Wrabel
I've been waiting for this song to come out for two years now. What a record.
First of all, Wrabel has been one of my favorite storytellers/songwriters for 10 years now. Crazy how time has flown by. He's achieved so much and evolved so much over the years. I actually am a little overwhelmed about writing about him and this record because I feel like I've already said it all, but at the same time, I feel like I haven't said enough, but let me try my best.
I've always connected to his art and I think the main reason is this one: it makes me feel something. He's one of these rare artists who can actually make me feel something real. When I listen to a new record for the first time, I normally listen to the melodies/production first and the lyrics come later. But with him, I listen to the story first. I've always considered him as a storyteller before anything else - and what a brilliant writer he is. I cried a lot while listening to his first records and I also smiled a lot (but I mostly cried).
Art: wrabel
I still remember the first time I heard "Since I Was Young", I thought "ok, this one is so important". It tells a story, his story. I believe it's the first or second time he's releasing something that directly talks about him and him only. I think it's brave, powerful and beautiful to release such a personal record. He's the type of person/artist who will show you his true self no matter what, and that's exactly what this record is all about. It's real. It's him.
I think it's important to have this song out right now, especially during these difficult times. We're all human and doing our best to live this challenging but yet, beautiful life.
"We had it all set up to release for pride month, but because of everything going on in the world we decided to push it back," says Wrabel. It felt wrong to take up space and insert myself into the conversation. Instead I wanted to use the time to amplify black voices and stories and to speak up and speak out against the horrible murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. While I will continue to do that, I wanted to share the song as hopefully a beacon of hope for the queer community in a time when we aren’t able to be together celebrating pride because of the pandemic, I hope it can make people feel seen and heard and understood and celebrated."
As this platform will always be a space for love, understanding, freedom and acceptance, I hope people will learn from all the things the world has been through this year. I hope people will learn to be more understanding. I hope we will continue to educate ourselves. I hope we will learn to be more thoughtful and loving on a daily basis. I hope people will learn to accept each other for who we really are.
There are still a lot of injustices and hate in this world and it hurts me every day to know that these things still exist in 2020. But, seeing artists like Wrabel doing their part is definitely leading us to a better world. Being our true self in this world is fucking hard but I believe it is the best thing we can do for ourselves and for the world. Thank you Wrabel for being you. Thank you for being an inspiration for so many people.
I'm inspired by his art and his words. I'm inspired by his storytelling and melodies. Life is tough, but when you get to hear real stories like his, you suddenly feel less alone and you realize how important it is to feel, any kind of feeling. But more importantly, you realize how powerful it is to be your true self. So be you, always.
"Since I Was Young" is out now :)
ps: sending so much love to the queer community. I love you all.
& shout out to Kesha for killing these vocals and to Stint for killing the production :)
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