La dolce vita – Mykki Blanco basks in the holiday sun

Mykki Blanco HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN COVER

It’s the end of September. Summer nights are closing in. Clubs are getting ready for their closing parties. The last golden dawns and deep red sunsets, where Lust, Fun and Love congregate on the sand of a thousand beating vampire hearts. By night and by day, the three amigos search out the perfect soundtrack for their summer. Taking the odd hit of tequila, their soundtrack rises with a smile as wide as the sun-drenched beach and nonchalantly puts its arm around the 90’s Euro dance groove, guitar licks that shimmer like the Mediterranean, synths that dream of a gentle breeze running across your forehead and a singing voice that glows in its strength, vulnerability and mischief. Before we all start thinking the unthinkable, an old skool acid rave up comes to offer you that last trip before calling time on summer. For now.

Mykki Blanco is one of the most breathtakingly innovative (we’ll get onto the implications of the ‘pioneer’ word later) musical artists of the last ten years. Expect the prodigiously unexpected. Eyes open, mind open to an avant-garde world where art forms are infused, woven and deconstructed, where the language spoken is a rapture of glorious technicolour, where new ground is broken #EverySingleDay and the only limits are the ones fabricated by our mind.

Mykki has just released their latest EP, Postcards from Italia, a collection of six feel-fucking-fantastic anthems.

Mykki Blanco

It’s like this: it’s the same batch of music that was created around the same time that I made my first album post-pandemic, which was Broken Hearts In Beauty Sleep, and then last year’s album, which was Stay Close To Music. What’s nice is that, sonically, it closes off a chapter and, you know, it’s only something like 15 minutes long to listen to, but when I approached the label about it, I was like, “Hey, I just released an album back-to-back for two years. I’m not releasing an album in 2023, but it would be nice to have something fun and upbeat out at the end of the summer. They were completely on board, which is obviously nice but also for me, it’s this nice little ‘hurrah’ before I do this master’s programme in Fine Art.

Giles Sibbald

Your visuals have always been stunning and have been, for me, an integral part of what you do. So, before even getting to the music of Postcards, I was drawn into the photography and its composition. I just love it. I’m not sure what the story is that it tells, but the character in there certainly tells a story. Is there a story behind it?

Mykki Blanco

The project had a completely different name to begin – sorry but I won’t reveal what that name was! – and this summer, I was performing at European festivals, but I had a really odd number of Italian bookings. Way more than I usually do. When the record label gave me my deadlines for when I had to turn in all the creative stuff I was like, ok, I have to get all of this done by this date and I’m gonna be in Italy, so I need to now reshape my concepts. And I mean that’s pretty easy for me to do. For me, the visual always goes hand in hand with the songs – it’s the first thing that I think about after I’ve actually created the songs. And even probably, you know, when I’m in the recording booth, even though I’m thinking about all of these other sonic associations, there’s always imagery that’s in my mind. I didn’t want to change the name of this project to Postcards from Italia. I kind of had two things in mind: I wanted to do this, almost like this spoof of maybe some Mafia guy, but at home with his mother; the second thing that I liked was a narrative of this gay vampire that is going around the public parks cruising and roaming having sex for the blood of his victims. One of the images we did have was a very stereotypical cruising image, which, even though it’s a provocative image there’s absolutely no nudity, so it can really fly on social media. And then for the cover of Holidays In The Sun, I liked this idea of a really old vampire. I don’t know if you know, but in vampire mythology, the oldest, most ancient vampires actually are able to walk in the sun. So, it was a nod to that, and it was funny because my Mom saw it – and she always comments on everything that I put out – and she was like, ‘Oh, I don’t like that latest single artwork. What are you supposed to be, a cannibal?’ I was like, ‘No Mom, I’m supposed to be a pirate’ and she was like ‘But during the day?’ and I was like ‘Yeah, and the song is called Holidays In The Sun’.

Giles Sibbald

There are some amazing poets in the music biz now – like Aja Monet, Kara Jackson…. what role is poetry playing for you now?

Mykki Blanco

On this latest record, one of the things that I had the most fun with is the lyrics or the lyrical structure. The previous two albums were very narrative based. And with this project, I mean, I’m really having fun. I mean, with a song like, Tequila Casino Royale, the lyrics are:

“Drunk as a skunk in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tanning by the poolside.

Your brother’s really freaking me out.

Digging for gold in the Sierra Nevada.

Daddy’s got a Cadillac.

Oh, baby, we’re gonna get it tonight.”

And then, you know, I go into the second part”:

“Poor old Mr. Jones. He only makes a shilling

the milk and bread is spilling

the dog just saw a cat

stuck in this world alone can’t always get top billing

grandpa, he stole millions and grandma gave them back.”

Johnny, which is really part of a medley, has some of my favourite lyrics I think I’ve ever written:

“I was so mad at my dad. And everybody in Georgia,

Man, I swore I was never going there again.

I caught an STD, had a fever of 103

Took some pills and hit the street and that’s when

Where’s the dope so low

Oh, no, no hope I had no rope to tie myself.

Everybody’s got a past, baby, I wanted this to last.

And that’s why I’m telling it to you.

I said Johnny, I told you that I wasn’t a Romeo.”

So yeah, I think that poetry definitely still plays a large role. I think that I am excited because, like I said, this project really is this nice little ‘Hurrah’ before I go into a creative incubation period – and not just into fine art because everything is fluid. There’s always a symbiotic relationship between everything creatively, at least for me there is. And so, while I will be studying fine art, I think that what’s gonna happen in grad school is that I’m gonna have a lot more time to write. I am curious about the music that I will make because I do feel like at least the nucleus of my third album will come within the next year or so, you know? I don’t know if I can say I’ll be releasing an album in 2024 – probably not. But I will probably be releasing one in 2025. And I’m excited for that pause. Since 2021, I’ve pretty much been on tour for two years, which has been really great and necessary to be back out there at the level that I like to be out there. This is nothing to complain about or to even comment on because having never been a major label artist, this is just the reality of what you have to do. I feel really fortunate that my career very much symbolizes the birth of social media, as we know it now – from 2012/13 to now. I do feel happy that I came up at that time, in this business and in this industry, because I do feel that, because of social media, and because of the internet, it was really transforming itself to suit artists of all tiers, whether you were a pop star or whether you were a band that was playing punk clubs. Post pandemic, sadly, because so many independent spaces have closed, because there are fewer booking agents and because the larger touring companies have really had a firm hand in deciding what the market looks like right now, I’m seeing this stark dominant return of major label artists really occupying a whole lot of space at the expense of underground and experimental artists. And I would say that what characterised my career for the last 10 years was the fact that artists of these different tiers had the ability, helped by social media, to gain larger fan bases and to financially sustain a decent quality of life through touring and through making music without having to rely on sales or to rely on streams.

Mykki Blanco photo credit Cecilia Chiaramonte POSTCARDS-2

Giles Sibbald

Social media is an interesting paradox, isn’t it? On the one hand, you have the potential to reach out to fans in parts of the world where you are popular, yet on the other hand, if the platform doesn’t like how you post something, it can hinder you.

Mykki Blanco

Maybe this applies to the last 20 years, but I’ve only really existed as Mykki Blanco in the last 10 years. I would say the entire idea of what fame or what celebrity is, has shifted so, so much because – okay, I feel like in society, we have a pretty hardline consensus of someone who’s ultra-famous – someone like Kim Kardashian, okay? I think everyone that everyone can agree that she’s like a consensus baseline of what it is to be ultra-famous and to be a celebrity.

But now you have a Tik Tok – not even a Tik Tok influencer – but you know, a Tik Tok musician, whose – for the most part – music really only appeals to a certain segment of, say, Gen Z. And they’re globally famous. But most people – including most famous people – would have no idea who this person is, but millions of 13 to 17 year olds all over the world know who this person is. And then you’ll have someone like me who is relatively not famous, but to some people, I’m quite well known. And in certain countries and certain cities, I am well known. And so, I think that for artists and musicians it’s really whatever you want to make of it. I think that people think of me as a pioneer because my big aspirations didn’t meet or sync up with the culture at the time: I was pushing my art and pushing my agenda, despite experiencing so much transphobia and so much homophobia. I still know that and I’m sure it affected the probability of my “ascent”.

It’s never lost on me that people like Lil Nas X or Frank Ocean were viewed as heterosexual artists when they came on the scene – everyone considered them heterosexual artists. It wasn’t until a good two and a half years after they already had mainstream music out as heterosexual artists that they both came out. The world was able to accept these artists and their genius, but very much under a very stereotypical heteronormative paradigm. And that’s something that me and other artists that chose to be openly queer at the time that we did, didn’t get. I guess it’s all relative {laughs}.

Giles Sibbald

It seems to me that the music “industry” seems representative, you know, of the systemic and institutionalized prejudice of everyday life – it has always dictated who it wants to be at the top of the pile and dictate what they project.

Mykki Blanco

Yeah. And that’s what’s scary to me, because I think that what’s characterised the last 10 years, in the industry, and in culture, and especially in my career, is that I saw so much of indie culture and underground culture reclaiming that, and not only reclaiming it as a cultural narrative, but financially reclaiming it. I feel like younger artists are always going to be equipped to persevere and to do whatever is necessary that they need to do to get their music out there, and to be heard etc etc. But I do feel for younger artists, because I like I said, I think that this pendulum swung back after 2020 and I think that it is harder now if you don’t already have a name.

Giles Sibbald

I’m thinking a bit more about the pioneer word that you mentioned and linking that into your own evolution. A lot has been written about how musically you’ve evolved over the years. Is that musical evolution representative of you evolving as a person as well?

Mykki Blanco

I think it’s representative of two things. I think it definitely is representative of me as a person and the changes that I’ve gone through in my own life psychologically and spiritually. And with this kind of, like, flowering, exploring and understanding of my gender identity. Maybe I didn’t say this, but as a child, I was very interested in creative writing and then I got very much into Drama and Theatre. And then as a teenager, I got very much into Antifa, anarchist punk culture, and feminism and queer culture. Then, I decided to go to art college. So, when Mykki Blanco began, it was very much rooted in this interdisciplinary art world thing. You can probably read this online, but I did not start writing my first songs until I was 25. I had been this person that wanted to be a musician since I was 12 years old, and if I had written music at that age, I would probably have had a very different trajectory sonically than someone who literally was an art freak who didn’t start writing songs until 25. One of the things I’m most proud of is that if you listen to a song of mine from 2012, or 2014, or 2015, or 2016, or 2017, even, and then you listen to Broken Hearts And Beauty Sleep from 2021 or Stay Close To Music from 2022, I think you clearly hear the evolution. And, obviously, you know, my choice of executive producers also has a role in this. But when I’m talking about the songwriting and the overall quality of the music, it’s extremely clear that I matured into being a better songwriter and a better musician.

Giles Sibbald

How do those early songs make you feel now?

