In the spirit of the season and because Rockidle (who is actually Derek Hagan, an England-raised Irishman now resident in Finland, and with a decade’s standing) approached me, which is commendable, I’m really happy to play this track, which is at variance from our usual fare which is dominated by contemporary indie-pop and indie-rock.
He’s written over 400 songs and says self-deprecatingly “When I grow up (if I ever do), I would like to be a songwriter.”
The album ‘Relationships 2’ was released on 17th December, exactly one year after the original ‘Relationships’.
Rockidle’s songs are rooted in the vibe of 1960s and 1970s which were in his view the best time for music and he tries to keep the recording as honest as possible, with no auto-tune or vocal gimmicks.
He recently released a digital album of folk rock, pop rock, indie rock, blues rock, punk pop, indie folk, and singer songwriter material, with a retro vibe thrown.
This track, ‘Autumn Air’, is written for and about his partner, Mira, who is Finnish.
You know ‘easy listening’ is often derided these days. Everything has to be ‘edgy’. But I’d rather listen to this song while I’m driving in heavy traffic and horizontal rain to a vaccination centre for my nth jab, than say, well…Idles.
Rockidle has found a little niche all of his own on this track; fast-forwarding the style of someone like Glen Campbell to the present day. And I choose Campbell advisedly for that analogy as he was a time-served session man and a dab hand at nifty guitar solos; which is exactly what we have at the end of this song, too.
If I was looking to find fault I’d have to say that the chorus, especially the repeated “…Autumn Air…” is a little too strident for my personal taste and might be brought down an octave, but that’s the only complaint I can find. The song hangs together very well.
So thanks to Derek for sending this through to me and for encouraging me to check out the album, too (on Spotify). There’s quite some variety on it and a couple of intriguingly titled tracks which mirror the zeitgeist – ‘Climate Change’ (which doesn’t feature a cameo from Greta) and ‘New World Order’. I can’t figure out who or what ‘Degeneration’ refers to, but I have to admit I’m drawn to POTUS #46!
There’s a video too, by Kaapo Hakola, which paints Finland in a positive light.
Find him on:
Website: https://www.rockidle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rockidle-238357529620558/
