Damon Brock is becoming quite a recognised name in the Worthing music scene, with his inclusion in acoustic night line ups in various places and performances in HMV as well as what feels like a prolific release schedule for singles that just keep on coming. Cherish the Strength is another collaboration with the wonderful Steve Baker, Brighton based producer who works with quite a lot of the musicians who submit to this blog for reviews - Steve is great at taking artist demos or 'nearly there' tracks and giving them a spinkle of magic that just makes them sound 'finished'. For this particular song, Damon has gone down a slightly country route and you can tell from the no-frills arrangement that the focus here is on the lyrics, which are essentially about everyday people doing everyday things that inspire Damon, giving him strength and energy. There is something so important about stories in song - things we can either identify with, recognise in ourselves or empathise with that help us to grow as people. Joni Mitchell once said in an interview that if you listen to her songs and you only hear her, then you're not listening properly - you need to hear yourself. This is what music is so good at doing - taking one person's stories and emotions, and transporting the listeners into a place where they can contemplate themselves and their own experiences. This song does that.
Listen to Cherish the Strength and other new songs on my playlist: