london – Page 6 – that lemon life

New Music Friday

Hola everyone.

How are we doing? Doing good, I hope. Personally, in the past few days, I’ve been in an incredible mood. Because, you guessed it, concert season is coming up and starting next Sunday with the one and only band Hippo Campus. And then the week after that we have Saint Raymond and just a few days after that I’ll finally be seeing my beans Tyler and Josh and last but not least the week after my love Tom. And just two days after that unbelievable experience I’ll be flying back home for spring break (is it even spring break though? I honestly have no idea). So yeah, you could say I’ve got some exciting days coming up. I can’t wait.

And as my next few weeks will basically consist of thinking about, listening to and plainly experiencing music, I thought we’d all get in the groove now together with another lovely New Music Friday. I know I didn’t even post the last one that long ago, but the music industry works at a different pace, so while we’ve been living our lives at usual, normal, chilled pace, quite a few artists and bands decided to release amazing new music. And besides that, as usual, I also got to know some other new incredible tracks, which I’m dying to share with you today. Some were recommended to me, some I found by myself and some got to me because of the updated Sziget lineup. And one has to know all the bands that will be at their favourite festival, obviously.

Most of the tracks, I noticed, are quite heavy on the bass and a bit more electronic than usual, but I’m sure you’ll love them nonetheless. Of course, the usual indie-ness still plays a big part. So, get ready, put some good headphones on, turn up the volume and enjoy.

Beirut – Family Curse / Varieties of Exile

I can’t really remember when I found this band, I just know that it was last year and that I was shocked that I had found it this late. Obviously, better late than never, but come on. This band is amazing. And when I saw that they had released a new album called Gallipoli, I instantly had to listen to it (the two songs here are my favourite ones of the album). And no joke, it’s such a fantastic collection of even more fantastic songs. I can’t really put it into words, but their music is just so special. It’s really different and deserves and needs to be heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRRrQzu1r8

Hucci & Jaya – Fountain

Here comes the electronic vibe. I told you it would. This one right here is one of the bands that will be playing at Sziget this year. And despite some other tracks not being my cup of tea, this one is just too cool to not like it. I really enjoy the vibe of it and I can already see my mum and me attending their show at like 2am and totally enjoying it.

New Atlas – Morphine / Lay Low

To be honest, both of these songs couldn’t be any more different from each other. While Morphine is a fun indie-rock track, Lay Low is a weird, bassy electronic song that I can already see being played in clubs over and over again. And funnily enough, I really really like both of the tracks. Also, Lay Low is a strict case of the headphone rule. Those are essentially what make the song so fun to listen to.

Wallows ft. Clairo – Are You Bored Yet?

My boys are back with another new amazing track and oh my god, I’m so happy. Did I tell you that I recently bought tickets to see them in London this June? I honestly can’t believe I’m really seeing them live. It’s as if 2019 decided to be the year of the impossible concerts that suddenly became possible. Hippo Campus, Tom, The Jungle Giants (they’re coming to the Great Escape here in Brighton for their UK debut) and now Wallows. Literally crazy. And such good music, holy moly.

Son Lux – Lost It To Trying

Another Sziget contestant and another amazing song, obviously. And there’s also quite a funny story to this, because when I first listened to this song I thought I was being fooled at or something and the Fall Out Boy fans among you will probably get what I mean within the first few seconds of listening to this song. Because this right here is the reason why the song ‘4th of July’ by FOB is such a bop. Because they sampled it. I coincidentally found the ‘original’ track. How funny is that? And, obviously, it’s a fantastic song.

Jónsi – Who Are You Thinking Of?

I recently got to watch the movie ‘Boy Erased’ – and, oh boy, was that an incredible and also super sad movie, wow – and this song right here was featured in it and immediately caught my attention. You can literally hear the sadness in the song, which I adore. Sometimes I’m such a sucker for sad tracks, I can’t tell why. I can just say that I love this one right here. And I also love the movie, which is why I now have to urge you to both listen to this song and watch the movie. Please.

Hippo Campus – Violet

And last but not least we have this gem right here. You guys know that I’m head over heels in love with this band and now that I’ll finally be seeing them live next week, I’ve been listening to their music non-stop. So much, that Violet has now become my favourite track of theirs (although that usually changes on a weekly basis, but oh well). It’s just such an incredibly fun song, I don’t even know what to tell you. But what I do know is that it’s part of their set-list, which means that I’ll get the chance to completely freak out when they play it. Which I can’t wait for.

