Cloudshapes – Holding onto Life (2021)
Throughout life, we are faced with adverse events that threaten to pull us down. Cloudshapes offers a silver lining for anyone trapped in these events with their single ‘Holding onto Life’. Through a telling of real-life experiences, they navigate tough situations that make you lose hope and come out with a fighting spirit. If you need a single that connects with your darkest times and provides the strength to keep moving forward, this is the one for you.
This empowering single comes from duo Jim Jagger (vocals) and Rien De Keyser (piano). The pair are old friends who met playing Ultimate Frisbee then decided that the time was right to team up and make music. Melding De Keyser’s eclectic musical tastes with Jagger’s love for multiple instruments, the pair created the wonderful sounds of Cloudshapes.
‘Holding onto Life’ opens with a soaring guitar tempered by light twinkling piano notes. This dips for a more hip-hop sound with moving beats that have your head bobbing to their rhythm. The music is a wonderful blend of different styles and influences. You are hit with the beats of hip-hop and rap that make you want to bounce to them while the guitar brings a soaring rock vibe. The light twinkling piano lines add a lovely softness to the proceeding like a glimmer of hope and light at the end of a tunnel.
The vocals are all rap-rock and utterly wonderful. The smooth flow on the verses has a darkness as they work through trying moments of life. They pick up the pace on the chorus for a lyrical flurry that gets your heart pumping. There are moments of harmonisation that brings a sense of connection and community letting you know that you are not alone. On the choruses, you are filled with a sense of strength before a woeful guitar cuts through and the vocals hit a more melodic stride. This swing to softness fills you with light and hope to let you know that you can be strong enough to move forward.
Cloudshapes uses a perfect blend of hip-hop beats, soaring rock guitars, rap vocals and emotive lyrics to work through dark times and leave you with hope in ‘Holding onto Life’. The duo is able to bring the different elements of the single together for a captivating track that fills your chest with light and strength.
Find out more about Cloudshapes on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
