#ericasmusicexploration

[ericas-music-exploration]

The Rise of Mystical Syzygy

Mystical Syzygy a rock star on the come up. When looking at Mystical Syzygy you can definitely see them as a pop, rock type of person from the hot pink stars to her incredible makeup routine. Mystical Syzygy definity holds her self to her inner rock star. On the outside it’s not hard to determine that Mystical Syzygy as a growing rock star.

Mystical Syzygy (Vanessa) is a coworker of mine and I asked her some questions so I could learn about the life, feel, and thought process of a “musician in practice” or a “creative”. Growing up with music Mystical Syzygy has always had a love for it with playing the drums as a kid to singing her heart out attempting to hit those Mariah Carey high notes she always had love for music. But it wasn’t until 2020 that she took music more seriously. With the pandemic shattering souls and bringing people down Vanessa took the hurt and the grief of her loved one and drew back to music. She needed a creative outlet to release emotion and with her prior love for music this was perfect.

She began using this outlet by playing the ukulele; she then moved to guitar and then conquered the keyboard. Once the pandemic cleared up a bit in 2021 Vanessa started working for a musician who exposed her to public singing and taught her the ins and outs of the industry. Public singing was a bit challenging at first due to the fact that she thought it was terrifying as a kid, but working as a waitress and doing smaller gigs has helped Vanessa get over that terrifying feeling. As an adult she says that the people go there to listen to you so it doesn’t even matter. With all the lights in your face all these people just turn into a couple of bodies in the distance. She told me this funny story about this one time she was doing sound check for a band and they were like say something so she instantly says “something” now with the crowd hearing her they became engaged with her on stage (AWKARDDDD) since she was just doing sound check she had to say a few things so that they can check, so she decided to say the ABC’s but backwards every one was fascinated and she stopped mid way and was like “whatttt”? You’ve  never heard the ABC’s backwards”? Then continued. 

The band she was sound checking for soon asked her to join them, which was a fun experience at first but like all good things they had to come to an end. “The thing about creatives is they are sometimes the hardest people to deal with at times,” Vanessa explained. She played rhythm guitar for the band, she liked it because it is very consistent. She had a lot of fun in the “jam sessions” but, working in a band with a lot of creatives caused some major issues especially due to the fact that a band is a business and you have to treat it like such at times. She threw around the term “creatives” quite often and as a person with little to no music knowledge I had to ask what these creative people are like. I know the term as describing something but she used the term as their own people. She defined “creative” as “Someone engulfed in the madness of their mind as they find tools to express themselves in ways that feel authentic & unique. Sometimes, a psychopath cus it feels like you have to be one but that’s okay. They are also people who have an endless hunger to express themselves”. With herself included she is a fellow creative and she is just getting started. Although the band scene wasn’t for her it was definitely an experience she needed to continue her path. In the future she would prefer solo’s or collabs but the band scene isn’t her favorite.

With no straight direction she knows some avenues she wants to take. Right now she has a rock indie vibe going for herself but down the line she wants to make Tracey-darkwave club music eventually or instrumentals for poetry wherever the wind takes her I guess. She is also studying to do DJ work or engineer to find her own sounds. Or maybe she’ll branch more off into her singing career. Mystical Syzygy told me that there is a difference between what you like to listen to vs what you're capable of doing. She explains that she loves the “expression of words” and how “the voice is an instrument itself and it is so impactful” due to all her yelling and screaming from her “emo” phase has shifted her voice. She later explains how she doesn’t know what the future has in store for her and she doesn’t take it to seriously she just has fun with that being said she stated “maybe that is just the rockstar mentality”.

Mystical Syzygy is inspired by Brakence & Tamino along with Cat Clyde, Amy Lee, & Lorde. The music industry could be pretty challenging and can take people through different things but the crazy adventures each artist goes through on their own to develop themselves. I believe it is extremely important for these “creatives” to have these experiences that will shape their music. Now I am far from a musician but I truey admire the dedication and work that these musicians put into their music and its truly a wonderful thing.

[ericas-music-exploration]

The 80’s Freestyle Scene 

 Let’s go on a time journey to the 80’s in New York City. Freestyle has a touch of hip hop rap electro beats all mixed into one. Freestyle is a perfect genre to put on if you want to dance, sing, feel good etc. With Hip Hop on the come up in the 70’s a lot of Hispanic communities began to form their own electro-beat feel good music. FREESTYLE. 

Now I know what you're all probably thinking. Freestyle? That’s just the process of making music with no specific rhythm or words, just first hand making music with not much prior thought to it. Now I wish I could say the same but for the entirety of my life my mom, dad, uncles, and aunts had me hooked on the genre freestyle, and after you learn about this ecstatic music scene you might be hooked as well.

With this background let's go back to the 80’s. Disco had just peaked hip hop was on the come up and latino’s and Italians were everywhere. The latin people of New York created a form of music that incorporated a bunch of different genres and started sending them to clubs making performances and making this impact with their music. Before looking at the music itself let's look into the people making the songs or listening. When you think about it, the Hispanic and Italian communities are typically big on cooking so I can see them using different genres as spices just throwing things in a pot to make an amazing “meal” and that being freestyle. 

“Let the music play” by shannon is considered the first and maybe most quintessential freestyle track, this #1 US pop hit and its stellar dub mix showcase the drum programming, vocal style, samp”. Many more popular artists rose from the the scene that Shannon created leaving inspiration for others such as Stevie B, Johnny O, The Cover Girls, Nice and Wild and so many more.

Now you might be thinking what makes a freestyle song different or just what makes it unique. These songs with it being an electric beat, the vocals, with a touch of latin beats and inspiration, while keeping disco alive along with adapting to hip hop since it was on a come up. Sure it sounds like it would be messy but it is such a vibe when it comes together.

