Rockidle – “Degeneration” mixes the powerful and the soaring with the anthemic

Rockidle is singer-songwriter Derek Hagan, now living in Finland. He has worked on 3 collections of songs previously – “Sunny Side Up” with musician-producer Hill Briggs, “Belvedere Drive”, with musician-producer Matt Cowley, and “Relationships”, with singer-musician-producer Tania Sheratte. Rockidle is currently working on a 4th collection of songs titled “Relationships 2” with Tania Gilead, Matt Cowley and Hazze Wazeen, which is due for digital release during September 2021.

Rockidle’s latest single release is “Degeneration”, which the singer-songwriter describes as, “a song based on a fictional character who losses interest in the political process, now feels anger towards large companies who make billions in profit, and feels he, just like many others, are left behind and can’t keep up with modern living.”

As the jangling guitars and harmonica on “Degeneration” fade in, you can tell this record is going to be something special. Like many of his tracks, Rockidle’s voice draws you in, begging you to not only listen to the music, but pay attention to the lyrics from the offset. It’s not only his ability to wrap meaningful words around a beat that leaves you helpless but you how you fall for his charm and swagger is why you’ll keep listening to the end.

Derek Hagan aka Rockidle

You can almost taste how much work and love has gone into this record the deeper you delve. Rockidle has really thrown himself in headfirst in the instrumentation and message, and it comes out in the music. Wrapped in a retro blues and alt-rock flavor, the song tackles a topic that many can empathize with, in a world that has lost all of its fundamental humanistic qualities, and is driven by excessive greed and gluttony.

Steady beating drums lead the piano and guitar into an energetic rush to the head as Rockidle belts out his tale of decline and woe due to the new world order – a process he aptly calls “Degeneration”. Not content with just encompassing the unfaltering beat, Rockidle manages to thicken out the record with some great heartfelt singing, and anthemic choruses.

“Degeneration” positions Rockidle in a comfortable pocket: one foot in the sound of retro rock n’ roll, another in the shoe of a modern-day visionary singer-songwriter, and enough personal musical bents to prevent him from sounding like anyone but himself. Not only does Rockidle let an incredibly tight track unravel its narrative clearly, but his craft reflects a songwriter who understands how to make each line count.

“Degeneration” is an impactful sounding track, no question. The track is compact and fearless as Rockidle mixes the powerful and the soaring with the anthemic. The Finland-based singer-songwriter strips away all the pretense, all the posturing, all the superfluous gloss, and all the trash-talking found in modern rock. Instead he replaces it with gritty authentic music and inspired lyrics.

Rockidle’s desire simply to rock out and speak his truths, is yet another example of his ability as a musician to reflect the sounds that have shaped him over the years, while “Degeneration” brings the artist’s own identity squarely into the picture.

OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – SPOTIFY – YOUTUBE