The Contest by Formerly Unknown

"The Contest" was another song written by Dave in 1997. Musically, it has a cool 70s Supertramp kind of vibe; lyrically it was inspired by the then-recent Olympics, describing the incredible drive that the competitors have, and admiration (as well as lamentation) of their discipline to the point of near-exclusion of all other human comforts. The lyrics described wearing metaphorical masks and pushing one's limits right up to the wall. Dave had a demo sequenced, although it was not officially recorded back then, for better or worse.

Now in 2020, when the world started to really go insane, the original lyrics now had a timely feel to them, and a number of different interpretations. The mask metaphor in the lyrics was now also a literal mask, so it was decided to revive the song. Unfortunately, work on the project went slower than expected and release of the song was delayed (as was the norm for entertainment at the time).

In early 2021, world events prompted a further tweaking of the lyrics. Taking on the concept of how "absolute power corrupts absolutely", and presented from the perspective of an antagonist, the song took on even more meaning and practically screamed to be released NOW. The revised verses are meant to be sacrastic, how I imagine someone who is completely driven by accumulating power would be - by exposing it, it is meant for you to see how terrible it is when one adopts that position in life. The real hope of the song lies in the unchanged lyrics in the bridge, where the juxtaposition of the changed perspective of the verses to the original positive lyrics of the bridge (sung by Dave) make the bridge's sentiment even stronger.

The cover image was a further attempt at presenting a visual message that people see, but don't see, so to speak. One side presented as 'right', with the other presented as 'wrong'; and images of what seemed to be happening on the surface. In fact, all isn't as it seems. For those with ears, to hear, let them hear (and eyes to see, let them see)!

No guitars were added to this song in this special keyboard mix (although recorded); the full mix is mostly done and was originally planned to be released on a future album, but life circumstances again changed and it was delayed; not sure if that album will happen or not in the future. However, as a bonus, Dave's original demo with his original lyrics (as uncannily written in 1997) is included here!

We hope you like the tune! :-)

Tracklist

1.	The Contest (Keyboard mix)	5:31

2.	The Contest [1997 Demo]	6:02

Credits

released January 16, 2021

Written by: David Moyer and J Raymond Lavoie

David Moyer: keyboards, lead vocal, sequencing
J Raymond Lavoie: lead and harmony vocals

Bed tracks recorded July 2020, additional tracks recorded October/November 2020.

Produced, digitally recorded, engineered, mixed, and mastered at Lonesome Studios Productions by J Raymond Lavoie.

© 1997, 2021 Moyer/Lavoie
℗ 2021 Lonesome Studios Productions

Unauthorized copying prohibited.

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