1. A composer of hi-li… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name.
1. A composer of hi-life music.
2. A member of the student-created theatre production troupe, StarKid Productions, a.k.a. Team StarKid.
1. A.J. Holmes has released music as "Vanishing Breed", now he composes hi-life music under his real name.
His new Album "The King of the New Electric Hi-Life was released in August 2007.
The New Electric Hi-Life is Holmes’s unique blend of West African hi-life music and English electronic pop.
'Hi-Life' is from ‘Highlife’ a musical genre that originated in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria starting in the 1920's and is still very much alive and developing today. It is a hybrid of African and European music styles
African musician and teacher Folo Graff emigrated from Free town, Sierra Leone, West Africa to the birth place of Alexander John Holmes (the East End of London) in 1976. In 1999 they became neighbours and a year later Folo Graff started to teach Alexander Holmes Palm Wine Hi–life guitar music.
Mixing this with his background in English electric pop Holmes records an E.P. entitled 'The Seasons' (released by Static Caravan www.staticcaravan.org) in 2002 under the artist name Vanishing Breed.
The same year between London and Berlin he recorded the album 'Between arrive and departure' ("album of the year":Die Zweit) and was released by Pingpung (http://www.pingipung.de) Nov 2005.
For the last 3 years Holmes has been working on 'The King Of The New Electric Hi-Life'. Working with Traditional Palm Wine Hi-Life guitar styles, processing them thought modern digital technology, however curious or experimental; always with an instinctual feel for the pop atheistic.
The King Of The New Electric Hi-Life is due for release 20. August on Pingiung and is co produced by Sculpture (www.myspace.com/danhayhurst) and Anne Laplantine.
Vanishing Breeds latest release ‘Imagine’ ("a breath taking beauty!": Martin Petershof Fritz FM") is his contribution to the ‘Pingipung blows: the Brass’ compilation; and was released 05 March 2007.
Connected projects:
Holmes was one of the founder members of the infamous London band 'they came from the stars I saw them' (www.myspace/theycamefromthestarsisawthem)) "Probably the UK's most pretentious group: Flux). Their long awaited 'lost' debut album 'they came from the stars I saw them Vs Reality' is released 27. August 2007 on Onomatopoeia ( http://www.myspace.com/onospace)
He's also the 3rd guitarist in 'Les Beaux Gosses de Berlin' a Berlin based 15 piece Congolese Rumba band ("The most Punk Rock Band in Berlin": Scheinder TM ((www.myspace.com/schneidertm).
http://www.myspace.com/ajholmesthekingofthenewelectrichilife
Nino
A.J. Holmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Diez Ferraris en la cochera
Y en el cuarto una joyería
Tengo un reloj con más diamantes que una mina
Tengo un yate que ni navega
Y tengo el mar como piscina (¡wuh!), Yeah
En la tierra una mansión
Pero vivo en un avión
También yo tengo una depresión
Que no tiene solución
Ni con todo lo que tengo
Quiero pedir perdón
Especialmente al yo de ante', yeah
Porque no sabía el dolor ni la presión
De la vida de un cantante, yeah
Quiero pedirle perdón
Al niño soñador de ante', yeah
Que no quería ser el centro de atención
Solo quería ser cantante, yeah
¿De qué me sirve la fama, la cuenta bancaria
La casa de cien mil hectárea' y una vida millonaria?
