Aug 19

Aug 19 Your Love Gets Sweeter Every Day, by Finlay Quaye

Keeping it cool this summer!

I love the simple sentiment in this song, which has a kind of innocence about it. Whilst it could be for any time of year, it always makes me think of summer. Holding hands, eating ice cream, feeling content and joyful in heart and soul.

How do they do that?

So, why does it feel like summer music? I’m going to focus on the rhythm. We have four beats in a bar, common to most popular music, but normally the accent or weight is on the first and third beats (stamp, clap, stamp, clap) . In this song, the weight is on the second and fourth beat in each bar - what would be called ‘off-beat’ (the weight is where the claps would be). The effect of this when translated into a bodily reaction is a kind of swagger, dropping onto one hip or dipping a shoulder in time with the off-beat. It’s what makes it cool, slightly lazy - too laid back to hit the first and third beats, so arrives late on the second and fourth instead, perhaps? It is the essence of reggae, with its roots in Jamaican folk, American jazz and African music, yet in this piece it moves at a fairly fast pace, adding joy to that laid back feel. It is those roots that, I suppose, make us associate this music with warmth, sunshine and taking life at a more carefree and slower pace. Feels like there is a lesson here - we should all make room for a little more reggae in our lives!

Hope you enjoy it or feel inspired to listen to something new today.

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