Aye Say Bah
It was really a blast to connect with Darko from Side Effect last month, and it was even more fun to get to listen to his music, and hear the background story as to how it got made. One song that stands out was “Aye Say Bah”, which can be translated as “Take It Easy.” In unpacking the song, Darko points to the varying influences that went into it, from the COVID pandemic to dealing with depression to finding momentary peace in meditation. Take a listen to the story, then the song, then check out the full interview!
“The song was about the journey of where I was at the time. The tag meaning is about a trip when you get to somewhere that you have no idea about, whether it was the end of the road or whether it was the end of a trip, but you enjoyed it so much. It was great to be there, and you are enjoying where you are at that moment in your life.
It was also a reflection of my experience in meditation. I began to meditate in 2016, before then I was on and off, on and off. But I was devoted to meditation in 2016 and since then, I've been meditating every day, every morning. During COVID, I was meditating heavily because that was the best thing that I could do, because I was also one of those who were suffering from depression, like it was a global depression then. I got to a point where I didn't know whether I would survive or leave this world, but then during meditation I got to a place where I felt so good! I didn’t know whether it was the goal of the meditation, I don't know where I am, but I definitely enjoyed that place in my head. I'm not sure if it's even in my mind or head or if there was no mind at all!
But I felt oneness at that moment. And I was like, ‘This is okay here. It super easy, so I can live with that. I didn’t want to ask for more.’
I used that metaphor like a very positive vibe to bring it to the world, like that happiness being alone in the journey, because we are so afraid to be alone all the time, yet at some point there's joy if you can enjoy the journey of being alone. It was really hard for everyone to go through this COVID madness alone. But still, it’s an important part of life that the universe is teaching us. Whether the road ends or whether you feel lost, if you can look around, there are many things to enjoy. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the now, and then that's the vibe of the song. I didn't want to spread more negativity around because of my depression. Then at the end of my depression, I got it a positive mindset at the end of the day, so this was the song.”