Mykki Blanco

I was so clearly just having fun, and so clearly concerned with things in a more conceptual way and trying to push something new. I’m trying to pull all these references that are in my head to get everything together. I almost look at those songs as like, you know, this young collage artist that was really full of energy and trying to make people feel something. While I never wanted something to sound shitty, I was never concerned about the sound quality or the production. These were things that would have never even entered my head in those days. I would have never been thinking that I should work with this person, because I’d listened to other records they’d worked on and thought they’re a really good mixing engineer or anything like that. All of those kinds of production elements were completely out of the window for me, I never considered them once, you know. I would have been more just excited to enter the studio – and I’m still this way – but now I just consider other things as well: to say, “Huh, I really want to try to make an acid house song that sounds like you’re entering a haunted house on a tropical beach.” I remember when I made that record The Initiation where I had been watching like The Blade TV series. I was really into this idea of making a gothic hip hop song. Not just like a scary dark song, I wanted to make something that sounded like Dracula had created it. And so, then I did the whole entire song rapping in Latin. The entire song! When you listen to it, you honestly feel like ‘okay, what is going on?!’ And then I did the video with Ninian Doff – and he was amazing – where I have two heads, and it’s this underground fight club in London. I think I was much more concerned with building these worlds. And, also, honestly, trying to communicate to people that like, I’m someone that you should really fuck with, I’m a talented person, I’m going to create universes for you if you allow me to – that’s what I can do for you.

Giles Sibbald

I guess there’s a comfort in familiarity for some. Maybe not as much for your long-standing fans as they have already bought in to your constant – let’s call it – identity evolution, but have you noticed people responding differently to your music evolution?

Mykki Blanco

Yeah, I know what you’re saying, but for me, no, because I think – and I could be wrong – that I understand the secret of my longevity. I feel like I’ve studied enough other artists to understand the different secrets of their longevity. One of these ingredients is that there comes a certain point – and this is more to do with being a part of the social media generation – where you do pull back. Right? Because when you reemerge, it needs to feel fresh. And I think it’s different for every artist, but for me, I could never go back to the old days, because I’m not going to make a song about taking ecstasy again. And I’m 37 years old. I do see certain artists doing that old day stuff and they become these cultural failures. They get older and lyrically, sonically and even how the whole package is rolled out, you can tell they’re really trying to appeal to a demographic that’s much younger than them. It’s not even that it’s embarrassing. It just feels….

Giles Sibbald

It feels a bit like a parody, doesn’t it?

Mykki Blanco

Well, it does become a parody, and the kids definitely know it’s off, and they’re definitely not into it. I think that it’s always better to be true to yourself in a sonic moment. I think it’s okay to put a little powdered sugar or put a little sprinkle of whatever the zeitgeist is on one or two tracks, you know what I mean? But keep it light.

I mean how embarrassing would it be if I put out an entire record that sounded in some way, like, I was trying to be a part of a post-Yung Lean and Sadboys sonic world? To be honest, I could do that. I would know how to construct that. But it would be so inauthentic, and it would be so weird. And just not me. Whereas with Holidays In The Sun, for example, I had fun doing that song. There has been this huge resurgence of electronic music. We have someone like Beyoncé that, you know, definitely had a team of people that were aware of that. And then, you have this pop cultural moment, like Renaissance, but Renaissance is really not only echoing the history of dance music, but also commenting on the current two and a half to three years zeitgeist of this return to club culture being really important, right? And so, it’s like, yeah, okay, I do a track like Holidays In The Sun where I know, that sonically I’m not only touching upon a zeitgeist moment that’s happening right now, but that it’s also referential, in a way that’s authentic to me. To be able to do that is important. Now, am I going to create an entire dance album? No, because that’s just not entirely who I am. But, could I have little touches? One of the things that I think is so important to my creative process is that I learned how to edit. And even this is going to be a very controversial thing: the person that really taught me how to edit my music was Kanye West. When I worked for him for that five-month period, it was like a masterclass in editing. I mean, he’s mercurial. So, there’s a whole other element to this, but still, having a song where you’re like, okay, the song is done and it’s pretty fucking amazing. It doesn’t get touched for three weeks and then all of a sudden, you listen to it again, and it’s been touched and you’re like, ‘Okay, well, now this is a completely different song. This is also amazing. And maybe it is a little more amazing than the original version.’ And that’s something that I never used to do. I never used to edit. And now I edit a lot. Like, Holidays In The Sun. I didn’t put this in the press release because I didn’t think it was important. And also, I wanted it to feel like an entirely original thing that just happened. But Holidays In The Sun was created on Christmas Eve in 2020. It wasn’t mixed until a few months ago, but the song was done and completed and was a three-year-old song and the little edits happened in the mixing process. Those little touches. There are songs that I will hold and then I’ll be like, ‘okay, no one needs to know when this was recorded originally, but I do want to add something different to it now’. Or even like on Broken Hearts And Beauty Sleep, where the track that I did with Blood Orange (It’s Not My Choice) was originally an entirely different song. He did a newer production on it. And then the song that I did with Hudson Mohawke and FaltyDL (Free Ride) was a completely different song. We asked Hudson to remix it and we liked his remixed version more than the original. So, then we made that the original. So, yeah, one of the things that’s been really important to me and the maturity of my songwriting has been the process of editing. I love it when the song takes on a whole entire new life.

