Feel it in your soul
Who else is looking for new music?
If you know me, you know that I very rarely listen to new music. I’ve been listening to the same music for the last three to five years. It’s not often that a new artist really grabs my attention and forces me to listen to them.
Introducing the Scarlet Opera.
The Scarlet Opera has had me in a chokehold for the last two weeks with their new EP Comedy. I first found them through their TikTok account, and that might be where you’ve heard of them, too. Their song “Alive” has been dominating my ‘For You Page’ for a while now. After I found myself constantly singing “Alive” throughout my day, I gave in and listened to Comedy and I am very glad I did.
There’s a sound that the Scarlet Opera has that feels so rare. It makes me feel alive and alight with the sound of music. It makes me want to get up and dance, get up and move, get up and relish in the fact that I am alive every time I play the EP. Their music resonates with joy and energy the likes of which I’ve never heard or felt before. It feels theatrical without ever leaning into the realm of musical theatre.
The energy is truly led by the band’s frontman Luka Bazulka, who also wrote most of the songs on Comedy. Bazulka’s voice draws in the listener, almost akin to the likes of Freddie Mercury. Bazulka’s voice in the music has me hanging on every word waiting for what’s next, waiting to see what adventure he takes me on alongside the band. The band consists of keyboardist Colin Kenrick, bassist Daniel Zuker, drummer Justin Siegal, and guitarist Chance Taylor.
The Scarlet Opera’s name was inspired by The Scarlet Letter, and its intent to outcast people and make them feel misunderstood and misrepresented by society. The Opera is a place for those marked by Scarlet, the outcasts, the misrepresented, and those who just aren’t understood by others, to join together and feel free and alive in a place where they can be and not worry about expectations or societal understandings. The Scarlet Opera is a place for the passionate, a place for the lustful, a place for the furious, and a place for the beautiful.
Comedy opens with the song “Riot.” I could not imagine a better opening song for this EP. The words start immediately, calling out to the listener, telling them that they like it, it gets them excited, it makes them want to shout from the rooftops, and it’s time to riot. But not a riot in the way of violence or protest, it’s a riot in the way of celebration and joyous victory in the very essence of who we are and what we can be. The strong bass line makes you immediately want to dance to the beat and join in on this riot they’re proclaiming.
The next song, “The Place to Be,” is my favourite. It’s a great follow-up to “Riot” because it alludes to the idea that the riot is the place to be. It’s telling you to be there, to dance, to live as if it’s your last moment on Earth, and to celebrate in the beauty and boldness of your essence that can only be found at the Opera. The bass line is prominent here too, but it’s emphasized, and it has more details. It almost feels like it’s emphasizing the riot and what it means to you as an individual and discovering that, letting it flourish and blossom within you.
The EP ends with their most popular song, “Alive.” There’s a reason this song is their most popular. It’s an incredible song and has the most Queen-like energy. It keeps up with the theme of the Opera, too – you’re giving something to the world, you’re giving them what they see you as, but there is still the essence of you. Despite how people may see you, “keep the party alive,” as the band proclaims. Don’t let society take away what you are, and don’t let them make you stop the party for their sake.
This EP has acted like a knife and cut straight through the burn-out and exhaustion I’ve been feeling; it held out a hand, and invited me to dance. I said yes, and you should, too. Comedy by the Scarlet Opera is available on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
