2022:

2021:
'Don't give your power away'

This is dedicated to my friend, Nathan. They were one of the first people to listen to the drafts of 'O' more than 7 years ago and were always so thoughtful and positive in their feedback.
I learned how to reconnect with my true laughter from Nathan.
I wish you were still here so that we could debate endlessly over the new 'Matrix' trailer.
Like tears in rain. Rest in peace, Nathan.

2020:
I’ve lived in Berlin for almost two years now and have spent my entire quarantine here. As a result, a drastic shift in where I wish home to be has occurred. The desire to make home in Rome has largely dissipated since Chiodino’s death. Instead, I found myself pining for the house that I grew up in and where my parents still reside (in Florida). The precariousness of this place as home has augmented during the pandemic; it still is uncertain when I would be able to visit the United States again, due to the (still) tumultuous situation regarding COVID. My mother and father seem to be aging faster; this is the longest time I have ever spent away from them.

So, for this fourth iteration of “O”, I decided to use sounds from our house. I had luckily recorded the ambience of each room beforehand in December. I've isolated the characteristic frequency of each room, such as 118 Hz, 299 Hz, 483 Hz, etc, and carved space for those frequencies within “O”. I also embedded other sounds that are characteristic of each room; mealtime conversations, the water pipes crackling, my father practicing trumpet, the drone of the AC and our garage door: sounds that I had previously taken for granted.

“O” is now also a sound-map of my house. I hope to return soon.

A lyric booklet, designed by Hannah McKalips, is available for download as a PDF.


2019:
I moved to Rome more than a year ago and met Nonna's cat for the first time. His name was Chiodino, which means "little nail" in Italian (as in "hammer and nail"). The name was given to him as a kitten, when he was found neglected and emaciated; "skinny as a nail".

Chiodino was the sweetest, goofiest being I have ever known. I was always in awe of his wisdom and I learned so much from him. How to enjoy sunlight, how to create interesting architectures, how to be assertive, how to listen. How to be a mother. Each moment we passed together was the happiest of my life.

He was an outdoors cat that came and went, but I still felt protective of Chiodino. Rome is dangerous. Nonna and I would sometimes worry while he was out at night.
I left the city for a month to visit Germany. When I returned in late October, Nonna told me that Chiodino had died.
I was absolutely devastated, and am still coping with the loss. It still isn't clear to me how he died.

I must, however, remember that Chiodino's short life was in the presence of constant, radiant love. The entire apartment complex loved him like their neighbor. Nonna loved him like her grandchild. He was my son.

A video on my cellphone contains the only known recording of Chiodino's "meow"; he was a laconic cat. I cherish this sound and the note it rings (G#), which now plays an integral part in this iteration of "O".

This music is for my stellina.


2018:
A year ago, Hurricane Irma hit Florida. I was convinced that I was going to be swept away with my mother and father in our house. Yet, even during that time of panic and fear, I scrambled to self-release "O".

I know now that the frantic urge to release the album was actually a way to prepare me for death.

Irma has passed, but it attached a permanent awareness of mortality to "O". This music could've been the last object that I ever left behind. "O" is now a body in the making, cognizant of its legacy. Every year I shall return to add new sediments. New strips of linen.

We shall see which parts of the "original topography" are completely submerged, which parts whisper, and which parts stay.


2017:
“O” was created by using pre-existing materials that pertain to my personal upbringing and country of origin, such as:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVTQZ8hdauo

it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primavalle

www.youtube.com/watchv=4IpE4eI11QY&list=PLQjZB_eLmFdDXOn7hTQH6_sr5NaOTeFKD

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzHPYmNn1m0&feature=youtu.be

www.instagram.com/p/BWvHhq8lLF7/?taken-by=onirologia

Contrafact, clipping, and ambience become metaphors for the immigrant experience. This music is a reconnection to and analysis of the Italian culture that I’m estranged from.

Lyric booklet available for download as PDF.