Mykki-Blanco-photo-credit-Cecilia-Chiaramonte--HOLIDAYS-IN-THE-SUN,-PRESS

Giles Sibbald

I 100% agree with that. I think it shows open mindedness and a democratic vision, rather than shield, for your music. Has having nothing when you first started out helped you with developing an open, visionary mindset?

Mykki Blanco

Um, I think that…. well, it’s interesting, because, in a musical sense, yeah, things were very bare bones. But then, because my visual identity was always so entangled with the music, and because I have always pushed very strong visual narratives, in the beginning, because I was a new artist, I was really supported a lot. And I mean, a lot. Production companies would reach out, young directors would reach out. I mean, I think I’ve gotten at least four or five of my music videos almost for free, because people wanted to work with me at that level. And then, you know, maturing and being around for a while, you get less and less of those opportunities. So, it becomes more of a scramble, you know, to get a sizable budget and it can become more of a headache, I would say, to do something that is of the quality that you would have aspired to. But then last year, I did two music videos that I was really proud of: the one that I did with Michael Stipe – Family Ties – I think Kit Monteith did a really wonderful job of putting out this narrative that I really wanted to explore. And then the video that I did for the song French Lessons, just because it was so epic. For me – and I’m gonna be honest – I don’t even want to put out music if I can’t deliver at least one visual like that.

I feel like I’m entering this place where, like, we’ll see what happens. I mean, everything always shifts, but maybe I don’t need to have these huge campaigns. Maybe it is now making sure that – obviously – the music is there, and then biding my time, so I can make sure that I have one very transcendental, very powerful visual moment that can sell the song and that can really make, you know, a very clear statement. If there’s one thing that I feel a bit begrudged about – and it’s not really begrudged; actually, yes it is, I do feel begrudged – is that I released probably two of the best records I ever made during the pandemic. I mean, I can’t control that. But I am begrudged about it, because I think that had the pandemic not happened, I would have been able to fulfil some of my dreams about having a larger stage show. At one point in 2021 I did: I was working with a seven-piece band and working with the band opened up all these new doors, like having the opportunity to open for Florence And The Machine for six days during her arena tour playing, like, Madison Square Garden. I mean, the band in and of itself really opened so many doors, but then, at the same time, when I think about what I would have been able to afford for my own kind of live show there, there are still things that I feel begrudged about that I haven’t achieved. Like, I really want to be able to travel with a set, these kinds of things. But, you know, maybe that happens for me in music, or maybe that happens for me when I have a show that’s more of a musical construct that runs in a theatre, so people are coming to the theatre, and it’s a theatre tour in London, Amsterdam etc and it becomes a different thing. But I’m happy that at least I’m able to occupy enough interdisciplinary spheres where that won’t feel foreign to me or to my audience.

Giles Sibbald

Fascinating ideas, Mykki. Hugely creative and out the box thinking.