With so much popularity still there are so many people who haven’t had the privilege to look into this scene. With it being less popular now the freestyle lovers are still doing what they can to keep the music alive. “Freestyle ultimately went underground, albeit with a large fan base in New York. Steve Sylvesters Freestyle Party show at the Coda in Manhattan in 2004 brought popularity back to the genre. Featuring artists like the Cover Girls and Cynthia, the show's success led to a Madison Garden Square summer 2006 concert that featured Freestyle's most popular artists and newcomers like Pitbull. Most freestyle concerts and events in the United States are still successful, with many selling out, proving that the genre is still very much alive. 2012 and 2013 saw the coming up of teen Latin rappers, including a group from Texas called Sur Lado Entertainment that has produced ethnic Latin hip hop focused on Hispanic identity in the United States. Just as Latin Freestyle was a large part of living in New York in the 1980s, it continues to be a thriving genre in the world today, thanks to its legacy that lives on.” So in the end no matter the truest freestyle fans are keeping it a live!

[ericas-music-exploration]

Just Breathe🧘🏼‍♀️

Stop, listen, and breathe. It has been proven that music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. Jeniffer L.W. Fink wrote a very informative article on the topic. You might be asking okay and? 

As a person who gets anxious easily, it’s very calming to have a playlist that calms me and just brings me to a better place. “Just Breathe” Is a playlist that has songs from different artists and they don't exactly relate to each other but will still give you that calming feeling one might need when a million things are going on in your head. My playlist Just Breathe has ten songs which gives you thirty-nine minutes of listening time.

“Just Breathe” has songs from artists such as James Arthur, Famy, Zayn, Tom Rosenthal, One Republic, Frank Ocean, Sam Smith, and Ruth B. I completely winged this playlist. I just added songs whenever I heard one that felt right. 

It starts with “Car’s Outside” by James Arthur. This song has a lot of strong emotion in it along with most of the others in the playlist. “Just Breathe” is used to bring me peace and this song gives me peace. I don't know why, but something about his voice just calms me. Also when he says “The cars outside but I don't want to go tonight” is a very relatable quote. If you're feeling stressed or anxious you probably have a lot on your plate and you just simply don’t want to do anything. Just like how James doesn’t want to get in the car.

Next in “Just Breathe” we have “Can I be Him” also by James Arthur. Again James Arthur's voice is honestly something else he brings me peace in a lot of his songs. This can be seen as a “sad” song because he is singing about a girl. He seems to be obsessed with her. He talks about how everything she has done was for him. He expresses that he wants to be the one for her. What I like about this song is the guitar in the background mixed with his voice. Just listening to this song is so peaceful to me and it might be for you as well.

Okay, enough James now moving on to “Ava” by Famy, the guitar and drums in this song make an amazing beat and it is just relaxing even though he is talking about being in pain for being far from his love. He mentions how he has a devil inside and the world is rabid. It is considered sad but the way he puts the songs together makes it not seem as sad but once again calming.

“Dusk Till Dawn” Is a song by former boy band star Zayn and features Sia. “It starts sweet. Like, sweet. And by sweet I mean that Malik has a voice like honey. He could sing me the Yellow Pages and I’d make it my ringtone. His first verse is a perfect precursor for the rest of the song to follow. Then in the pre-chorus, Sia joins him, and though an unlikely pairing, their voices match each other in their sultry-ness I guess? Like they both string their words along beautifully” I wouldn’t be able to put it better Priya. Sia and Zayn beautifully put this song together

“Lights Are On” By Tom Rosenthal is very well put together. It's slow and the beat stays about the same throughout the whole song it slows down a little and he quickly picks back up. His voice is just too peaceful and he carries the same tone the whole song. 

Bit of a switch from “Lights are on” we go into “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic. This is a big feel-good song and lightens the mood. There isn’t much to say other than this is a very good song. 

Okay feeling a bit “Lost”? I know this playlist is a bit of a mess but the next song “Lost” by Frank Ocean is another feel-good song. It fits “Just Breathe” because it is easy to feel lost at times so hearing about being lost but with a happy spin to it helps so much and gives a sense of normality to the feeling.  

I feel very similar to James Arthur and Sam Smith. I love the way they sing and the feeling in their songs. So “Fire on Fire” By Sam Smith is a great song. He talks about how you set fire on fire and how it can kill someone but they push past with so much desire and they are beautiful. It just sounds very good. Another Sam Smith song in my playlist “Just Breath” is “Like I Can” Which kind of contradicts “Fire on Fire”. “Like I can” he is talking about how nobody will love this person the way he can and he feels deeply for this person and you can hear his passion.

Lastly, “Golden” by Ruth B. I appreciate Ruth B’s music and I’ve listened to her since I was younger. She is talking about how she has been looked down upon and or looked passed. Discriminated for being different. Ruth says that the heat doesn’t burn as much and that she grew into loving her differences. I love how she talks about what she isn’t. She’s not weak, she’s not broken, she’s not silver, nor is she cold, she is golden. I love how she talks about how people bring her down and how she comes up from it. The song is soft and her song is so peaceful. Looking into my own life I’ve experienced a lot of battles that I had to overcome so I feel a deep connection with this song. Since she made this peaceful connection it is a nice reminder of my accomplishments.

 A lot of the correlation between these songs is that they are all talking about something deep but display it in such a beautiful up lifting way. While continuing to sing about something serious and or deep they manage to make it sound happy and upbeat which is why I find all of these songs to be beneficial. When I am anxious or stressed it is a good outlet to let out emotion and thoughts but still maintain a positive attitude