Having just moved to Austin, Texas. where he found himself in lockdown, it’s understandable that singer/songwriter and rapper Chris Waters struggled with his fears for the future of the US and the world. However, he decided rather than to sink into depression, to use his gift of music, with his new single, ‘Blurry’ a heartfelt, moving, and quite vulnerable view on life in quarantine.
And that’s an accurate description of what life has been like; with the images on every screen of police brutality, civil unrest, politicians spouting nonsense, and the empty city streets in order to stem the tide of the pandemic. It’s been a wacky old year, this 2020, but to an extent we all have shaered experiences, and quite frankly, some of it’s been a little blurry.
Fans of Chris Waters will know to expect from him frankness, and boldness, in the face of mounting desperation. ‘Blurry’ sees him keep his rhymes tight and his mood intense, while the beats are characteristically fierce. Water never loses his balance in the track, even though the end is a virtual hallucination, with a slowed down vocal sample testifying to what pressure we’ve all come to appreciate as the new normal. Drum beats thunder blows against the walls of the rooms in which we’ve now been confined – Waters promises no miracle cure, but instead he suggests we should all persevere, stick at it, be thoughtful, and reflect.
The video for ‘Blurry’ sees Chris facing 2020 head on. Images which have so quickly become familiar to us, and which are already part of the history of this year, play out on a rippling sheet in a dark room. Waters is alone in the room, the images threatening to suck him in with their dark logic. He however has the will to fight back, and the strength to carry on. At the end, we realise his battle is our battle – and when he has reason for hope, so do we also.
Watch the video for Chris Waters song, ‘Blurry’, below. Find out more about Chris Waters and his music online on his Facebook page.
