Erick Oscar Turns a Personal Prayer Into a Musical Philosophy on “Live, Learn, and Love Without Regrets”
The song “Live, Learn, and Love Without Regrets” is a case in point where the title sums up the main idea. Seven years ago Erick Oscar wrote it as a private prayer, and the song expresses his daily determination to face life with faith, to learn from all experiences and to love without letting regret hold him back. According to Erick, he listens to the song every morning in order to keep his direction clear, and this personal involvement is what gives the track such genuine sincerity. Instead of treating its message as something remote or abstract, he turns a principle which he actually tries to live by into music, producing a song that has a reflective, hopeful and deeply personal character. There is a sense of intimacy in the fact that the words came from the heart and still hold a significant place in Erick’s own daily routine.
The song also lays the emotional groundwork for an album which moves easily among pop, ballad and bilingual bachata styles. “Say What I Feel” and “More Than You Know” keep the emphasis on emotional honesty, whereas “Even If I Forget”, “Because I Said So” and “Show Me The Way” look at other aspects of relationships, memory and personal direction. The Spanish song “Te Voy a Tirar La Chancleta” introduces a different kind of energy to the album, and “Mas De Lo Que Tu Crees” is included in both a pop and a bachata version, showing Erick’s readiness to allow the same songwriting ideas to exist in different musical forms. The end result is an album that seems linked together by its focus on lyrics and real-life emotions rather than being confined by one particular sound.
The fact that Erick has been closely associated with music contributes an extra dimension to the record. His father was a singer and it was he who taught Erick love songs and ballads when he was a child; Erick has since spent over 35 years playing acoustic guitar with his worship band and has written more than 1,200 songs. His decision to get involved with music production software has enabled him to take his songs further than just on the guitar, allowing him to experiment with style, tempo, vocals, instrumentation and arrangement so as to bring his ideas to life completely. However, the technology itself is not the focus; the message stays at the heart of things. “Live, Learn, and Love Without Regrets” seems to be the musical way in which an artist is expressing his commitment to the values that are most important to him, while at the same time passing on that viewpoint to anyone who might need such a reminder. The song is personal, based on his faith and in the end optimistic, turning a personal morning prayer into a song that can reach a much larger audience.
The message ‘Live, Learn, and Love Without Regrets’ turns a personal daily prayer into a moving musical reminder that encourages you to keep moving forward, to keep learning and never let your fear of regret prevent you from loving.
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