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Forever / Better Man

by Chisara Agor

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1.
Forever 04:08
Forever, forever seems frightening Strike me with lightening Forget what I do Forever you could destroy me If you cannot show me, the light will come through I’m just a vessel which life is passing through We make bad choices I make them too If we don’t live forever If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever What we gonna do together? Forever, I’m not for real Projection of others But it’s not how I feel Forever, vessel of grief Hold contradictions on what we believe Now we can’t take forever to tear the whole damn thing down Now we can’t take forever to tear the whole damn thing down If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever What we gonna do together? Forever surrounded by liars Said we’d be safe in this trap that they built So clever, named and divided us So our thoughts don’t go further Than the lies they’ve instilled I’ve got smoke in my eyes cos I’ve been breathing the liars fires Fighting cos time is of essence and our essence’s dying I put my head up tell these people to look me in the eye When they deny me the right to take the knee and take flight *gasp for breath* I’ve got smoke in my eyes cos I’ve been breathing the liars fires Fighting cos time is of essence and our essence’s dying I put my head up tell these people to look me in the eye When they deny me the right to take the knee and take flight If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever If we don’t have forever What we gonna do together?
2.
Better Man 04:08
I am no better man, I take the bus like the best of them Take me to the station of my life And treat me right I am no better man, I take the tube like the rest of them And I’m sick and tired of moving fast Of meaning right Of letting go So If you have the time, put your hand In mine I’ll take you to the place where lovers watch the stars Cos I am no better man, no I am no better man no no no no I am no better man, I don’t have change like the rest of them And my eyes are looking up towards the sky I need to treat you right And I am no better man I play the game like the best of them But the cards are loaded up all on one side We need to treat us right So If you have the time, put your hand In mine I’ll take you to the place where lovers watch the stars Cos I am no better man, no I am no better man no no no no And these days we’re all fighting to stay sane And we are held by the fear that what we love might fall away And I’m sick and tired of living through this world of comfort To despair Cos I am no better man If you have the time, put your hand In mine I’ll take you to the place where lovers watch the stars Cos I am no better man, no I am no better man no no no no No better than you or me.

about

‘You never walk down the same street twice. If our experience changes why shouldn’t music?’


Ever-shifting environments, constantly (r)evolving juxtapositions of experience, are recurring themes in much of Chisara Agor’s art. It’s a fitting focus for her expansive, multidisciplinary practice, which originates in part from her creative education at a local theatre. From a young age, Agor learned to act, sing, play, dance and write simultaneously (not to mention her extensive visual output). The storytelling and theatrical elements present in ‘Forever’ and ‘Better Man’, two cuts from forthcoming EP Shadows and Searchlights, should thus come as no surprise.

Where else does this diversity of expression come from? As in Agor’s musical-in-development, The Garden, it reflects an aspect of London: a physical and virtual environment where, at any moment, millions of individual and collective self-expressions are escaping, mingling, jostling in the air – like clashing music on the street, elbowing for space to be heard, existing at once individually and as a diverse whole. ‘Forever’ and ‘Better Man’ perfectly capture both this diverse sound and a very current conflict between individual and collective identity.

Agor’s mercurial voice joins together a seamless melting-pot of sounds; West African percussion, jazz, hip hop, bossa nova, indie rock, easy listening and dub-inspired elements surface, all sumptuously produced by Agor and Ebi Soda’s VVilhelm. Agor’s voice cycles through percussive mantras of breath and spoken word, delicate falsetto, and rallying refrains; first isolated, then joined by a unified chorus or lush harmonies.

Narratively too, ‘Forever’ and ‘Better Man’ seem to voice the city’s battling internal monologues – speaking respectively to the urgency of collective action and the necessity of individualism for survival. ‘Forever’ takes an isolated, fatalistic voice and raises it with a powerful chorus, challenging systems of suppression and calling others to join the history of black movements. On the other hand, ‘Better Man’ speaks sympathetically to the exhaustion of life amidst London’s imbalances. The desire to do what’s right is shaded by the reality that a degree of self-interest is unavoidable: ‘I am no better man/I don’t have change like the rest of them’.

These two tracks embody Agor’s gifts for empathy, storytelling and bringing to light the current interplay between the personal and political. ‘Forever’ and ‘Better Man’ point to an exciting label debut, with Shadows and Searchlights released in full on IXCHEL this summer.

credits

released April 16, 2021

Audio Credits:

Forever & Better Man written by Chisara Agor.
Vocals, Guitar, Ukulele - Chisara Agor
Drums - Cameron Morrell
Percussion - Joshua Nyahsimba
Bass - Robin G Breeze
Guitar - Morgan Rickman
Keys - William Hobson
Saxophone - Jonathan Poole
Trombone - VVilhelm
Recorded at Start Small Studios London.
(www.startsmallstudios.com)
Mastered by James Cruz at Zeitgiest Sound Studios
With special thanks to all the wonderful people who contributed to the virtual choir.

Creative Credits:

Produced by Chisara Agor and VVihelm
Shot by Seb JJ Peters.
Inked by Sophie Bass.
Worded by Leo Donlan.
Styled by Camilla Lønbirk & Jano Jonas Liefhold.
Engineered by Max Anstruther.

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Chisara Agor London, UK

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