There’s a sense amongst us older folk, who have been around the block a few times, fought wars, survived famines, overcome pestilence (ok, I’m making some of this up!) that the young today are scared of their own shadow. That they are not risk takers under any circumstances and that they’d rather save for their pension in the hope they’ll live long enough to draw it, rather than have a small glass of lager down at the local bar.
That’s not how Victoria Akua sees it.
Victoria’s take on life is evident in her new single, ‘Surrender’. She says, “It is so easy to get caught up in fears and desires – and both are related to the past and the future, and as I see it, it takes us away from where life is happening – in this moment! “
Carpe Diem is her motto and we’ll go with that.
She adds, “I want to let life surprise me, instead of trying to figure it all out…life just feels so much more joyful, creative and alive with that sense of openness to it.”
We do occasionally come across similar sentiments. Norway’s Marte Eberson for example is an exponent of this philosophy, especially where affairs of the heart are concerned, but Victoria seems to go an entire bridge further, never mind a step; encouraging life to ‘bring it on’ so that she can surrender to the slings and arrows of its outrageous fortune.
Her own philosophical journey, which began at a young age, seems to have dictated her attitudes. In a hectic world where it is easy to be pulled in many directions she wants to find ways to stay centered with an open heart in the hope that her music can support others on their own paths. Aw, bless.
To a backdrop of what sounds at first like rain on a tin roof and ends as running water the song lyrically acts as a wish list, not for tangible products, goods and services, but something that transcends it; literally to sacrifice herself on the altar of fate and chance.
There is a convoluted, almost bombastic line, “Surrender to being surprised by the creativeness of life”, which goes against the grain of more accessible ones like “I wanna look at life with wonder” but overall the lyrics are meaningful and convey well the message of the song.
I have to be honest and say that Victoria’s consistently high pitch throughout the song does start to grate a little and venture that its stridency might have been better saved for the moments in the song when she is stressing something.
The musical arrangement is quite complex with multiple instruments in play for much of the time and a high degree of syncopation and as such is suggestive of the maelstrom of confusing and contrasting emotions that life adds up to.
All in all a nice little thought provoking song that will help put her on the map.
Find her on:
Website: https://heartofgaia.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriaakuamusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria.akua_/
‘Surrender’ is released by Greywood Records.
Photo: Camilla Vodstrup.
