Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Ian Lake.
Actor Ian Lake‘s arrival in the Canadian music landscape has reached a new milestone, with his debut album, What It Is, sharing his journey from fragile vulnerability to courage and resolve. Written during the long isolation of 2020 and produced by Matthew Barber, the eight songs cover loss and hope, yearning and regret, and ultimately, the strength that comes from acceptance.
Upbeat and full of energy, the toe-tapping rocker “More” is unexpected after the slower, more emotional offerings Lake has made so far. With a wicked synth melody, a steady drum beat, and a vibe that will make you want to sing along in your car, the versatile performer reveals a personal struggle and recognizes that it’s time to let go.
Watch the official “More” lyric video:
Tea: Forever Nuts by David’s tea with honey.
I chose this tea because it’s got this apple pie flavour to it, and it’s not caffeinated, which is usually what I’m looking for with tea. It just makes me feel cozy and satisfies my sweet tooth.
Music: Bipolar Sunshine – Fire
This song has always felt like something that should be more famous. It’s not even on any digital streaming sites which has always confounded me. And strangely it’s the only song I’m very familiar with from Bipolar Sunshine. I first heard this song in 2016, doing a bit of mushrooms with a friend who I used to be romantic with. She told me the song had helped her in the times when our relationship wasn’t working. “This got me through my ‘you’ time”. She said. I remember her saying that, because it was such a vulnerable thing to share as we lay on the floor of my apartment listening to it on an iPhone. I find this song evokes so much feeling and such a beautiful story of the complexity of passionate relationships. The song almost has a dreamlike quality, and then you get to the middle and there’s a sound clip from the movie “the notebook” which just fits so well with the song. The line “I’m not afraid to hurt your feelings” just hits me in such a memory space. Especially as it’s backed by the choral voices and echoing guitar. This song never fails to stir deep feelings in me. And I wish it was more well known. Give it a listen.
Visual:
The visual I’m going to give you is a painting that hangs in my bedroom, by a Salvadorian painter named Boris Ciudad Real, who I’ve been a patron of for years. I discovered his work when I was backpacking in El Salvador in 2008 and stayed at a hostel that showed local artists work, and I bought a painting. We kept in touch over the years and he would share his recent work with me. A few years later I bought this piece, called “Los Que Estan Asuentes Son Los Que Mas Estan Presentes”, which roughly translates to “those who are absent are the ones who are most present”. I fall asleep to this painting every night and it’s always felt like a dream in the clouds. But many people see different things in it so it felt like a good painting for this. Boris has a lot of interesting work worth checking out, I highly recommend giving his Instagram a look @borisciudadreal.
Tea + Me 