The majority of my posts are related to music, and this most recent post is no different. Music is the ultimate time machine. It can take us to places that very few other things (emotionally) can. What were you doing in September 2000? If you were around, I was starting University, having just recovered from working at a local Shell petrol station during the fuel crisis that had taken over parts of England that autumn.
Even now, almost a quarter of a century later, it is extremely difficult to note down in words that feeling of leaving home as a semi-functioning adult and having to face everything on your own. I had lived a rather sheltered life. Being from an Asian household with three sisters, perhaps, did not help. My destination was the East Midlands (if we must use television regions for geographically pinpointing on the map!). Perhaps I will find the perfect words when I am on the other side of the fence, when one (or both) of my sons makes that trip – although there is still time – September 2036 (or September 2038 for Aaron) feels like a lifetime away.
The beauty of Spotify is not just finding brand new music. Sometimes you find bangers that are over five years old. Do you remember the early 2000s, when DJs, or perhaps more accurately, music producers, started rehashing 1980s mega pop hits with a big dance track to create a summer hit? Perhaps I need to give a few examples to underline the point. Berlina Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth – was “dancified” by Soda Club ft. Hannah Alethea – “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” in 2003. I believe it all started when DJ Sammy covered Heaven, the 1984 Bryan Adams song. This was the soundtrack to the first part of my placement year, covering 120 miles daily from High Wycombe to Bedford (and back again!) Highlights for me personally include Room 5 ft. Oliver Cheatham – “Make Luv” – you may remember the fantastic television advert for Lynx Pulse (Axe in other territories). This dance track reimagined Oliver Cheatham’s 1983 R&B hit “Get Down Saturday Night.” Released in March 2003, “Make Luv” topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks, becoming a signature dance-floor anthem but I doubt about it bringing 1980s funk back into mainstream clubs. Although, I remember dancing to it in a nightclub in Milton Keynes (even requesting the song at multiple venues – the weekend I was out with my colleagues from a local law firm). How exotic!
The point I want to get to is this, Imagine by Punctual, appeared randomly on Spotify when sometimes I even take risks and roll the dice, outside of my curated playlists or just looping through my saved “Library”. I was just curious by the title – was it a cover of the 1999 Shola Ama classic (which itself had had a Garage Remix by Asylum a year later).
However, looking back at my last.fm listening history, this wasn’t completely a random situation. I had actually listened to the song the one and only time on 1st November last year. What was I doing at 5:11pm on a Friday afternoon – I was probably in the office but thankfully having a blog and Twitter/X I can probably pinpoint my movements to an inch of accuracy! Oh, no tweets that day? Okay? Whatever I was doing, it was not probably that important and there is no clue apart from the fact that I did listen to the song for a minimum of a minute for it to register on my Last.fm account. I am officially old, so the genre is perhaps beyond me. I just know music I like and, more importantly, what I do not like. The cover of “Imagine” by Punctual is a dance/pop reimagining of Shola Ama’s 2000s UK R&B/Garage classic “Imagine,” It was released as a single on March 20, 2020, (early days of Covid for us in the UK) via the Electronic Nature label. The musical style is upbeat, blending piano house and electronic dance influences, making it a feel-good track which I have played closed to 100 times already this weekend. Call it a blessing, call it a curse, I can listen to the same song on repeat without it losing any of it’s magic from the first moment I heard it. You can judge for yourself by playing the video below. Which begs the question – when was I last in a nightclub? I remember a trip to Turnmills in London in 2008. (Since closed down and converted into high-end offices!) There must be others. I recall going to Egg near Kings Cross later in the decade.
I was lucky enough to meet Shola Ama in the flesh with her adorable and super talented younger sister Sadie (Mercedes) at the Mobo Awards at The O2, on Wednesday 19th September 2007. There are some talented genes right there, and some fresh-looking punk in the middle. I still recall her comment after insisting on seeing the photograph on my Nokia N73 (what an amazing phone that was) at the time – “I look like grandma…”
This blog post is dedicated to my brother from another mother – Dave Jones. Even though he lives in a foreign different country of our “Kingdom”, many hundreds of miles away, I do not get to see him as much as I would like. Fact – the last time I saw him in the flesh was at my wedding. Also, I know re-posting the above photo will make him both insanely mad and jealous!