I’ve just listened to UFO by Olivia Dean … twice. In all fairness, the first version was a live recording. I then listened to Messy, and the joyous emotion I felt swelled further.
Music has always meant more to the individual than the individual has felt confident to let on. While for some, this feeling is few and far between and far less intense, for a fortunate other, music can resonate not just like any other art form, but any other form at all.
As I just mentioned, this is not a new phenomenon. However, other narratives float around the ether today, eager to latch onto any quietly positive vessels. “There’s no good music these days”. “They don’t make them like they used to”. The narrative that the cohort tries to convey is that “back in the day”, the music that was topping the charts was what the cool kids listened to. Back when that was the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Stones, through to the Police, potentially stretching to the 90s with Nirvana. Some completely wild characters may claim that Adele was the last legion to carry the torch of universally stardom and appreciation, but the music world had undeniably tilted on its axis by that point.
So, what changed? Simply, there’s more music. While there are still stars that are known all over the world: Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Coldplay, these artists do not foster the same universal following as the superstars only twenty years ago. Again, think of the Beatles, but solo figures like Elvis and Michael Jackson cultivated God like personas.
Nowadays, lots of different people listen to lots of different music. There are new genres now. Some of the past still continues in its classic form – think Greta van Fleet for rock music, Laura Marling in folk, Leon Bridges for Soul and Blues. But for every servant to history, there are the innovators of tomorrow. Think Radiohead for Rock, Bon Iver for folk, and Joy Crookes for soul. What makes the genre great is still prevalent in their music, but it is undeniably a spin on a classic.
And then comes this small matter known as the Internet. Not only did this sixth sense make it easier to create, share, and listen to music than before, but it also made it easier to find others who also listen to your music.
As an amateur musician at best, it is not for me to tell you in music theory how the melodies of old are different to today, or how vocal synthesisers have altered our very experience of what beauty is. What I am here to tell you is how I feel.
When I listen to Olivia Dean play in front of her biggest crowd to date, the pride I feel for my current favourite artists is not just shared visually by those fans in the crowd lucky enough to see it in the flesh, but in the hundred or so that have felt compelled to comment on the video. These faceless, often nameless profiles, for a moment, become close friends. They not only share an opinion, but in doing so, online, they publicly validate yours. Moreover, the way they talk about the Singer in such a casual manner. “Olivia” in the context I mentioned, but also “Alex” for the lead singer of The Arctic Monkeys. It personalises them, and in a slightly creepy way, makes you feel like they’re a friend as well. Interviews and backstage vlogs are more common and unfiltered than ever before, which only adds to this sensation.
When you go back and listen to the music, your mind associates the lyrics and melodies in a friendly way. It’s not “this land is your land” but rather “this song is your song”. But, crucially, this song is also everyone else’s.
These songs have seen all the colours of you. From sitting down in the shower to pretending the CeraVe face wash is your microphone on the Pyramid Stage. So strong is this attachment that it can feel exposing to hear your tune in public. I vividly remember hearing Lianne La Havas’ version of Weird Fishes while at work and feeling mildly uncomfortable. This ethereal number, which had essentially become a soundtrack to the overcoming of my anxiety, was being carelessly played in the downstairs seating of a restaurant.
But let’s talk about Olivia Dean again. Her music has tremendous range. Some songs are so vulnerable that you feel that she is almost hesitant or shy to sing them to you. Providing the illusion that you – and only you – could have heard this quiet masterpiece. Think Dangerously Easy, White Trainers, and of course, UFO. But she also has real anthems. Recently, Nice to each other just makes you want to drop everything and attempt to shake your body both rhythmically and frantically. Naturally, a lot of her biggest hits – Dive, Echo, and Cross My Mind – fall into this category. she has described performing as feeling “spiritual”, which is perhaps why her work feels so fulfilling, even to someone who does not, and will likely never know her.
On top of this, she has the ability to make any song of her choice her own. Sexy to someone, Cool about it, and Suzanne are all very different genres, but they all share the same trait of being elevated by the North London artist. The cover of Suzanne, in particular, is exceptional in its humility. Dean serves the song. It’s not she who opens or closes the track, but the unnamed pianist and violinist subsequently. It’s truly gorgeous. There has not been an artist in recent memory that can cover such a variety of songs from different genres, while producing such a high-level of output herself.
It appears she is conscious of this sentiment when speaking to Vogue Singapore:
- “I’m not interested in staying in the box of what I’ve already done”
My experience as a fan right now feels about like having that friend who you adore, but you know one day they will move on to the bigger and better thing. It’s only a matter of time before they have their last casual pint at the local where they’re not swooned around by all the suck ups. Only so long before they leave the small town for the big smoke.
For now, I’ll enjoy that last pint. It’s cool and refreshing and gives your stomach those good vibrations. It’s a beautiful feeling to feel represented and heard in someone’s music. There aren’t many places I feel safer. It’s also slightly alienating to know they’ll probably never even hear your name, but that’s the nature of the beast.
Brian Wilson claimed, “Music is God’s voice”. If you’re lucky enough to find your Olivia Dean, you’ll know what I mean.
Johannus Jacobus 