"Emilia" by Ollie Bond

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"Emilia" by Ollie Bond

Review

If, like me, you enjoyed "Safe With Me" by Ollie Bond  on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Three', you'll be as pleased that despite the pressures on him under current circumstances, he has been able to record a new single, out today, called "Emilia"

"Loosely based" on Ollie's own separation from his partner during the lockdown trauma, the song concerns a couple living across the country from one another and focuses on the emotional toll this is taking on them both but is also about being there for each other in such challenging times. As with many of Ollie's songs, there is a clear linear progression in the lyric & it's important to listen right through to the end as it's there that he outlines his overall conclusion that sometimes all we can aim for is holding on, persevering & looking after one another.

Necessarily, to convey the intense emotional messages of the words, the vocals are foregrounded in the arrangement & mix, in characteristic Ollie fashion ranging from the stark vulnerability of his solo voice to enhanced passion through a stunning bank of harmonies: I'm told that in total there are eleven vocal parts. Matching this, and again it's something he is very good at throughout his work, the instrumental parts swell to match the intensity of the singing & there is constant shifting of parts throughout the song adding to the emotional clout & providing varying textures which contribute to holding our attention: as does the typically crystal clear mix by Chris Field.

We are getting songs about lockdown coming through now quite regularly: as people are tending to have equivalent experiences, there is a high degree of shared perspectives as one might expect. Nevertheless, good writers approach the same theme from their own, subjective & honest angles, producing unique & true responses. "Emilia" reeks of this authenticity & commitment, the more so because of its tasteful & restrained passion and focus upon individuals caught up in the circumstances.

As with so many of those artists I'm currently reviewing, I can't wait to see & hear Ollie live again.

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