By Hans Ebert @hanseberthk
It would be too easy to say that one could hear Sting recording the song. But, often, the problem is trying to be too smart and which leads to pretentiousness and that kiss of death called Overthinking. Overthinking has been the ruin of many an artist.
So, let’s leave it as “North Wind” by WhiteMoor and recorded in 2014- sounds like something Sting might have recorded when writing songs like “Fragile” and “Field Of Dreams”- strong melodies with moving and effortless lyrics.
The vocals by WhiteMoor are on the money, the arrangement is deceptively simple, and the guitar playing is every bit as good as something Dominic Miller would play- yes, on a Sting recording.
There’s nothing more that I know about this act/artist other than they’re with an independent UK label named Sub-Music. More on the label at www.Sub-Hub.com. It has an interesting business model. Can it be more? Anything can be more- or less by streamlining. It’s that Less Is More theory I embrace where there’s a very clear focus on the core business and moves away from clutter.
All this discovery is how one’s faith in social media is restored. Twitter, for example, is not always a meeting place for one-dimensional rabble rousers trolling the online world, and adding and bringing nothing to it. Sometimes- and they’re rare- all the parts fit. It’s instant karma. It’s about community and shutting out the stragglers.
How it happened, why it happened, who knows? It’s one of those quirky twists of fate that has intrigued enough someone in Hong Kong to write about an act from the Midlands in the UK at 4am. It’s proof positive that music travels. Good music travels even further.
Whitemoor and “North Wind” is good music. Very good music. Is there more where this came from? Don’t know. Perhaps the arrangement could have included a short baroque instrumental break? Perhaps a singer from Taiwan or China might wish to collaborate and add a verse in Mandarin? Perhaps more than Sting, here’s something reminiscent of McCartney’s “Blackbird”, “Mother Nature’s Son”, or “For No One”? It can’t get better than that.
This is all about sharing. And music must be shared in order for it to travel. For it to reach new ears, make new fans, and continue on another journey of discovery and appreciation.
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