Many of us can link a certain album to pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the chord you first learnt to play on guitar, the song that soundtracked your first kiss, the album that got you those awkward and painful pubescent years or the one that set off light bulbs in your brain and inspired you to take a big leap of faith into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and can even help shape who we become.
In this series, Music Feeds asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share with us stories about the effect music has had on their lives.
Here are their love letters to records that forever changed their lives.
Odette – Joanna Newsom’s ‘Divers’
Dear ‘Divers’,
When I first heard you I was overcome by a strong sense that I would not be the same after I’d listened through you and I was right. You let me stare death square in the face from the comfort of my bedroom. You allowed me to grieve for things that haven’t been lost yet, to accept that we are all just people continuing a growing experience that is daily life. You taught me that time is a symptom of love and not my enemy.
You introduced me to complex polyrhythms and the most ethereal harmonies I’d ever heard. You painted pictures of cities, underwater worlds, varying landscapes. Before you I had only ever sung about my own experiences exactly as they were. After, I had an understanding of how my experiences shaped me, which then shaped others, with ultimately shapes my entire world. I’ll be forever grateful that you exist. Thank you Joanna for absolutely changing my life.
Yours truly,
Odette
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