The Gothic Blues of Adia Victoria

Adia Victoria, the brilliant artist behind the mesmerizing genre fusion known as "gothic blues," brings together the best of rock, blues, punk rock, and country in her music. With haunting melodies, powerful lyrics, and a commitment to staying true to herself, Adia Victoria takes us on a musical journey that knows no boundaries. Her ability to blend diverse influences creates a one-of-a-kind sound that captures the heart and soul. 

Adia's journey in music began when she picked up the guitar at the age of 21. Initially captivated by the sounds of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, she soon discovered the blues, which would forever shape her perspective. Through the blues, she discovered the power of connecting mind and body, intellect, and muscle, and embraced the innate knowledge and wisdom residing within her own being. The moment she encountered the music of artists like Skip James, Adia felt seen and understood, as if a spiritual advisor had appeared to guide her through life's complexities. The blues became a powerful force that didn't ask her to be anything other than herself—an unfiltered expression of the raw human experience, both troubling and beautiful.

Shaped by Adia's profound musical journey and the transformative power of the blues, our interview took place. From the complexities of womanhood, and being a Southerner, to defining purpose and embracing the art of living, our conversation touched upon the very essence of human existence.

Pilar Alvarado: There is a constant theme in your body of work: belonging. You exist as a person, as a woman, as a black woman, and as a Southerner. What does it all mean to you, how do you define belonging? 

Adia Victoria: I think the reason I write about it so much is because it's something that I didn't feel growing up. It's something that I struggle with feeling, I didn't belong even within my church and my family. I think belonging means knowing that someone can see you, knowing that someone can see themselves in you and in your experience. That you are not an aberration, you are not this offshoot of everyone else. I think belonging is a nurtured commonality between people — and that's something that's very hard to come by in this world, past a superficial level.

Pilar Alvarado: Do you feel that sense of belonging and understanding with everyone around you who listens to your music or collaborates with you?

Adia Victoria: I should hope so, but I think the greatest gift that I've received being an artist is that I now belong to myself. And from that belonging within myself, I don't necessarily go out looking for anymore. We are all human beings. We all go through this life once, and it's a unique experience for each and every one of us. That's what helps me find common ground with people and create a sense of community. It doesn't matter if someone is a musician or not, or if they look like me or come from the same place as me. What matters is that we're all going through this very similar human experience, where none of us truly know why we're here. That's the common link between all of us, and ironically the one that’s the most denied to us.

Pilar Alvarado: Yeah, absolutely. Has the transformation that you’ve undergone, where you now feel a sense of belonging to yourself, also influenced your career? 

Adia Victoria: Yeah, I think I've evolved as a human and as a woman, and at the same time I've evolved as an artist. I've become a lot more comfortable in my skin as I've gotten into my thirties and accepted myself. And once I was able to do that I need fewer other people to accept me. You know, it's like it's nice if you do, but at the same time, if you don't that's not really my problem. And the same goes for my art. It's like, yeah, of course, I want people to accept my art into their lives and support me and whatnot, but that can't be my final mission.

Pilar Alvarado: Sometimes I feel I need to be less emotional and more objective with what I say because I am a woman. As you've evolved as an artist has that changed within you, do you repress less what you want to say and show up as authentic as you are?

Adia Victoria: If anything, I would say my work can sometimes be too subjective, I don't believe in objectivity. But no, I think that men have the same issue too. I think that's something that men have used to be dominant in a higher-up social hierarchy. They've tried to claim objectivism as their own and say it's just stated eternal truth. It's, well, very convenient that objective truth happens to align with your agenda and your needs, you know, and your desires. So I think that men are just as repressed as women, if not even more repressed because they have more to, "lose" if people are to truly start seeing this commonality between all of us.

“I thank God I was not born a man. ”

— Adia Victoria

Pilar Alvarado: So do you think being a woman gives you an advantage in that way? 

Adia Victoria: I think it is an advantage if you're willing to claim it for yourself. One of the things that bother me a lot about women in music is they want to be equal to men. They want to be men and have the same advantages. But the last thing the world needs is more people thinking with a male masculine mind because that's what's gotten us into this mess in the first place. I feel that as a woman, there is power there, as a black woman, there's even more power because you are so removed from the center of power that you have a greater perspective on things. There's nothing innately magical about being a black woman. What I have as a blessing, was initially the curse of being a black woman on the outside of things. But I decided to use it to my own advantage. I'm not going to write the same songs about the same things in the same way that people do. 

Silences, 2019 Via: @aidavictoria

Pilar Alvarado: I can't remember where I read this but you said that human nature is funky because it's hard to explain and convey what it means to be a human being.