Si no puedo darle un papá feliz al hijo mío
Ni el hombre que mi mujer siempre ha querido
No soy mal agradecido, pero to' lo cambiaría (ah)
Por la salud de mamá, pa' que me dure to'a la vida
Y sé que estoy en deuda con ustedes
Pero por mi país yo he hecho cosa' que nunca mostré en las rede'
Hasta la fecha (¡wuh!), Yeah
Que no sepa tu mano izquierda lo que hace' con la derecha
Puede' hacer mil cosa' buena', pero con una mal hecha
El que me quiere ver caído se aprovecha
Y me tira la mala, la mala y normal
Yo soy de carne y hueso y me puedo equivocar
Esta canción no la hice pa' que vaya a pegar
Es que me quería desahogar
Quiero pedir perdón
Especialmente al yo de ante', yeah
Porque no sabía el dolor ni la presión
De la vida de un cantante, yeah
Quiero pedirle perdón
Al niño soñador de ante', yeah
Que no quería ser el centro de atención
Solo quería ser cantante, yeah, yeah
Yeah, ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
The song "Nino" by A.J. Holmes is about a wealthy man who seems to have everything that anyone could possibly want - ten Ferraris, a jewelry store in his room, a watch with more diamonds than a mine, a yacht that doesn't even sail, a mansion on land, and the sea as his pool. However, he also admits to having a depression that can't be solved, despite all of his material possessions. The man longs for forgiveness from his past self, when he didn't understand the difficulties and pressures of being a singer, as well as from his childhood self, who just wanted to be a singer without being in the spotlight.
The song ultimately shows the limitations of material possessions and how they cannot bring true happiness or fulfillment. The man's regret and longing for forgiveness highlight the importance of prioritizing what truly matters in life and cherishing the relationships we have with those we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Tengo una vida que cualquiera desearía
I have a life that anyone would desire
Diez Ferraris en la cochera
Ten Ferraris parked in the garage
Y en el cuarto una joyería
And in the room, a jewelry store
Tengo un reloj con más diamantes que una mina
I have a watch with more diamonds than a mine
Tengo un yate que ni navega
I have a yacht that doesn't even sail
Y tengo el mar como piscina (¡wuh!), Yeah
And I have the sea as a pool (yeah)
En la tierra una mansión
On land, a mansion
Pero vivo en un avión
But I live on a plane
Fingiendo tocar el cielo
Pretending to touch the sky
También yo tengo una depresión
I also have depression
Que no tiene solución
That has no solution
Ni con todo lo que tengo
Not even with all that I have
Quiero pedir perdón
I want to ask for forgiveness
Especialmente al yo de ante', yeah
Especially to the me from before, yeah
Porque no sabía el dolor ni la presión
Because I didn't know the pain or pressure
De la vida de un cantante, yeah
Of the life of a singer, yeah
Quiero pedirle perdón
I want to apologize
Al niño soñador de ante', yeah
To the dreamy child from before, yeah
Que no quería ser el centro de atención
Who didn't want to be the center of attention
Solo quería ser cantante, yeah
Just wanted to be a singer, yeah
¿De qué me sirve la fama, la cuenta bancaria
What good is fame, a bank account
La casa de cien mil hectárea' y una vida millonaria?
A hundred-thousand-hectare home, and a millionaire life?
Si no puedo darle un papá feliz al hijo mío
If I can't give my son a happy father
Ni el hombre que mi mujer siempre ha querido
Or the man my wife has always wanted
No soy mal agradecido, pero to' lo cambiaría (ah)
I'm not ungrateful, but I would change everything (ah)
Por la salud de mamá, pa' que me dure to'a la vida
For my mom's health, so she can live a long life
Y sé que estoy en deuda con ustedes
And I know I'm in debt to you all
Pero por mi país yo he hecho cosa' que nunca mostré en las rede'
But for my country, I've done things that I've never shown on social media
Hasta la fecha (¡wuh!), Yeah
Until now (yeah)
Que no sepa tu mano izquierda lo que hace' con la derecha
Let not your left hand know what your right hand does
Puede' hacer mil cosa' buena', pero con una mal hecha
You can do a thousand good things, but with one bad thing done
El que me quiere ver caído se aprovecha
Those who want to see me fall, take advantage
Y me tira la mala, la mala y normal
And they throw the bad, the bad and normal
Yo soy de carne y hueso y me puedo equivocar
I'm flesh and bone, and I can make mistakes
Esta canción no la hice pa' que vaya a pegar
I didn't make this song for it to become a hit
Es que me quería desahogar
I just wanted to vent
Yeah, ah-ah
Yeah, ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ey, yeah-yeah-yeah
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Lyrics © HIPGNOSIS SONGS GROUP, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alberto Carlos Melendez, Edgar Barrera, Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, Juan Vargas, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz Moreno, Manuel Lorente
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind