Why Breaking More Waves Is Taking A Break

Back in 2011 Breaking More Waves ran a series of blogs written in the singular first person to reflect the more intimate and personal nature of the writing, rather than the plural ‘we’ we have used for a number of years. The posts were called Music That Made Me and as the title suggested they were autobiographical, describing influences and memories from our past and how music is intrinsically linked with many of the experiences in life. The songs featured weren’t necessarily ‘the best’ in terms of the usual frames of reference for critical appraisal, but tracks or artists that were important to us.

Ironically having completed the project, spending 42 weeks wallowing in nostalgia, our conclusion was that irrespective of the rights and wrongs of seeking out the newest freshest shiniest new tunes, sometimes at the expense of older music, it was what we felt most passionate about.

One of the posts in the series ( 8th out of 42 – you can read it here) was soundtracked by the song Please Forgive Me by David Gray. It talked about friendship and about how great friends didn’t need to pass judgement on each other – instead they accepted and took pleasure in each other for who they are. We all make mistakes, but good friends are able to accept that and move on.

The person who inspired that philosophy lives 1000’s of miles away from Breaking More Waves in New Zealand. This weekend we both leave our respective countries and fly out to San Francisco to meet each other in person for the first time in what must be getting on for a decade. 

Good, solid, real friends are hugely important - they influence who you are. That’s why Breaking More Waves is taking its longest ever holiday – to spend time with someone very special.

Unlike the ‘big’ blogs (we use the word ‘big’ in inverted commas because we’re sometimes surprised how few plays of songs some of these supposed big blogs actually generate, we suspect their size has more to do with the number of tracks they post and how certain music industry insiders perceive them as being ‘cool’ or influential) Breaking More Waves isn’t written by a large team of writers, or even a small group. It’s just one person. We like it that way, it gives a consistency of character. However, it does mean when we take a break and haven’t pre-written posts to cover the time we’re away (which we have done sometimes in the past ) or continue blogging on holiday, the site stops. This is one of those times.

Breaking More Waves will return sometime towards the end of September. For once, music is taking a backseat.