So yeah, guys, there you go. That’s about all the new music that I’ve got to share with you for now. I dearly hope that you enjoy these tracks as much as I do. As always, please don’t hesitate to share your opinions and thoughts down below. I’d love to hear them. And until then I wish you all a lovely weekend and hope you’re doing good. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

White Skin, Black Ink

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Friday and another month, actually. Happy February. I hope you’ve all had an amazing week so far and are looking forward to the weekend. You know, while thinking about what to write for today’s post, many different ideas came to my mind, but none of them really inspired me, nothing ignited that certain fire every writer needs. And then I thought about the one thing, that has been rooting in my head for a few weeks now. Tattoos.

You guys know that I’m a huge sucker for this certain type of art, this beautiful art that turns the body into a canvas. And it is indeed art. One I’ve admired and loved my entire life. I myself am proud to call myself a canvas for this art, so far I’ve gathered three pieces, spilling on both of my arms. They still make me stare at them and adore them every single day and I don’t think that will ever change. And like many before and after me, I have also become an addict in and of the process. Which is also the reason why I’ve been thinking about tattoos and design ideas more than I usually would. My body has started aching for more again. Aching for the pain, that always ends in beauty. I even miss the weeks of caring and nurturing afterwards. I miss all of it. I simply want more.

So, as every addict, I’ve been trying to get as close to actually getting a tattoo as possible. I literally created my own folder just for designs of different tattoos that I would either like to have myself or just like how they look and maybe want to incorporate into other designs. So, here I am, craving a tattoo, with a folder full of pictures of different tattoos and I can’t seem to get comfortable with any of them. Because, as I should probably tell you, I am one of those people, who only get something inked, when there’s an important meaning to the piece. It has to mean something to me, something big. Because this way, I get a life-long guarantee that I will forever love the tattoo. Even if I might not be the biggest fan of the look overall in like 40 or 50 years, I’ll at least love it because of it’s story and background. But this time, there was no story. At least I couldn’t think of a design for my stories.

Until now, I’ve still got the folder and designs, I’d really love to get inked. I’ve grown a big fan of silhouette tattoos or ones picturing a hand holding flowers or something else. And I’ve always adored tattoos of plants and flowers, preferably in color. Which is also why I really want to fly to Korea, even if it’s just to walk into the ‘Studio by Sol’ tattoo atelier to add some cute rose or sunflower to my collection. Also, speaking of that studio, I highly recommend checking out its Instagram and those of all their different artists. They are bomb, no joke. And I won’t even mention that I really want to fly to New York to visit Bang Bang, because, who doesn’t?

But, here comes to exciting part. Yesterday, while brainstorming for possible designs with Leni, I kind of got the perfect idea. Or at least a good one, I’d say. I’ve always wanted a tattoo that resembled my endless love for music, but as many people, I am literally sick of quotes like “music is my life” or some kind of boring music note or something. Not that there is anything wrong with them, they just aren’t my cup of tea, personally. So I thought, how can I bring some of my ideas together? And in the end I’m now trying to stuff silhouettes, music and space and maybe even some geometric design into one package, shake it really good and then see what’s going to happen. At least that’s the plan for now and so far, I’m really happy with it.

But what about you guys? Do you have any tattoos and would you like to get more? And do you also have to have a meaning behind them or do you just get what you’d like to have on your body? Please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below, I’d love to start a little tattoo discussion. Also, as you can see down below, I’ve added some of the design ideas I’ve been working with lately, so you can get an idea and maybe even some inspiration for yourself. As always, none of these pictures belong to me, they were all done by amazing artists, who I’m bowing my head to. I hope you like them. And yeah, I think that’s all for now. I wish you all a great weekend and thanks for reading. x

A Late Night Talk

Hola everyone.

Right now, it’s a few minutes after 9 p.m here in Brighton. The sky has long darkened and slowly but surely you can feel the city calm down. I’ve always loved these times. I’ve always been a creature of the night. And I’ve always been a big fan of late night chats. The talks when people suddenly start discussing their own fate, their personality, their deepest desires and strongest fears. Something about the night makes the truth, the sincereness come out and I’ve always loved that and been fascinated by it. And now that I’ve been thinking about what to write as today’s post, I thought such a late night talk would be the perfect fit. So, get into something comfy, grab a tea and let’s get chatting.

You know, since the beginning of 2019 – which we’re still in, actually, right? – I’ve been thinking about the last year, probably as many other people too. Maybe even yourself. For me, 2018 was truly the craziest year of my entire life so far. Without any doubt. I finished my first bachelor’s degree. Started my own music column for the magazine I’m writing for. Worked at a damn huge festival for the very first time (hopefully not the last). Visited Sziget again, thank god. Worked at the biggest music promotion company in my country. Saw Ed twice (can never be enough, though). Saw my love Marty again. Strolled through the streets of Budapest with my mum. Finally saw the one and only Justin Timberlake live (was well over due, trust me). Moved to Brighton to study music journalism at the legendary BIMM (probably the craziest part). Did my very first interview with a musician, that I’m a huge fan of (this right here is the big contestant for the first spot on the list of craziness, next to the move). Had the very same interview published in The Sun (say whatever you want about the paper, it’s a damn huge deal). Read a ton of books and listened to so much more music. Laughed more. Loved more. Lived more. And so much more that I can’t seem to remember now.

And seeing it now, black on white, makes it even more crazy. If anyone would have told me I’d be where I am right now, I would have laughed in their face. But now I’m really here. And now it’s already 2019 and I have no idea what’s going to happen. I can just hope for the best and that my plans will become reality. Maybe, at this time in a year, I’ll be in London, together with Leni. Stuffed into a small but cozy apartment in the middle of the city we’ve always dreamed about and now call our home. It won’t always be the easiest, but we’ll always make it work, I’m sure of that.

I’ve always been someone who gives everything for her dreams. Who fights for them with all her might. I wouldn’t be where I am if I wasn’t that person. And I’m very proud of that. And it’s not just about big dreams. Even the smallest one is important. Just recently I finally edited all the videos I had saved together into a little potpourri of different moments of my life and added one of Tom’s songs to it. Just put a black and white filter over it and there you have your super emotional video. One that I’ve been wanting to make for ages and finally did. And I’m so happy and proud because of it. Or, another example, since 2015 it has always been my big wish to see Marty every year. And since then I’ve been able to stick to it, every single year. Not just because I wanted it that much, but because I also fought for it. The same with seeing Ed live or getting my mum to visit Sziget again, for the whole week this time (yes, seven full on festival days, I can already start mentally preparing myself for the recovery). And I know, I’m literally just talking about music related things right now, but that stuff basically rules my life, so. Or even if it’s just finishing a book and being proud of it. It’s about the small dreams, the small goals and the small fights. Because we can only grow from small ones.

But finally, what I wanna say – no matter how you’re feeling right now, it will get better, trust me. And if you have a dream, go and fight for it. No matter how small or big it is, crazy or normal it might sound. If it means something to you, it deserves to become reality. Please let nobody tell you any different.

And if you need an immediate portion of happiness to feel better, here you go. I’ve been listening to and looking at this little adorable bean while writing this post and my heart is nearly bursting, so I’m pretty sure you could call Tyler a literal happy pill. Such a cutie, I don’t know how Jenna is able to handle him (good for her though, he’s a true gem).

And yeah, I think that’s it for this late night’s talk. I hope I could inspire you a bit with my babbling about music and dreams and I dearly hope that you enjoyed this post. And I also hope that the little bean named Tyler could put a smile on your face. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. Start your own late night chat, go on. And besides that, I hope you’re all doing good and wish you a lovely week. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

Different Colours

Hola everyone.

And welcome to another Friday. Sorry for being gone for a week, the term of uni is coming to a close now and I’m actually trying to keep up with it, so yeah. Having a kind of busy time right now, but I would never complain about that. Besides that, I hope you’re all doing good and that the cold hasn’t hit you as hard as it has hit me (yes, it’s actually freezing and I’m struggling to handle it).

And speaking of the weather, two weeks ago I got another chance to visit London, at a time when the sun was still shining and I could still wear my cropped Dr. Martens. And as the weather was so beautiful and all the autumnally colors of the trees in St. James park were glistening in the sun, I couldn’t stop myself from taking pictures. And I now can’t stop myself from sharing all this beauty with you guys. I really hope you enjoy the pictures, maybe they can bring some warmth into your evening.

As always, I wish you all a nice weekend and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

London Calling

Hola everyone.

Can you believe that it’s already been a month since I moved to Brighton? How crazy is that? It’s been a month and I still can’t get my head around the fact that this is all really happening. I mean, after all these years of working my butt off for this, I am now truly living in the UK. Please excuse me while I freak out for a bit.

