Karmic Neighborhood – I Learned To Forgive (2023)
Right off the bat: who is Karmic Neighborhood I hear you say. The serendipitous meeting of music industry veteran Julian Colbeck and singer-songwriter Armand Ruby led to this karmic collaboration. In a twist of fate, the gents move to the same neighbourhood, have both experienced surviving cancer, both have a strong passion for music and…well, you can see the karmic forces in play.
When we last heard Karmic Neighborhood, the US-based duo was singing about respect, kindness, patience and love in their single ‘Everybody Needs To Love’. One of the songs off the soundtrack for their upcoming feature film Equinox The Musical, ‘Everybody Needs To Love’ (joined by the singles ‘Where Do I Go Now?’ and ‘Song of Wonder’), sees Armand Ruby and Julian Colbeck touch once again on humanity in its brashest and most delicate form. In their most recent single, ‘I Learned To Forgive’, the pair look at hopefulness within humanity.
With a nostalgic flair of 80s pop floating through the melody, ‘I Learned To Forgive’ uses soft, soothing instrumentation to carry the heartfelt tune. Gentle keyboards connect with calm drums, guitars and an interspersed piano setting your soul at peace. The well-textured and layered wave of music creates a bubble of wistful sound; however, the crescendo to classic rock guitar brings another dimension almost bursting that bubble. I find this intriguing as it aligns with the tale’s theme of hopefulness, forgiveness and resilience.
In the film, the message of forgiveness is prevalent as Phoebe counsels the character Kate in a time of distress. The mellifluous flow of the instrumentation expresses the comfort of Phoebe’s counsel, but the surge of power behind the vocals pushes the power of her message. Intertwining the soulful vocals of musician Tammi Brown, the affirmation of forgiveness and its way of replacing resentment with compassion bursts in a kaleidoscopic ray of hope.
“A triumph of light at the end of a tunnel of adversity, Tammi Brown brings soulful grit to the vocal of this powerful rocker.” – Julian Colbeck
“’I Learned To Forgive’ is a moving affirmation of the power of forgiveness encouraging us to just get over it and get on with life.” – Armand Ruby
For more from Karmic Neighborhood, check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
