Due to the rather curious gas fees on Zora at the time ($295!? lol) I minted this song on OpenSea - which doesn’t have the same capacity for descriptions. Hence - see below for the liner notes! I actually finished writing most of this back on March 8th, but for whatever reason Mirror wasn’t letting me mint at the time. The clunkiness we go through for web3 lol but it’s so worth it thooough :3
As always:
✰ collection optional ✰
☑︎ enjoyment encouraged ☑︎
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Artifact: "Into The Light" V2 dem0
Date Created: Thurs. July 19th, 2018
Producer: B. Bravo
Location: Los Angeles
Paying rent in: Toronto
Muse: Michael
Manager: Stephane
Close Friends + Influences: Brandon, Shiva, Vada, Fatuma
Transition: Pre-Social or Medical Transition
Equipment: B. Bravo's studio
Cover Art: I found an image I liked on Pintrest (source unknown) and selected this render from the variations generated on DALL-E. Did the text in Canva.
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Narrative: This was the first and only day I've met Adam, the legendary producer B. Bravo. We got together for a few hours to create this fonky mood, which I had totally forgotten about until being delightfully reminded when listening back to my fave 30 demos of 2018. This version (v2) Adam actually just sent me when I mentioned to him that I was gonna drop this lil NFT. This is my first time hearing this version of the chorus back since the literal day I wrote + recorded it -- a voibe !! Verse 2 he turned into a post-chorus too, which I think suits it better. Maybe one day I'll write another verse?
This whole process of rediscovering my original composition years after the fact makes me wonder what other versions of songs I have out there, just hibernating on people’s hard drives. Beautiful to hear some of those whistle tones at 3:20 too...they weren’t in the version I had on my comp. My voice has since swapped strengths, so I'm grateful to have ears on this record [noun: 1. evidence; 2. song].
I've spent hours contemplating my artistic "why" over the last couple months, and have come to a grounded realization that status and clout are not driving the ship. What a relief! Turns out my "why" - my mission - is to creatively and authentically share my personal perspectives, stories, and wisdom as a means to inspire, uplift, and comfort those who come across my works.
It's been amazing to witness how, due to this inner-info, I've began to consider releasing music on DSPs again (Digital Service Providers: Spotify, Apple Music, etc.). Realizing that I don't crave fame or its adjacency has freed me from the crippling fear of not attaining it; therefore, taking creative risks (in this case, dropping music without the help of a manager) becomes, in theory, emotionally effortless.
If the music flys, cool. If the music flops, I have still succeeded. Which brings me to...would you want to hear this song come up in your Discover Weekly?
"Into The Light” Lyrics:
VERSE 1
Last weekend when I saw you at the show right before I was singing [true story, see image below. Michael, who was my assistant-manager turned good-friend (up til this point) came back from NYC early just to be there for this performance. I remember he still had all his bags with him.]
Just being by your body in the dark made it hard to think [and all the sudden, just standing next to him, I was so aroused. I remember it so distinctly. A very demi moment: "demisexual: an orientation in which a person feels sexually attracted to someone only after they've developed a strong emotional bond with them."]
I need a little healing in my life [he was the first person I had feelings for after recovering from my v toxic marriage]
So I just wonder what you're doing tonight, baby
**PRE-CHORUS
**I don't mean to ask a lot of you
Just a little down time
I got jewels and gems to show off to you
I could be a goldmine
I don't need a lot from you baby
Just be your beautiful self [Michael has such a good heart man <3 That being said, we ended up ending things 5 months later (after I came out) because of his transphobia. He was afraid of being ostracized by his peer group for dating a trans person…there was no way I could stay with him after him saying that. And tbh, sharing this with you now, Mirror, I’m like wait a second…did this dude actually have as good of a heart as I thought he did? What do you think? Does choosing fear over love make your heart less good, or does it simply mean your heart’s less strong? I personally think the latter…and so I do pray his heart grows stronger. But yea nope - that was not for me to wait around for.]
So won't you come and lay it down [I do have to say…he did tho. This was the first night we hooked up]
**CHORUS
**Love love love the feeling
Of looking in your eyes
You got something I crave
You got that in the worst way
Love love love the feeling
Tell you why I'd let you into my body
You deserve to come Into The Light
**POST-CHORUS
**Oh I love it
When you're walking my way
Oh I love it
How you make me want to stay
**PRE-CHORUS
**I don't mean to ask a lot of you
Just a little down time
I got jewels and gems to show off to you
I could be a goldmine
I don't need a lot from you baby
Just be your beautiful self
So won't you come and lay it down
**CHORUS
**Love love love the feeling
Of looking in your eyes
You got something I crave
You got that in the worst way
Love love love the feeling
Tell you why I'd let you into my body
You deserve to come Into The Light
**POST-CHORUS
**Oh I love it
When you're walking my way
Oh I love it
How you make me want to stay
Oh I love it
You know I love it baby
Oh I love it
You know I love it
You know I love it babe
My closing thoughts? Telling my stories to an audience generates a more heightened imperative for articulate authenticity than simply pondering my pasts alone. Thoughtfully reflecting on the histories behind my music in this way continues to be healing. So thank YOU, reader, for this gift you are giving me. Regarding the song itself? I say we toss another verse in there, give it a gentle melodyne + mix-down, and I think it could riiiide an editorial playlist. So what do you think? Shall we?
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As always:
✰ collection optional ✰
☑︎ enjoyment encouraged ☑︎I
xx
Forrest