1. Cru Cru Realma , super nice to have the chance to chat with you! What first got you into music?
Hi, Pigeon! Likewise, it's a real pleasure to chat with you! So, for as long as I can remember, music has always been an important part of my life. My grandpa on my dad's side, for example, often recalls how I'd been extra sensitive to sound in my childhood. I've also had classical music training since very young (from violin, guitar and piano to harmony, counterpoint and composition), tough I actually studied film and drama as my BA, since I thought these two mediums united some of my other interests. Now, if you meant music industry, I can say I had no real plans to go this route, however, everything changed in 2020 with Covid. Upon arriving back from my studies abroad, I experienced a horrible police mishandling, where I was put in physical danger during lockdown by those that should have helped. I suffered from complex PTSD and it's only music and songwriting that gave me an outlet to express my feelings and confront what had happened. The songs I started writing helped me escape my dark circumstances, allowing me to dream of different realms - hence, my moniker 'Realma' being a little pun on that. So, not only did music help me make sense of the situation, but also empowered and healed me. After that, I started releasing my songs and collaborating with the award-winning animator Mihajlo Dragas and visual artist Milica Staletovic, as well as a vast array of different musicians and dancers, to craft a unique audiovisual universe for the project.
2. Can you tell us a cringe memory of yours?
Haha, I was definitely not expecting this question - I guess you're full of surprises, Pigeon! So, I think like many, I often try to suppress any cringe memories, haha. At the moment, the one that I can remember on top of my head is when my head got stuck between some metal bars on a fence. I was very little then and this was in Lanzhou, a city in the Northwest China I lived in until 6. So, basically, I was out with my mum and I heard some music in the neighbourhood. I saw it was some outdoor group dance choreography and always being curious, I stuck my head between the bars on a fence (despite being told not to) in order to have a better look of the performance. When I wanted to pull out of the bars, my head was stuck and my mum didn't know how to pull me out! I was stuck for a while with my mum panicking, until an old Chinese lady came to my rescue - she literally stretched out the metal bars somehow. What a Superwoman!
3. What’s your favorite color?
While I appreciate all colours for different reasons, I've always been drawn to purple - for the royalty, haha. Jokes aside, I love how it contains the coldest and the hottest of all the colours - blue and red, and to me it's simply a majestic colour of mystique, fantasy and magic. Personally, something about that really resonates with who I am.
4 Will you tell us something embarrassing about you?
So, here it is: I can't ride a bike! It's quite embarrassing because I can speak several languages and I can play a few music instruments (including beatboxing!), and I've also done acting, physical theatre, martial arts, dancing, oil painting & stone carving. For Christ's sake, I've even tried scuba diving, aerial silk and trampoline for a year in the UK! All these skills, yet I can't do a basic thing like riding a bike... How ironic! I think probably if someone taught me I'd be able to do it, but just never got the chance to learn it.
5. What’s the best decade for music?
For my favourite era in music in general, I'd even go way back to the 19th-century Romanticism, haha. The pieces from that epoch are just so grandiose, expressive and emotive! But in terms of the modern popular music, I think all decades have something very unique about them. Alongside the differing wider cultural climate, the general music style from each decade was also strongly influenced by the development of new recording/production technologies, which made the overall sound of each decade very distinctive. With that said, I personally really love the 70s sound. There's just this fizziness and warmth in the sonic signature from this decade that I absolutely enjoy, which stem from tape and other analog gear that emerged. There was also a surge of new genres and subcultures, which further makes this decade so interesting and appealing to me.
6. What’s your favorite 50’s artist?
It's actually so hard to choose! Of course Elvis Presley forever changed the musical landscape then, but I'm also gonna give female artists from the decade some spotlight here - some of my favourite vocalists released amazing tracks in the 50s, like Patsy Cline, Doris Day, Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, Sarah Vaughan and many others. And it might surprise people, but I really love barbershop quartets and the 50's were such an amazing era for this style of music with the Buffalo Bills and Chordettes (I mean who doesn't vibe with their 'Mr. Sandman'?) So, yeah, in a way I refuse to choose my favourite, because it's such a great decade with so many incredible artists!
7.What’s the best advice you ever gave?
Hmm... I usually refrain from giving advice a bit, because I tend to like to stay in my own lane... I'm by all means always there for the person to discuss whatever situation is at hand, but I believe each person knows their circumstance the best - I'm just there to offer my modest perspective. And I also find it's best not to generalise too much and talk about things fully in abstract. With that in mind, I am glad I managed to motivate a few friends not to give up on their dreams, because of how often people are told to 'take their heads out of the clouds.' Instead, I told them to hold on to the clouds, because life is so short and who knows, they might just reach the sky. And if not, at least they've tried, seen the stars, the moon... And I'm glad this advice worked for them, being a catalyst that motivated their journeys.
8. How is your musosoup experience going?
Really great actually! I didn't know what to expect at first, but I've discovered so many amazing music blogs and content creators on this platform, like yourself. And it's truly amazing to have been featured on some of these.
9. What’s your favorite 70’s album?
While I have many others, I absolutely adore Kate Bush's debut album, The Kick inside. Such unique songwriting, vocals and production with a wonderful and intelligent blend of themes. I also love how there are six different versions of the album's cover art - something I only discovered recently.
10. Do You agree with the Pigeon?
Cru, cru - always agree with the Pigeon, who dares not to?!
The Pigeon added the new single to his Weekly Gems playlist on Spotify.
You can check out the released music below. If you like what you hear, make sure to follow along so you can stay on top of new releases!
Words by The Pigeon
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
This coverage was created via Musosoup
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