Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Hey Rat Fink!

The thing that I've always loved about Soul music is it's ability to be in two places at once. On one hand, Soul music can be deep, painful and even at times depressing. Equally, it can provide such a wonderful ray of light to cut through the pain and be such an energizing form. It's soul's ability to both sympathize and uplift that keeps me coming back for more.

Not in a while have I found an artist who has embodied this mantra more than Fink. Fink is an acoustic singer/songwriter currently based in Brighton. He was a DJ in London for the longest time. Strangely, his first record deals were for the dub mixes he used to throw together of James Brown, Kool and the Gang, and Sly and the Family Stone.

I watched an interiew with him where he talked about aging, and realizing that he couldn't keep living the self-abusive London night life. So, he dissapeared from the city, and for a while off the face of the earth. He would approach his label (Ninja tunes) a while later with a work of staggering genius titled Biscuits for breakfast.

Now onto his second body of work Distance and Time, Fink continues to write painful stabs from the heart which one can't help but feel akin to. Yet at the same time, listening to his simple, relatable and yet bold lyrics, I feel completely and utterly empowered.



-I haven't been drinking too much, I've just been sobering up less.