Revolving Shores
"There are states of consciousness in which you can listen to sound and realize that that is the whole point of being alive." In "To Be It (ft. Alan Watts)", the lead single off of Graffiti Welfare's concept album "Revolving Shores", the artist explores this Alan Watts quote as a means to exploring life itself.
With its hypnotic looping and dazzling tribal beat -- layering piano, electric guitar, and the famous eastern philospher's quote -- Graffiti Welfare's track is a fitting introduction to an album exploring nostalgia, energy, and reincarnation. In "To Be It", George doesn't just showcase his talent as a producer and composer, but truly takes listeners on an exploratory and cathartic journey, reminiscent of Tame Impala's seminal work "Lonerism".
In the course of recording the album, the artist suffered the loss of his grandparents, leading him to search for deeper meaning and explore ideas of continuity and cyclicality. The album art displays his grandmother listening to a seashell; the album ends with a return to the beginning, depicting life starting again and someone new listening to the seashell.
Despite the lush, experimental nature of his music, he is able to convey concrete meaning. Through the use of luminous reverb and ethereal vocals, he makes his audience feel that they are floating in a psychedelic tapestry of sound, evoking a sense of detachment and dissociation. Through his transcendental music, he captures the feelings of being human: the anxieties of entering adulthood, disillusionment, nostalgia, cyclicality, and catharsis.