Forever

The summer is officially on, and it's time for the endless camping days on the beach, morning runs, and chilling sessions with friends. It's moments and experiences like these that we should cherish and strive for, because at the end of the day, it's what truly matters in life. It may seem obvious, but I often remind myself that most of life's daily stresses don’t really matter. In the end, our limited time here is best spent doing what we love.

The first time I heard Girls of the Internet's brand new single "Forever," I loved the light energy coming out of it, but I sensed a feeling of mellowness threaded in those sonic waves. I want to share Tom's message that came with this song, as it if powerful and adds a much-needed context to the track.

"In late January this year, my step-father, Michael was diagnosed with leukaemia without much warning. He was admitted to the hospital, and we found out he had the most aggressive form of the disease. He died just over two weeks after the diagnosis. It was especially triggering for us as a family - we lost my father to cancer in 1999.

“I had this beat on my hard drive for a while - I’d considered just putting it out as an instrumental, but I could hear a vague melody in my head. As soon as Michael was admitted into hospital, words started coming to me to fill those melodies, and the song was written within days. I sent it to the choir to get properly recorded. In a ubiquitous twist of fate, they sent the finished track back to me when I was in hospital, by Michael's side, just a few hours before they switched off life support and we watched him take his final breaths.

I don't really like to speak publicly about the meaning of my music, I like everybody to take their own meaning from the songs I’m involved with - but ‘Forever’ is about the feelings and emotions you go through as a family when you find out a loved one is battling a serious condition. Watching my mother’s unquestioned support. The hope we can make it through. The feeling of wanting to help, wanting to be there, but knowing that nothing you can do will make a difference. All you can do is be there, be present.

I hope my experiences can help others go through hard times in their lives.”