'Music has the power to bring people together like no other art form.' - Michael Franti

I couldn't agree more, Michael.

It was music, steemit and a little bit of magic that led to the following lucky break.

So here we are: Proving that decentralized social media is able to overcome any geographical and time borders, unite like-minded people from all over the world and surpass any existing creative limits.

Is this your voice?

Two months ago it so happened that I accidentally ran into Drew Machak's steemit blog.

Drew is an extraordinarily talented singer and songwriter from Detroit (Michigan, US). He would humbly say "your friendly local musician" 😊

Lucky me, Drew left a comment in my blog and like that I found his.

So I stumbled over a post with his music video "See you again", which I literally commented as follows:

"OMG! Is this your voice?!? Wow! I'm sitting kind of paralized in front of my computer."

Haha! This was one of these comments that directly and uncensored found their way from my heart to the keypad.

Two months later (today!) I'm honored and proud to launch my very first video music cooperation with Drew Machak (@drewsmusic) here on steemit! Waaaam! 🙌

As mentioned I was fallen for Drew's songs from the very first instance.

So one day I screwed up all my courage and asked him if he was interested in cooperating: meaning me editing a new surf video accompanied by Drew's music.

He agreed and here we are!

Two like-minded people that share a certain passion for "the easy life", two social media friends who met on steemit and bundled their creativity in order to entertain their audience.

"Drops of Summer": A video music cooperation featuring Drew Machak's "Upnorth" [4 min video - play it loud 🎧]

On YouTube the video has generated already more than 1,200 views in only 2 days. Let's see if steemit will boost the counter even more :)

Oh I would love to know how you felt watching the video!

This project somehow became "my baby" during the past weeks.

To be honest, the fact that Drew provided me with such professional music put a certain pressure on me to deliver something really good. I definitely wanted to produce the best video ever.

I knew that I wouldn't press the "publish" button until having a version that completely convinced me.

Mother Earth was kind of complicating my plans in the beginning. After finishing the storyboard I had to wait almost two weeks until having ideal weather conditions for the shooting. African winds (absolutely not typical for the season) were filling the air with sand and the sky was cloudy and white and not blue (as I wanted it to be for the video).

It was this "Murphy's Law thing". These foggy lay days felt being endless.

Drew had already passed me an amazing selection of songs but I needed to patiently wait for the perfect moment (the sun coming out again).

Then finally the day had come.

Now it feels great and unreal at the same time that the video is live and shared on steemit.

Thank you, Drew!

Thanks infinitely! Since two months I can't stop listening to your music. The fact that one of your songs has now become part of my video is a huge pleasure and incredible honor. You're just the best!!!

Steemians, please follow and support Drew! I guarantee you'll love his sound, authenticity, humor, kindness and positivity :)

https://steemit.com/@drewsmusic (formerly allocated here: @drewmachakmusic, so please follow the new account!)
https://www.facebook.com/drewmachak
https://www.instagram.com/drewmachak
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCix-fGAiJZZJSdmmPPvoqnA

The moral of the story: get in touch with other steemians and bundle your knowledge and creativity. Together we can build something really outstanding ✌️

By chance, one year ago today I signed up for steemit! Time stamp: 2016-07-24 13:50:54 UTC (did I hit it?).

What a ride! And what a great way of celebrating it 😍

Here's my one year old introduction post, so funny to read it again from today's point of view.

It's been a wonderful and wild time, I'm grateful for every single day and have definitely learned for life. These 12 months feel like years. I've met incredible people from all over the world, and some of them have even become friends.

Thank you, steemians!

I'm excitedly looking forward to whatever this place has prepared for us.

THE BEST IS YET TO COME.

Marly -

PS: A big THANK YOU to all the people that have contacted me during the past weeks and that have constantly encouraged me to keep posting on this platform. You are awesome and the very reason why I'm here today!!!

Two wonderful steemy souls made an especially good job and proved that they not only have a big heart but also stand in for you when things get complicated. Thank you @uwelang and @hastla! You were there when I needed you most, and I won't ever forget that in my life. Love you much!!! ❤

Original content: Photography and video done by myself | Images taken with a GoPro Hero 5 | Footage edited with GoPro Studio. Quotes found on pinterest (1) and pinterest (2).