By Rhys Pearson
When asked to write about this from the editor, I had a thousand different ideas flowing in my head about how to start this off. Nothing. It’s a Thursday afternoon, I just finished work and I’m currently sitting at a bar alone. Nothing. My usual working day allows me to have my headphones in for the most part. Except today. I felt bleak, bored and uninspired with life. It’s not until I sit here in this bar, I can hear the music going off and across from me I overhear a table converse.
“Ayo! This is our song!”
From that small comment, the table erupted! Laughter, smiles, some off pitched singing but for me it showed what music was all about. The power music has over people as individuals and the ability to bring people together, it’s actually incredible. The way music can act as a time capsule and bring out certain emotions, bring back memories and can create new ones. Music is arguably one of the main reasons I have some of the friendships I have now, the community and camaraderie music is able to provide. I can go out with my friends on a night out, we hit up a nightclub, the music is playing your generic bangers and bops. But there will ALWAYS be that one song where everyone in my group will get wild over and lose our collective minds. It’s a beautiful sight, maybe not to the people around us, but to us it feels like we are the only people in the venue. It’s a feeling like that when you got to a concert, the people around you come together to celebrate the legacy and enjoy a live performance from one of our favorite artists. It’s a special feeling.
My taste in music has relatively stayed in the same genres, branching out on the odd occasion. My father was an influence for the music I listened to. He showed me artists such as INXS, Midnight Oil, Fleetwood Mac, Little River Band, and other Australian Rock bands. From there I got into the radio and I caught wind of whatever was popular at the time, always sticking around with artists such as Bruno Mars, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas and whatever else was happening around 2007–2014. Like most people my age, we grew up post Napster and were introduced to LimeWire and all of its amazing content and viruses. Wasn’t until after high school actually, my younger sister (five years younger) actually expanded my broad view of music. Introducing me to the realms of Rnb and Hip-Hop outside of the radio and popular charts. From there I branched out, finding my own subgenres and going deep and deep into the rabbit hole. Even to this day, I’m still asking my sister for a new artist to listen to, and it’s arguably one of our biggest ways to bond and communicate with each other.
Music for me took to a whole other level circa 2017. I was over my office job. I had recently started writing my own songs and getting highly invested in the entertainment industry as a whole. Leaving my job, starting work at a nightclub and enrolling myself at JMC Academy, graduating November 2019 with a Bachelors in Entertainment Business Management. I learned a lot of things about the industry, I’d even say I learned how to review during that course. But it was at the start of this venture that music completely took control of my life. I was constantly writing music, collaborating and helping friends with their music endeavors. Finding love and passion for new areas and genres of music. Producing, the art of sampling, marketing and finding a love for other genres including Funk, Disco, 80s Japanese Jazz, City Pop and delving deeper into genres I already loved. Appreciating them more and more.
Music is a way of life for me. It sounds cliché, but music did in fact save my life. It’s gotten me out of depressive states, it’s helped me communicate my feelings when I couldn’t have, it’s given me a sense of purpose and meaning. It’s helped me find a passion and talent, and it’s an outlet to be creative. It’s allowing me to ramble to you readers. Music has created and cemented the bonds I share today and will make in the future.
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” Billy Joel
