Today I woke up feeling like this. I’m feeling acid, liquid, and almost like a hibernating little bear. As a musician and songwriter, I love to spend my days with my gear and today I woke up starving for some guitar play-along while high and listening to the tunes I like.
I know this song is not recent, not even from 2020 but I don’t really care because today I woke up just like this – Kokopelli. Released in 2016, Skiptracing is an absolute piece of coziness and love but Kokopelli is where I get lost. It feels different, free, psychedelic, dreamy, from outer space, and since I’m a professional-grade weirdo, it is my favorite Alexander Brettin’s work so far.
The chord progression, (shifting between jazzy and lysergic – addictive, soothing) sounds like a piece of old-school carousel music; the synths and the keys are amazingly soft but rhythmically tight, like if it is coming directly from the end of the bass note. The track is super-calm but never loses the groove, and the drums are not only perfectly recorded and mixed but also unconventionally dry and sweet – just perfect for my taste. The fuzz guitar solo is nothing I can even speak of but you get the idea of how much I love it, right?
Kokopelli always sounded to me like a love letter to music. If I believe in something greater then me, that is that my God is music, and being able to use it (music) as my medicine, my therapy, my favorite thing in the world, my deepest connection, etc… quite often, makes me like the luckiest person on earth. I never felt like I feel when I’m on the stage or when I’m in the proverbial zone doing my stuff, ideally alone and high – in the cave. No matter how bad things get, I always felt like musicians can more easily cope with negative situations, mainly because we tend to turn our frustrations into music. At least, I do – choose the right tune, spark one up, one deep breath, and let my fingers do the rest – aaaaah.