Mykki Blanco

I needed to take that step with the band. I needed to know just how much bigger everything could sound with the band, I needed to be able to know that I could work with people that could bring my music to life in ways with transitions and with intros & outros that really elevate the show to a whole other level. I’ve learned some things. The band was expensive for one thing. Everything was more expensive because we were post-pandemic and – and I wanna stress that this is not to minimize in any way the horrific suffering in Ukraine – but both the pandemic and the war have led to higher prices for everyone. These two things made it extremely hard for artists to have bands and, for me, to grow to the next level in that way. I did it, but I struggled through it, you know. I mean, yeah, everything looks great on paper, and boy oh boy, does everything look good on social media, but I financially struggled through that period. And it was so important because for all the musical gatekeepers, for the festival bookers, for everybody, I had to prove that yes, I can do this. And yes, this is where I’m going. And yes, this is the kind of calibre of an artist I am. But honestly, there was such a huge disconnect. It really psychologically broke me down at one point. It felt like being a teen mom in the 60s and having to go off to a convent to keep up appearances. It was a very powerful period that should have been all around this high from every performance. And it was, but then there was a dark side that I had never experienced in my entire career. And that was just the energy drain and the financial drain of having to keep up these appearances post pandemic and then through the war.

Giles Sibbald

Did this put a strain on relationships within your circle?

Mykki Blanco

I fired both of my managers.

Giles Sibbald

Right. So, I guess that’s a ‘yes’.

Mykki Blanco

I can maybe say that a bit flippantly now, but truthfully, in my heart of hearts, that was an extremely difficult decision. These are people that I had been with for years. But I had to question their judgement and understanding of the market after 2020 with the decisions that they were making on my behalf. It got to a certain point when I had to say that ‘I have this emotional connection to you and for a majority of my career, you have made really wonderful decisions on my behalf. But you are actually not understanding this moment and you’re having me work in this old paradigm that is no longer applicable to what is happening right now.’ And I am like literally bleeding my savings, you know, trying to keep up appearances. I mean, come on, ok, so here’s the thing: the most positive thing that happened, besides playing the festivals, and people seeing the bigger show and festival bookers knowing that it was possible, was the fact that we literally – for six shows – played arenas opening for Florence And The Machine. That would have never happened had I not had the band. So, I’ll say this: I am going to have a band again and I’m so glad that I had that experience. But now – and I have already had this conversation with my label – when I go into my third album, oh, you better believe that I’m going to be very specific – very specific – about what live instruments are being used on the songs. Now, probably during the process of the other two records, I gave myself complete freedom: “Oh yeah, let’s have a flute player here; and yeah, we’re gonna have this here”. And while I’m not trying to negate what that freedom gave me, you better believe that I’m going to be way more specific about what live instruments are played on the next set of songs, because I want to make sure that when it’s time to translate that to the band, obviously, that it sounds good, but that that formation of players is gonna be the most economical. And, you know, some people might say that it’s going to detract from the creativity or the freedom of the music. And I say absolutely not. I think it’ll just be a new consideration. I think it absolutely will not take away from the creativity. I think it absolutely will not take away from the freedom. I think that it will be a set of rules that then we’ll have to work into, and I think it will only expand the record into a specific sonic direction, which is also fine.

Giles Sibbald

I mean maybe it’s not exactly operating from a place of scarcity, but it’s one that’s grounded in reality. You can’t keep haemorrhaging savings.

Mykki Blanco

No. And here’s what I’ve learnt: certain musicians, if they can play one instrument, can play another, right? I didn’t know that before. I didn’t know just how human beings had the capability to be that multi-instrumental, right? I’m not classically trained. I was not ever in that world. But now, after the two years of having the band, I can say, well, hmm, well, we can use this instrument and that instrument, and I’ll just find a multi-instrumentalist that can play both. I was gonna say that, you know, through everything that I’ve been through – even if I’m still dealing with certain ramifications of last year’s tour and with everything else that I’ve been through – I’m still really excited in my career, because I am 37, I do have bigger albums still in me. And knowledge really is power. Even though, you know, it’s an unfortunate story about me having to change management, had I not been in that situation where a lot of the veil was lifted, had I not had to do certain things for myself during the transitional period, I would not know what I know. Information about touring and booking agents that I’ve worked with for years, but that I really didn’t understand every little thing they were doing, I now know it. I ask questions now that I would have never asked my agent five years ago. Because I know now. I can’t tell you how important it is to know these things. The more you know, the more questions you can ask before the booking is decided, before the concert is decided, before the city has decided, or before the routing is decided.