But you know, it’s not just that I live in the UK. No no. There’s another huge detail that really blows my mind. You know, living in Brighton does have its own perks. I live right next to the sea, everyone is nice and happy and the city is bursting with cuteness and quirkiness. But that’s not everything. The biggest perk of them all is that within two hours, I can be in my favorite city on the planet – London. It’s literally a train ride away. A train ride that I took this weekend, which is exactly what I want to tell you all about today.

Before I get started – do you think it’s possible to marry a city? If yes, could I please marry London? The second I got off the train, I had to stop myself from crying happy tears because I felt so lucky and thankful to be at this place. Just the simple fact of being there made me so happy that I didn’t even need anything else. That must be love, right?

When I got there, I started my tour off by visiting Buckingham Palace (of course) – and yes, the Queen was indeed home – and then chilled a bit in St. James Park. The luck was on my side, because the weather couldn’t have been any better. It was sunny and warm and it seemed like everyone was the happiest they could have been. Also, it was so funny to hear people talk in German again, I’m so not used to that anymore. After that I went to Westminster Abbey to pay good old Benny a little visit, just to see him all packed up due to a restoration. My tour then continued with a walk to Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Soho, Chinatown and Oxford Street. And I have to say, I loved every single second of it. But the funniest part of those hours I got to spend in London was that I actually had nothing planned at all and still everything I could’ve hoped for just came flowing right at me. I got to Chinatown totally by accident, I didn’t even know where I was heading to. I walked into the one Wagamama I needed to go to get this one special meal I wanted to try, without even knowing it was that exact one. And last but not least I ended up standing next to the one and only Bill Nighy on my walk back to the train station, which funnily enough is also the second time I met him in London. All of those amazing things happened to me without having planned any of them and that’s what made it all even more special.

I have now been to London about six times (I guess) and I fall more and more in love with this city every single time I visit it. I’ve never really lived there, but when I’m there I feel like I’m home. It’s like me and this city were made for each other. And apart from that, it’s just so damn beautiful, I can’t enough of it.

And now I’ll stop myself from raving even more about this utterly perfect city and will let the pictures I took do the rest of the talking. At the end I can just recommend all of you guys to visit London once in your life (or more), you won’t regret it, I swear. And until then I hope you enjoy this little ramble about my favorite place and the pictures. Please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. As always, I hope you’re all doing good and I wish you all a great week. And, of course, thanks so much for reading. x

A new chapter

Hola everyone.

It’s me, Laura. And no, I’ve not fallen into a big black hole I couldn’t get out of. Yes, I do still exist. What a miracle. Ha. Ha. Okay, but seriously, I’m back, for real. I’m sorry it took me so long, but if you’ve been following me for the past months or even just weeks, you’ll know that I’ve had this big move to Brighton and I just had to fully concentrate on that. But yeah, this is over now. I mean, it’s still happening, at least in my head, which I still can’t get around the idea that I’m now living in the UK, where people live, think and speak differently. It’s so so crazy and I’m really glad that I get to share this journey with you guys.

As you can probably guess, my life here in Brighton and my new uni will be a big topic throughout, well, the next months and maybe even years. But for now I’d just like to share everything that happened in the past seven days with you guys. I know that nowadays it’s a bit more common to move to a different country or city to study or work there and everyone always tells you that it’s a great thing that will shape you, blah blah blah. But what noone really tells you is how hard it is to leave everyone and everything you know and love behind. I don’t regret any part of this move and I don’t want any of you to think that. It’s just that this really great thing also comes with a lot of heartbreaks and anyone who’s in the same situation as me should never feel like you always have to be happy from the first second on because you’re doing this really cool thing and basically fulfilling your dreams. Because it’s okay to not feel okay. Okay?

So, you can probably guess by now that the move wasn’t easy for me. The last week at home was a total dream for me and probably one of the best weeks ever. I saw all of my friends and I got to spend a lot of time with my family. And yeah, it was just really nice. And I was truly doing fine, even on the day of the move. But then I went into the garden to say goodbye to my cat and said “Peaches, I need to say goodbye” and it was the first time I had to explicitly say it and yeah, it was kind of my trigger word. From that moment on the tears just kept spilling. And you know what, I even let them, because I knew that this was the most normal reaction on earth. And I also knew that saying goodbye to my pets would be the hardest step. I mean, I kind of had an internal panic attack during the flight, but oh well. And you know what, the human mind is something truly crazy sometimes, let me tell you. Because suddenly I had all of these worries popping up in my head. “What if I don’t understand them?” “What if I can’t properly talk to people?” “What if I don’t like my new home?” “What if…?” It was driving me mad.

