Wasted Potential defined by Panaroux
A lot of successful albums this year, but none that quite captured the WASTED POTENTIAL that 2020 has been. To be wasted is to be used or expended carelessly or to no purpose, while potential suggests having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future. If these two definitions don’t descirbe what we’ve been through this year than I dont know what will.
Months wasted stuck and home, I think theres been an increase in people that have genuinely felt this was a waste of a year, with this last month looking forward to potential. Now that I’ve played out the EP title enough let’s get into the tracks…
The sound of the overall EP is an exemplary of fall vibes, when you get into the last quarter of the year and you start experiencing seasonal depression this is what it would sound like. But depressive in the sense you’ve recognised and identified your pit falls, where you’ve gone wrong and what needs to be done to come out of it stronger… a bit like a New Years resolution.
Panaroux has mentioned the length of time it took him to develop and finally release this EP, each song is a sonic experience of situations he physically experienced in that 2 year span. With each song you hear his growth and moments of enlightenment. Panaroux takes us on his journey self (re-)discovery step by step, and yet it’s nothing we cannot relate too, listen here to rediscover yourself…
POTENTIAL: A recollection of activities, events and moments that makes you realise you are wasting your potential but, “there’s more to me/life than this” he says. He’s already on the journey of self discovery, listing the pros and cons of said moments so ‘don’t try find me, I’ve been finding me instead’.
SWEATER: At first I thought a topic of real friends? the flow on this is impeccable by the way; but in conversation the meaning behind this is a lot more personal. It’s about the act of outgrowing parental love. He plays with the idea of “grandma gifting a sweater and eventually outgrowing it without realising – that’s true growth” he says. “When I chose to move onto the new version of myself it felt forced”, personally many a time have I wanted to burst the bubble that’s been built for me whether mum and dad approved or not. He goes on “deconstructing the sweater to make it fit me”, in essence taking advice and lessons from that love and applying or adjusting it to your life where you see fit. Makes for a natural sense of growth.
PREVAIL: Unintentionally this song can be tied to the many ways we as individuals feel about success. It encapsulates that state of society and the social media era we are living in. We’ve all thought at some point ‘If I can’t fix it now I know I won’t prevail’, maybe Pana just gave us the words for that feeling. For many with a lot of successful influences we feed into on social media it’s hard to find the will to prevail, but losing track of time can set you back months. “Only I have the power to make a change my ways”, as they say only you are in your way.
HEALING: Is the a song that can be misunderstood at first listen. He talks of relapsing and “thinking I’ve healed from depression and anxiety”. The melancholy beat is befitting of the song lyrics. At the end of the track he includes an interlude of him talking about what hasn’t allowed him to heal until behold…
BEHOLD: “Coming out the other side of healing, almost like a rebirth” Pana says. When you find yourself and feel yourself a little bit, behold is the track you need to play as a reminder the things you go through are a universal experience but believe in yourself still. People are quick to judge and Pana is here to remind you that he’s human too, on his off days ‘wasting my potential just like do’. On his good days however Pana imagines his ancestors welcoming him to his seat at the table. Moving out to Paris “I came out the other-side” — it was something he did alone but he was not lonely, “my ancestors are watching over me giving me the energy to succumb to my true potential and be who I’m meant to be”.
DARE U: Is an unedited freestyle, “I was vibing. it was unplanned. I chose to not re-record it”. The kind of energy on Dare U is saying “TRY FUCK WITH ME”. The energetic sound on this song makes it feel like the instrumental is riding over the vocals. The saxophone in the background really adds romance to this beat, giving us a ‘feeling myself’ moment.
MUSE: About a girl that slowly became important to him as an individual. This person is the first that’s instilled belonging and made me want to become a better person for them. Organically this person became his muse. Also if Playboy Carti were British he’d sound something like this.
TRY AND FIND ME: What you’ve been doing to get back on track and get your life back “affirmations/ meditation etc”. Self care is a job we must all take seriously, and from Pana Instagram it’s something I know he does. In you’re getting to know your body journey, it can be difficult, isolating yourself often feels right to block out the noise sometimes. It’s when people need you in these dark times and you’re right there but at the same time you’re not. “I would say in the past try find me was due to me dissociating into depression, now it’s rather me getting caught up in work so it’s healthier” he says.
IMPORTANT: Once being through the journey of self healing and figuring out exactly “what’s important to me” the healing will no longer be temporary.
