In the complex current social landscape, technological modernity has pushed us towards practices that involve and require the digitization of absolutely every aspect of our lives to become even moderately relevant. Basically, if you're not present on social media, you're nobody. You are completely nonexistent in front of the world’s eyes. This generates a huge problem from the artistic perspective, where millions of creative minds encounter this ‘turnstile’ that decides who is popular, or who is worthy of being acclaimed, in an increasingly competitive scenario.
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Under this premise, Giack Bazz, the renowned and multifaceted artist currently based in the vibrant city of London, responsible for bringing to life great hits like "The Moon is Painted", "Come Te" and "Funny Days", returns to the world of entertainment, but this time with an interesting and unusual proposal, in which, in a bold move that challenges not only the conventions of music but also, as a form of rebellion against a corrupt and declining music industry, he has made a 360-degree turn that marks a true milestone within his own career as an artist, and that has led him to a new course towards a completely different territory within the creative industry.
About The Artist:
Giack Bazz, born as Federico Giacobazzi, began his musical career in 2008 with the composition of his first song. In 2015, driven by his bandmates, he decided to release a solo album. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, he released "Childhood Dream," an album that reflects his process of overcoming the traumas of his childhood. The work received a warm reception and was brought to the stage as a rock opera, thanks to the support of the Arts Council of the region.
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In 2018, Giack Bazz released a double 7-inch vinyl at 33 rpm with his second album, "Giack Bazz Is Not Famous." This album, with a more carefree yet anguished tone, featured fuller band arrangements compared to his previous work. Recorded in an isolated recording studio with only him and the engineer present, it received outstanding reviews and motivated his move to London.
Just a year later, Giack released "Haikufy," inspired by Japanese poetry. Despite having 30 tracks, the album lasted less than 20 minutes. Within a week, the album surpassed 100,000 streams and received positive reviews. This production was pivotal for his future as an artist, allowing him to open for The Messthetics at the Locomotiv Club in May 2019.
2024: The year when art as a form of expression has died.
Despite his successes and his unique approach that has always set him apart from the crowd, Giack has been astute enough to keep his eyes wide open and stay abreast of the drastic changes in the music industry and its constant evolution over time, which have not necessarily been for the better. The advent of the internet has meant a radical paradigm shift for the entire world, and from a position of absolute comfort, it has gradually proclaimed itself as a true "savior" that comes to open the borders of knowledge through the democratization of access to information, claiming a title that does not necessarily correspond to reality, or that also takes responsibility for its negative consequences.
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On the contrary, the phenomenon of the internet has quickly become a double-edged sword, and far beyond bringing with it an infinity of various types of content for all audiences and ages, and in turn, an almost unlimited amount of advertising spaces and virtual showcases where artists can share their creations with the world, it has also generated adverse effects, further blurring the thin lines that divide the classic seven forms of art.
Today, music blends with film industry in its eagerness to create an impact that doubles the proposal with a visually striking piece, while cinema will soon be displaced by the rapid and invasive arrival of image generation by Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the list goes on and on... The more we delve into it, the combinations become more absurd, as it is now common to see professional musicians struggling to get some attention on the internet and competing in the same battlefield with an influencer lip-syncing to their own songs. Have you guessed which of the two managed to get more views?
Thus, the internet has transformed not only the way content is displayed and presented to new audiences but also the way it is marketed and consumed. It's like a big "pot" where all the different ingredients are mixed to create a large, but not very nutritious dish, where diverse content that doesn't necessarily relate to each other reaches your Instagram feed to literally feed your boredom and curiosity every day, and which was cooked following the recipe of a million-dollar algorithm propelled by multibillion-dollar companies that only look after their interests. It was never about art.
Giack Bazz Emerges: His Leap into 'Only Fans' as an Act of Rebellion
In the face of the deceitful game proposed by social media towards artists, Giack Bazz has said ENOUGH. After 16 years of a long musical career, he now makes his comeback in an imposing way with "Only Fans," his latest studio work that arrives as an innovative form of protest, which in turn stands as a true banner of the struggle of an aggressive yet silent war.
But this is not a conventional war, of course not. Rather, it is a war where the true meaning of art and music is contested beyond the vague valuation that the internet has promoted through its indecipherable algorithms and its empty appreciation based solely on the number of "likes" you have on YouTube or the number of followers on your Instagram page.
Doesn't this also affect the way art is created? Of course, it does! Artists nowadays must adapt to demands that, instead of providing freedom, impose true limitations from a creative standpoint, ultimately diminishing the way they seek to express themselves.
Through a meticulously crafted musical formula where authenticity is evident from the first note, "Only Fans" offers us an exquisitely melodic and reflective auditory experience that skillfully incorporates elements of indie rock and pop rock, giving rise to a unique fusion of sounds that will get the attention of the listeners from the outset.
In a captivating narrative unfolding with palpable sincerity, Giack projects an intense sense of nostalgia regarding the strong bond he shares with music despite the challenges present in the industry, revealing the unbreakable connection he shares with it. It's a feeling that many of us here also know and share with him at the same time, not only those of us dedicated to musical composition who have experienced firsthand the complexities his story presents but also those music enthusiasts who simply enjoy it and feel that their favorite albums are already out of fashion, thus making his message resonate universally.
With a language style that exhibits a deliberately "worn-out" touch, Giack perfectly portrays the redundancy and exhaustion of trying to achieve fame time and time again without attaining the desired success, bravely showcasing the frustration he has had to endure during his years as a musician.
In this way, "Only Fans" is a direct, raw, and unfiltered critique, yet it also comes across as elegant and unfolds with impeccable subtlety thanks to the combination of its musical resources along with its lyrical work, which employs numerous metaphors to shed light on this issue with an incredible level of detail. Meanwhile, the spectacular accompanying music video propels Giack's vision with a touch of fun and humor, adding a necessary counterpoint to his offering, helping to balance the experience and serving as a vehicle that conveys and disseminates his important message.
What Giack Bazz wants to tell us will probably continue to happen for centuries to come...
If only we go back a few years in history, it used to be the record labels that had the power of discerning between approving or rejecting your creative efforts. Not very different from how things work now, anyway, it seems that this unequal interaction was even fairer and less aggressive than what millions of artists experience today, because at least there was an entity responsible for your stagnation as an artist and you had someone to point the finger at, every time they shut the door in your face.
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Thus, every failure was much easier to turn into a kind of incentive to continue in the difficult path as a musician. A motivational element that, although born from negativity, worked as fuel to keep giving your best effort and eventually find that differentiating element that would eventually capture the attention of the masses.
That's why the melodies of The Beatles or Nirvana endures to this day. They all became true music icons thanks to an authenticity acquired through years of experience, numerous failures, and constant frustration, but within a market where anonymity didn't exist, nor did ghost algorithms, and of course, it was a much fairer and more homogeneous competition. While this is something we will never get back thanks to the internet, which undoubtedly has come to stay in our lives, it can never stand against a solid, innovative, and cohesive artistic proposal like what Giack has built with "Only Fans," where his message confronts this issue, making it clear that a set of lines of code can never distort the conception of good taste or alter the perception of a base of enthusiasts who truly appreciate art and music for its real significance.
If you've enjoyed "Only Fans," we invite you to listen to the complete discography of this talented and creative artist on his >Spotify< profile, which is definitely worth experiencing. Also, don't forget to follow Giack Bazz on his social media to stay updated on his latest news and upcoming releases.
Giack Bazz On-Line
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giackbazz/?hl=it
Bandcamp: https://giackbazz.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/giackbazz