Rationally, most of my worries were pretty much total nonsense. Of course I still worry sometimes, mostly about uni right now and my new classmates. But you know, I always try to calm myself down by thinking that I can’t be perfect. I didn’t grow up in the UK and wasn’t raised bilingual, so of course I’m going to make some mistakes. But I’ve been progressing every single day and it’s actually really cool to notice how my brain slowly adjusts to the new surroundings and language. And I’m also already in contact with one of my new peers and yeah. Everything’s gonna be just fine, I’m hundred percent sure of that.

Besides that, I truly love my new home and Brighton and my new “family” and just pretty much everything. The house is freaking amazing, my room aswell, Nick and Silvia are literally the nicest people ever and the location couldn’t be any better. If I truly concentrate on it, I can even hear the waves crashing into the shore when I open the window. It couldn’t be any better, seriously. But for any of you who are planning on moving to a totally different place, I can just recommend having your parents with you for the first few days. I think that’s what really helped me to both adjust to my new home and not get a heart attack at the same time. I mean, watching my mum get onto the train and leave without me was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but moving to Brighton all on my own would have been a completely different and also harder story. I just really needed them and I’m happy that I had them with me. Also, I’ll be seeing them again in just 32 days and I already can’t wait.

You know, when I first got to Brighton I was asking myself whether I had made the right decision or not. Maybe it would have been better to just stay at home, do my Masters degree and then get a job at some magazine or whatever. Maybe that would have been easier. But then something very, very, very exciting happened. Some of you may know that Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, aka one of my favorite YouTubers, also lives in Brighton together with his fiancée Marzia Bisognin. And when my parents and I were walking to their hotel just after getting to Brighton, I actually told them all about Pewds and Marzia and was like “oh my god, imagine me walking around and then seeing Marzia with their two pugs. One is white and one is black. That would be so crazy.” I was probably annoying them, let’s be honest. And then we were passing this street and I looked to my left side and suddenly there was this guy, wearing a black jumper and black joggers. And I thought “hmm, why do I feel like I know him?” And then I looked down and saw them – Edgar and Maya, the two pugs. So, there he was. Felix. The one and only Pewds. I thought I was dreaming. I, of course, went completely crazy and whispered/shrieked at my parents “IT’S PEWDIEPIE. IT’S PEWDIEPIE.” And my mum was like “WHERE????” (she knows him – of course she does). And my dad was just staring at us like we were some crazy people. And then I looked back at him and he was looking at me and oh my god, I probably looked like a total freak. My mum then basically ordered me to turn around and walk past him, which we did. And as soon as he was out of sight, I basically went nuts. I couldn’t believe it. I had just moved to this city like five short minutes ago and as soon as I stepped outside Pewds walked by. How crazy is that? I still can’t get my head around it. And yes guys, he has got some looks to serve, I’m just going to be completely honest now. And it might be a bit crazy, but I took this as the sign that I had made the right decision. Because when mum and I visited Brighton two years ago, I was basically scanning every single face I went past and nothing happened. But this time I saw him, completely out of the blue. That just had to be the sign.

Since then I’ve used every singe day to get to know my new home better, street by street, house by house. Let me just tell you one thing – Brighton is damn beautiful and living next to the sea is one of the coolest things ever. Honestly, I feel like the luckiest person ever. Thanks to Silvia and Nick I don’t feel so alone here and they kind of prevent me from getting too sad about the fact that my family isn’t here. Which I’m very thankful for, seriously. I’ve already started to decorate my room and usually spend my days walking around in the city, doing a bit of shopping and stuff. And I’m also really looking forward to fresher’s week that’s coming up. In short, apart from missing my home, life couldn’t be any better right now. I’m basically living my dream and yeah, I’m just really happy and thankful.

And now I’m going to stop talking. Firstly, because this post if getting far too long and secondly, because it’s already past midnight and a new episode of Bake Off is waiting for me to be watched in bed. So I’m gonna go now. If any of you have got any questions about my move or Brighton or anything else, please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. I’ll try to answer them as fast as I can, I promise. Also, down below you can find some pictures of Brighton that I took the past few days and I really hope that you enjoy them. And yeah, I wish you all an amazing weekend. It feels really good to be back. Thanks for reading, guys. x