HOW TO SURRENDER LIKE MONIQUE BINGHAM
Monique said to me, “thank you baby…”. I replied “thank you my love” in silence. You might be thinking I am cold for not returning her appreciation.
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Lets’ trace Monique’s songs up till ‘Take Me to My Love’ with Ralf Gum.
Easily, I think of her 2000 track with Blue 6 — ‘Pure’. ‘We Had a Thing’ with Abstract Truth in 1998. Or ‘poor people’ in 2008.
We can even jump to ‘Pride’ with DJ Pepsi in 2012.
A lot of South Africans (me included) did not connect Monique’s old songs and recent songs to the same person. I do hope this admission does not tarnish my house head credentials. I can hear some house heads going “only you Shog — we knew it was the same person”. The Shog was/is my DJ name if you didn’t know.
You know how music heads can be.
The reason we were not able to trace her is, I think, she surrenders to each of her songs. She allows herself to get lost in each and every one of them; hence we weren’t able to trace her.
It is like she first meditates to a song before recording so to be one with it and inside of it when she sings it out. When she delivers it, it is like she is assigned to sing it like it is meant to feel, not how her singing personality is. It is like she does not sing as Monique Bingham but as a soul specially contracted to express that one song.
There are many signers whose method is first their singing personality and thereafter comes the music. For some it works and others not so much.
I hold Stimela to high regard. I think they are in the same greatness box as The Beatles. Their song writing ability is intensely informed and timelessly relevant. The point I want to make is Stimela and The Beatles don’t sing with the same precision as your singers like Donny Hathaway and Eddie Levert. But they tap toe to toe with them with equal amount of talent and greatness.
I feel Stimela and The Beatles surrender to songs. It is like they are character singers in their own music. I love Stimela.
Fela Kuti isn’t a precision singer but he can take you there musically than your Idols winning singers.
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There are so many opportunities and challenges circling in front of me right now. Of course I am doing everything in my power not to let the opportunities slip.
But for some reason I have surrendered to 2 things separately: ‘working hard’ and ‘tomorrow taking care of itself’. Tomorrow I will do whatever needs to done to the best of my abilities. I will stay away from the anxiety and consciousness that some things might not go as I wish them to, no matter how hard I try. I am at peace with whatever I am doing at this moment and whatever I will do tomorrow. Right now I am writing this article.
I will be like Monique Bingham; I will surrender to each task I will be performing, then the next one, the other and other.
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I first tweeted her “It’s like @moniquebingham meditates for her songs so to get lost in each. Each is like a diff world. I call it method singing #goodmusic”
Then she replied and said “thank u baby tryin to zone out to zone in right now #writersblock”
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