Music has a remarkable way of achieving so much with so little. A singular sustained melody can wrap itself around you in a heartfelt, healing embrace, while a calculated pause can open up a vast expanse to escape into. There is boundless beauty in the softness and sparseness of music—one that moves you, in ways both subtle and profound. Diego Philips captures this stripped-back brilliance with masterful elegance in his latest EP, “I want to laugh until I cry.”
Drawing inspiration from the captivating artistry of José González, Nick Drake, Villagers, and Patrick Watson, the Belgian-born, London-based singer-songwriter produces intimate, reflective, and moving soundscapes. In each track, the artist's sincere storytelling comes alive, taking you on an immersive journey through themes of love, healing, and the unrelenting march of time. In its deeply personal stories, there is still a binding universality, allowing listeners to find a piece of themselves in the EP to hold onto, long after the record ends.
Opening with the title track, the EP sees a soul-stirring start. Gentle acoustic guitar strums waltz mesmerically alongside the sweeping, slow cadence of cello melodies, played by the talented Shizuku Tatsuno. Diego’s soothing, silky vocals envelop your senses in its warmth.
“Why can’t you stay out of my head?” quakes with a delicate restlessness and passion, that of a lover longing and ruminating and yet finding no comfort. The pacing guitar melodies and brooding strings cushion the fragile, quivering vocals of the singer, producing an atmosphere so tragic and touching.
“Hummingbird” takes you into a somber, slower state of affairs. Wistful acoustic notes linger in the air, as doleful cello swells peak and recede seamlessly. Diego’s vocal performance is heart-rending and hypnotic.
“Time” ascends into radiant, ethereal atmospheres. It delivers a profound message on the nature of time and its relationship with our life experience—the weight of this theme so effortlessly lightened by the graceful, hopeful melodies.
“Water” ends the EP on an unforgettable note; the music builds into richer, rousing planes with luminous melodies, swirling cello, mounting vocals, celestial harmonies—all converging into an abundant, absorbing crescendo. A fitting end to a fantastic EP!
“I want to laugh until I cry” triumphs in its delicate power, cathartic vulnerability, and sublime purity. Diego Philips constructs a world so abundant, so precise, and so complete with just the bare necessities, it leaves you in awe of his imagination and ingenuity, and also with an inescapable, irrepressible desire to experience more of his music. Listen to Diego Philip’s latest EP “I want to laugh until I cry” here!
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Discovered via https://app.musosoup.com #sustainablecurator