About Me

Hi 

 ‘Welcome to Soul Notes’.

I am D from Northern Ireland and have been a lifelong fan of Eurovision since I was 4.  My first memory of Eurovision is the barefoot Sandy Shaw’s ‘Puppet on a String’ in 1967.  By the time it got to Lulu’s “Boom Bang-a-Bang’ in 1969, I was hooked.  1970’s ‘All kinds of everything’ (among many other Eurovision delights) is on my waterproof music player, which I listen to when swimming (another passion).  This combination of music and water transports me to an ethereal world, where only timeless beauty and peace reside.

My love for Eurovision grew as I did, and I developed a love for languages alongside it.  I studied French and German at uni and pursued Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Irish, which have all influenced my appreciation for linguistic expression.  My love for languages was as strong and enduring as my love for Eurovision.  In Northern Ireland, language has its own cultural significance, as while the official language is English, Irish is still taught in some schools, but the Irish language can be a bit of a political thorn for some.  I am apolitical, I am only interested in languages, I don’t do politics.

As my language learning continued, I found I was able to appreciate the lyrics of some songs more deeply and the aesthetics of the language in which the artist was singing.  Music, however, transcends many barriers, and we can connect with songs without being able to understand the lyrics.  When I have connected with a song in a language with which I am not familiar and then look up the lyrics in English, the common denominator themes encompass the beauty, fragility, vulnerability and resilience of the human soul, and this pulls me magnetically toward certain songs, lyrics and voices.  There are other songs out there that simply do not reach those depths, and that is fine too.  Maybe they reach someone else – that is what music is all about, different songs reaching people in different ways.

I am young at heart and that makes a big difference in the world we live in.  I like to think I have a unique take on life and am always on the lookout for connection and synchronicity.  I have had my fair share of struggles, like everyone else, and I cannot help but be particularly drawn to raw emotion in a singer’s voice and authenticity in song lyrics and people.  Music is my lifelong loyal friend and has always delivered without fail.  Pain and beauty translate through the universal medium of music, regardless.  When the music blends the voice, the lyrics, the emotion and the authenticity, I am a soul ‘flying on the wings of love’.   Any music can do this – just as Antonín Dvořák universally communicated simple beauty and yearning that gently brush the soul in the piece ‘Song to the Moon – Rusalka’.  If you are not familiar with it, please do play it when you get the chance with your eyes closed.  You will be transported to a different sphere.

My approach to Eurovision analysis (and other music too) is based on what is most important to me – authenticity, emotional connection and cultural elements that are universal and translate the world over.  My perspective will be different from other commentators, in that the songs that reach out to me connect with a deeper part of me, and this is personal.  It will not be for everyone, as we are all different.   

Eurovision brings together the best singers and the best songs that each country has to offer.  I have yet to watch a Eurovision where a song did not tug at my emotional strings (and I felt the compulsion to play it so many times that it became an earworm, until the next song took over).  It is a musical extravaganza of every genre and a world of musical magic. 

I am open to analysing any song but have a particular affinity to Eurovision songs.  I would love to hear which performances have touched your soul and reached a part of you that resonated.  

This is me dipping ‘i miei piedi’, ‘meine Füße’, ‘mis pies’, ‘mo chosa’, ‘watashi no ashi’ and even my feet in the water to see how it goes.  (And with interjections like that, I am hearing myself sound a bit like Eugene from the Walking Dead, but that’s another very different story).   

If this goes well, I hope to publish regularly every week.  From Soul Notes you can expect an honest and thoughtful analysis which delves deeper into the soul behind the music.

If it goes badly, this soul may well have to fragment and disappear.  

Non sono altra che D

Ciao