reasonsWhy..

This blog exists out of passion; for music, the arts, and creation.

2022, ’23, ’24.. it felt like music was passing me by. A dissonance between my deeply embedded love for art and creation and my own degree of self-exposure to them was broadening a cavernous pit at the centre of my soul. It felt like missing out, exclusion; a personal and counteractive rejection of the potential discovery and learning I so adore. So I had a thought, an epiphany..

Listen. To. Music.

New music, new artists, different styles and genres completely unheard by my ignorant ears. What do I have to lose? Why not present myself with the opportunity to learn, understand, fall in love, discover, experience, share and enjoy when all I needed to do was listen? This was a profound realisation. One that I felt had to be claimed, utilised and spread, so that other lovers of music and the arts in my position may discover what I did.. That music is everywhere, and it’s up to your own self and no one else to peel away the facade of uncertainty, the overwhelming wall of “what if?”, and start to uncover the infinite and beautiful sea of creation that is music! I promise it will not take long for you to fall deeply in love with a piece of art you’ve never even heard about or considered listening to… and for this to happen again, and again, and again, every day. It takes only the willingness to try, to listen, and to engage your spirit of discovery. Trust me, you won’t regret a thing.

soWhat’s on the table here?

With upperExtension, I wanted to create a space where lovers of all music, any genre, background, style or particular artists could come to expand not only their cognitive album discography but to gain deep and considered perspectives on why these pieces of art were created and what they might have to offer in terms of social, interpersonal, political, psychological and philosophical critiques and lessons. My own background as an avid musician and songwriter, as well as a strong level of theoretical knowledge in fields of both music and the arts, compels me to share these perspectives to a community who are looking to gain fresh insights from like-minded individuals.

“sixPicks” weekly round-ups and recommendations of brand new albums will be shared based on what I have listened to and loved in each given week. These reviews will be supplemented by monthly “podiumPicks”, where three albums released in each month which I consider to offer not only music of the utmost quality, but which have penetrated my psyche with profound incisions of meaning, will be highlighted and analysed in greater depth. Interwoven will also be occasional “classicPicks” which can range from the earliest wax pressings to as recently as yesteryear; so long as they have been stewing in the minds of listeners for long enough to warrant further analytical reflection.

So get engaged, and discover..