did you get to support him?

I met him through a mutual friend and then ended up going to his birthday party, where we had a chat. And then, about a month later, he just texted me out of the blue saying ‘hey man, do you want to go on tour?’. I couldn’t believe it. I actually kept it a secret from my band until the official announcement. I just told them that we would be going on tour in October. That really was an amazing experience, which I’ll be forever grateful for.

Looking back on all your songs – what’s your favourite one?

That would probably be ‘As We Are Now’, because it meant so much to me at the time. I wrote it when I was kind of hoping to do music for a career, but I wasn’t sure that I was going to. All of my friends had gone to university, so they knew what they were going to do for their jobs after. But I was just in this period where I wasn’t a kid anymore and had to take some responsibility. So that one will always be a special one.

Is that why you released two versions of it?

Yes, that was a mad decision, to make the fast version. I don’t want to bitch too much, but I prefer the slow one. You know, there are a lot of things that happen with music, especially when you’ve got a big team around you, where decisions just get made that aren’t always the right ones. Or not solely what you want. But it’s hard when a lot of people are throwing in their opinions, because, at first, you know what you want, but then you get a bit lost in it. So that’s what I’ve learned over the last few years, to stand my ground a bit more and go for what I believe in. I was very young when I made that first record, it was a big learning curve.

What’s another part that you had to get used to?

Definitely social media. I think Twitter is such an important tool as an artist, but I struggle to use it to its full capacity. It’s easier now when I’m on tour because I can talk about that, but it’s really hard to interact when you’re not doing those things. At least for me. I know some other people who are amazing at it, like Lewis Capaldi. He’s got it nailed down. But then again, right now, there are a lot of people in the industry trying to copy that. And that’s when you look like an idiot. Because you’re trying to be someone you’re not. Which is mad. Especially now with the whole Instagram world, I think it’s so important to be who you are on social media. It drives me crazy how people are living a life that isn’t real. It’s a show-off world.

How about using Twitter and Co. to connect with your fans?

Oh yeah, I think it’s so important to interact with them. Before social media, bands were untouchable. You couldn’t access them unless you went to a show or met them somewhere, whereas now you can genuinely have a chat with anyone. You can literally send a message to the president of America, not that you would want to. But that’s how the internet works now. And I think sometimes people forget that if it wasn’t for the fans, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. Because who would buy the tickets, the t-shirts, the albums? They start to think they are on a platform above them. Which isn’t true. That’s why, after every show and not just on social media, I’ll always try to come out and talk to people. I mean, them coming to the show means that I get to do in in the first place, so why shouldn’t I?

And would you call yourself a fan of someone as well?

Of course. Loads of people. But my biggest inspiration right now has to be Ariana Grande. I once saw her perform live at this charity event in Central Park in New York. She came on stage with Coldplay and, until today, it’s the best live vocal I’ve ever heard. The whole day overall was just absolutely crazy. I stepped on Jay-Z’s foot by accident and then met Leonardo DiCaprio. Weirdest day of my life. And besides that, I’m a huge fan of murder podcasts. They’re my jam.