Max's Music Mondays with Sam Akpro and SHAMIQUA
It's raining in LA, raining good music from my computer that is!!!
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays - a ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. If you do, follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that damn subscribe button! tysm :)
Happy almost Halloween!! Boo!! Candy!! etc. etc. What to write about today…. Hmmm… Well to be honest, it’s been real quiet up in the ol’ noggin these last couple weeks. A lot on my plate in every part of life, and it’s hard to get much of anything done when I can’t help but play Rodeo Clown by Dijon twenty times a day. Good GOD. I have a lot more to say about that song but we’ll save it for another time.
For now the other thing on my mind, as usual, is how I’ve been drowning in the beauty that is a Jessica Dore post.
You really should read the whole caption, I can’t do it much justice. A challenge to ‘look on the bright side’ thinking, and one that I can’t stop thinking about. Her book comes out tomorrow, and whether or not you like tarot cards, I can’t recommend it enough. She’s got such an incredible ability to find new perspective on things we think we know inside and out. I sincerely can’t wait to buy it, and that’s just about everything that’s on my mind today. So speaking of things I can’t wait for, let’s get on with it, yeah?
This Week’s Songs
Please please follow along here ^^ for this week’s and every week’s songs. Scientists agree that all of these songs are incredible on their own and even better as a playlist.
Cove - Sam Akpro
Somber strings sliding back and forth, the texture on the chords are almost too much to handle. The pair certainly setting quite a scene. Those strings shift into high gear, horror movie in their texture but a loving in their melody. The keys remain heavy and large, and I’m glad they do or those strings might have me on edge. But instead the two fit nicely together, a perfect bed for Sam Akpro’s vocals. And they’re haunting too. So intimate, like Akpro has stepped off the stage and walked right up to us (ok, nice seats!!). They lyrics linger on their own, each given so much time and space to be heard and considered. After the first couplet some guitars come in, shimmering from their first strum. The picture all fills out, the sun starting to rise beyond the cove. More and more bandmates appear, more strings, some fluttering keys, as Akpro finds their way back on stage. Grabbing the mic for one last line, kicking into the chorus with the drummer along side. A chorus that feels more exact, drums and guitars working the beat for emphasis. “Two decades and a year / I’ve earned some headaches and some fears” is a pretty fantastic lead. It feels honest and sure, the space between lyrics more room to compose themselves and start looking forward. A quick shoutout to that guitar underneath it all. Especially the messy feedback moment under piles of gold. A second verse settles in under the spotlight, a chance to turn our gaze inwards, a beautiful piano walking us through some tough realizations. As it shoots us back to the chorus (this time with the strings going absolutely off!!!! Reaching higher and higher and higher), the earned headaches and fears feel all the more real. Sam looking back on what could’ve been, inspiring more of each perhaps. Shy of 2:30, the drums take a rest. The guitar with a little layered solo, some ominous claps way down the road. Now’s a good time to take a deep breath. Things are about to go wild and I don’t want this solo to calm and comfort you too much. It’s natural don’t worry, a very sweet and tender moment, but you might want to hit pause, buckle your seatbelt (theoretical sb, I sincerely hope you aren’t reading this while driving). A cymbal to give a warning, impatient strings poking out from behind the curtain, and at 2:57 it all drops. A soaring moment, drums flying all around, strings soaring, a bass rumbling on, holding it all together. The guitar joins with a fuzzy but wet solo, trying to stay calm but the energy and urgency is infectious. It’s all just such a pleasure, such a wonderful culminating scene. A really fun end to what was already a great song.
Follow Sam Akpro on IG / Spotify
Picturebook - SHAMIQUA
I feel like once every couple of weeks I go on some rant about how I find music and how mostly, it just finds me. So I’ll spare you the long story - mostly, it’s a lot of clicking and a lot of listening and a lot of hoping each time you press play you’ve stumbled your way into the needle in the haystack. Was lucky enough to find that needle last year when SHAMIQUA fell into our laps while my Sofar teammate Grace (everyone say hi to Grace *pausing to hear you say hi* ok tysm) were scouring for some new artists to play live streams. That session turned out amazing… and so did her album Metamorphosis which just dropped last week. Picturebook was the first song that I fell into, a warm, flowing, loving song. About a love that couldn’t last but had immense power anyways. SHAMIQUA has the perfect voice to deliver that story too, strong throughout with her own stunning tone. Moments where the vocals are just barely holding on to the edge, naturally finding their balance again and again. It’s emotional and so well done. That riff to open is so dang catchy too, SHAMIQUA jumping in quick and catching the riff’s momentum. The whole intro feels light, floating up and up until the bass catches the balloon’s ribbon, pulling us all right back down. There’s something about that earthquake line that I just can’t shake (I’m sorry, sincerely no pun intended but it’s here now and I refuse to change it…). And it’s NOT just because there was an earthquake in LA this weekend!! I swear!!! It’s just such a charming phrase - a relationship with a bad foundation, just ready to fall. Easy to see it, difficult to feel how devastating that crumble could be. While the band pushes on, SHAMIQUA pulls back the pace, stretching out the ends of lyrics until they can’t stretch any further. Ooo’s to fill the void. That longing/yearning feeling coming through so clearly. Doubling down with that yearning in the next verse, warming my damn heart. The picturebook verse is a standout moment, the vocal performance on full display, and it’s such a dang treat. We keep moving, the guitar relentless in the most encouraging way. Bringing us to a powerful close, “oh my life’s better / when we ride together”. *tearing up emoji!!!!!* The whole song finds ways to swell and recede, even its simplicity. Just beautiful stuff! It’s been a delight to be a SHAMIQUA fan this last year, now dropping an album and crushing (by all accounts) an opening slot for Dora Jar last week. A thrilling moment, I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I have so the moment keeps going.
Follow SHAMIQUA on IG / Spotify
Enjoy the rest of your week, don’t get too spooked, and please send me all the Halloween candy you get that you don’t want. I’m not picky.
Pumpkin, ghost, haunted house,
Max