Giles Sibbald

To finish off what has been a fascinating conversation with you Mykki, you mentioned spirituality earlier. Can I just ask what role does spirituality play in your life now, if that’s not too personal a question?

Mykki Blanco

No, no, no, it’s not. I feel very, very, very lucky that I was raised in a very spiritual home with a very spiritual family. Now, that doesn’t mean that home life was not at times dysfunctional, because at times it was highly dysfunctional. But I think that what I’ve grown to understand is that spiritual people can also be dysfunctional people, and the reason why they are spiritual is because they also need healing. I very much love both sets of my grandparents. My mother’s parents are both deceased, and I grew up loving them, but I grew up more having kind of the more ‘I love grandma, but you know, we don’t talk that much etc, etc’ relationship. With my father’s parents, they’re both still alive. And I have always been very close to them. I would say that I’m probably as close to my father’s parents as I am to my mother and my father. They’re black Jews, and they are very religious people. But then my grandmother was very new agey. She was very into Buddhism in the 60s and 70s. And my grandfather, while you know, not practising was also quite interested in religion, period. I remember growing up and my grandfather would have books on Hinduism, Ancient Egyptian mystical cults and so on. Even though they were black Jews, there would be a lot of books about Jesus around the house. So, I was raised with a lot of spiritual values that have come in handy. I hope this doesn’t read arrogantly because that’s not my intention, but I have experienced things in my life that I think if certain people didn’t have a very spiritual foundation, those things would probably knock the wind out of them. You grow up from a kid into a young adult, and you’re optimistic, and most things in your life are happy – hopefully. And even if they’re not, you’re just still able to kind of get by on a certain fondness of life, because you’re young and everything about life feels new. I used to see people that looked like life had beaten them down. I used to see family members where they just could never seem to get it right. I was going through a tough period months ago in my personal life and had come out of this two and a half week depressive state. I remember telling one of my really close friends about this and said to them that I used to look at people, I used to look at relatives, and would say ‘why can’t they get back up?’ I said to my friend that I feel fortunate that I have the kind of personality where I know now that, even if it takes me three weeks, even if it takes me a month and a half, I am going to get back up. But, now I understand the people who can’t. I understand just how bad it can be. And that, I think, is what life teaches you. I don’t judge those people anymore, because I feel like I understand now just how bad it can get and just how one thing after the other can happen and your nerves are on edge and you’re like, ‘is this a fucking joke?’

I’ve experienced that. I’ve experienced making bad choices, where a domino effect of bad things happen right? But, I’ve also now experienced the randomness of multiple unrelated bad things happening and you’re just like, ‘What the fuck? How am I supposed to live through this?’ And so, I think that having a spiritual centre is really important. It’s what’s kept me on an even keel and it has given me the wisdom now to know that like, hey, you really cannot judge someone when they seem to be having these cycles of a bad times. Because it could easily happen to you.

Take the soundtrack to your Holiday In The Sun and make it the soundtrack to your life.

 

Postcards from Italia is out now on Transgressive Records

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All photos by Cecilia Chiaramonte

Müse-ings In Print

MÜ is fearless, irreverent and nonconformist, a necessity in these times.

New noise, new frontiers

A conversation with J. Willgoose, Esq. of Public Service Broadcasting Hilda Matheson. A name synonymous with inventing talk radio. A name synonymous with developing the

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