It has been an incredible year for Romain Gutsy with the releases of the evocative single, If You See Her, the optimistic and playful album, When Leonard Met Dolly and the romantic single, My Only Love, so we couldn’t wait to experience his latest release, If You Don’t Mind.
Drawing us in with an intricate, acoustic guitar performance and percussion details, Romain Gutsy opens If You Don’t Mind with the assertive lyrics, “I don’t smoke any weed, I don’t take LSD, there’s no way to get me woozy, I don’t care, if you don’t mind, I’m free…”
The opus expands with a clawhammer banjo into an indie-folk meets Americana hybrid energy, which is designed to “touch your heart and make you reflect on the truth contained in the expression ‘sex, drug, and rock ‘n’ roll'”.
The song is produced by Romain and Marc Bentel, and the creative pair ask us, “What if being free would include free from drugs, sex addiction, politics, and greed? What if being a nice fellow would be a component of rebelliousness?”
We appreciate the commentary on the status quo, and the authenticity and depth that Romain Gutsy shares with his lyricism, ever the provocateur. If You Don’t Mind is filled with poetic prowess, a wonderful vocal range, and a thought-provoking message, which is much needed in this day and age.
Romain Gutsy is a French-born singer-songwriter and a musician who started his career in the 90s, singing and playing accordion with French bands such as Les Affamés, or guitar in the Celtic band Daffy Plays Mandola, as well as playing with more famous artists such as the Grammy award winner alt-Rock band, Soul Asylum, or American singer, Calvin Russel.
Marc Bentel is a South-African music professional, who moved to Florida, USA after having won multiple awards with bands he was par t of. Marc produced and did the mixing and mastering of the single in his studio in Florida.
We have added If You Don’t Mind to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream Romain Gutsy‘s album from earlier this year, When Leonard Met Dolly!