Songs In Color
Senior sees and hears music as it plays
October 26, 2021
Aliyah Thomas
When senior Aliyah Thomas hears Luke Hemmings from 5 Seconds of Summer, everything else falls away and the colors start.
“If something’s blue, it’s a little more mellow or sometimes it’ll just be blue but most of the time it’ll bounce between so like higher points of the song, It’ll be more vibrant, lower parts will be darker.”
Synesthesia is a neural condition where a song, book, or any kind of information is received to the brain and it stimulates several senses instead of one. Sometimes, when people listen to music, it’s received as a color.
Aliyah said Hemmings music always impacted her, but during quarantine things really stood out. She said the raw emotion in his songs made all the difference.
“The lead singer came out with an album earlier in the summer and it was about his struggles going through quarantine and facing himself for the first time in 16 years.”
Aliyah said Hemming’s album was about how routine can turn tiresome and have an impact on mental health, and how people can resonate with it.
“He was talking about living on repeat so you’re just doing the same day over and over but you’re going nowhere, and a lot of people feel that, especially from the quarantine stuff but this time it was just heavier.”
Aliyah feels this album has showcased how she feels about the beginning of her senior year and how the end is just the beginning for her.
“This album helped me the most earlier this school year when it came out,” she said. “It was perfect because senior year is the time to figure everything out. The first song on the album is about missing the sound of the gun at the starting line of life. I couldn’t stop thinking if graduation is my starting line, I need to be ready.”
Aliyah also likes another song as it represents everything falling into place
“The last song called Come Down brings all the emotions coming together to bring clarity and focus,” she said.
Aliyah said she can’t explain how her synesthesia works, but it does. Words aren’t enough, but the colors are.
“The Album would probably be a dark-blue/royal blue and pastel pink,” She said. “It’s a little hard to explain the exact color because it’s always a specific shade but deep royal blue and pastel pink is the best way to put it into words.”