Adia Victoria: Yeah, it's like, "How would a fish describe water, you know?”

Pilar Alvarado: I think the human experience is about surrendering to life. 

Adia Victoria: You know, we are all born and we all die, all nature around us understands this. We are all in a state of flow. Human beings are the only ones arrogant enough to think that we have some claim on permanence. So, what are we here for? If you can divest from all of the shoulds, you realize that nobody knows what they're doing. When you understand that there is no higher power outside of nature, you are a lot freer. 

Pilar Alvarado: So, if I ask you “what’s your purpose in life”, what would you say? 

Adia Victoria: I think that I don’t have a purpose.  My purpose is to be. Just be. I have to be at peace with knowing that maybe I'll never release another record, or reach a certain status in my career or that I will lose my mind one day. I don't know. What is even the purpose of trying to have a purpose?

Pilar Alvarado: I think people sometimes lose themselves trying to figure out what their purpose…

Aida Victoria: To me, that sounds like a miserable way of living. I remember as a kid feeling enraged at the idea that so much of my time was not mine. And I began rebelling against that, and I still feel that so much with people, like you said, running around trying to find their purpose. Are you not worthy unless you're doing something? I think that mindset is a very American way of thinking that we've sold to the world.

“Life doesn’t have to be hard in order to prove that you’re worth having a life. ”

— Adia Victoria

Adia Victoria: We matter just by virtue of existing. I'm just so tired of being told you have to always be hustling and grinding. I wouldn't want to have a career that eats up my life. That's not what I want my life to be about. In America you actually feel guilt for pleasures, you always have to be striving towards an invisible horizon and its exhausting. I don’t want my life to be a fight, I don’t want to struggle and if being in the music industry takes my peace away I have to be fully prepared to walk away from it. 

Pilar Alvarado: What are the ghosts and demons that you have to fight with every day and how do they inspire you to create music?

Adia Victoria: I think that the ghosts and the demons that I fight with are the ones that have followed me since I was a little girl. That voice that says you can't trust people with yourself or that no one's going to listen to you. No one's going to recognize you. You're never going to seem normal. You're always going to seem alien. And I have to practice a lot of patience with that part of me because if I give in too much into that, it shuts me down. I have to be patient with my inner child. I have to give her time to air our grievances but I also have to let her know that she's safe. I would say that like my greatest demon: not feeling safe within my own skin.

Pilar Alvarado: What would you say were the tools that helped you get to a point where you feel safe and trust yourself?

Adia Victoria: I've always been good at calling bullshit. And so one of the reasons why I've been able to find safety with myself was looking at what society had to offer me, what they called safe. "If you're a nice woman, if you behave, someone will take care of you. People will love you if you're nice and polite and don't make people mad." That's a lie that's been sold to generations of women as a way to make them stay invisible. So I thought " I don't want what the world is telling me, so whatever it is that I can find within myself, it can't be anything worse than what they're trying to sell me." I had to define what success, security, happiness, and fulfilment looked like for me. And the minute that you outsource that to anything outside of yourself, you're kind of a sitting duck for a catastrophe.

Pilar Alvarado: What you just said, really translated into your music and your lyrics, where do you draw this power from to hold yourself in this space and express yourself in such a profound manner?  

Adia Victoria: I work every day on trusting myself. I'm not trying to hold myself up as some role model that's got it all figured out. This business of being alive is tough. It's confusing, it's nasty. It's it's beautiful, it's tragic. And I have to trust myself to be open to all of it. I can't close down certain parts of me that are vulnerable. I have to remain curious until the day that I die. I can never reach a point where I think I've got it all figured out. I want to maintain that childlike curiosity and wonder about the world. That curiosity thrives in me and encourages me to ask questions and not always have answers.

Pilar Alvarado: How’s your writing process? How does it all come together?

Adia Victoria: The process is very entwined with my living. I get my best ideas when I'm walking because I’m not so much in my head. For me, the music has to start with the body, the blues lives in my body. I like to go and read some poetry and then go for a walk with the words, and just see what they bring up in me. Or finding a blues harmony that speaks to me. It’s just all about me remaining alive and present in the moment.

Pilar Alvarado: I'm not sure about your perspective on this, but it's something I've been contemplating. When we consider Southern music, there seem to be two contrasting ends of the spectrum. On one hand, there's the deep-rooted folk, blues, and roots music. On the other hand, there's a wide range that includes country music and more. Do you think there's currently a movement towards decolonizing blues and folk music, where artists like yourself are reclaiming and bridging different influences?

Adia Victoria: I'm not taking it back because I never gave it up. You know, it's always been mine. The question has just been, who gets to make money off of it? Who gets to be seen as emblematic of certain genres? And I can't really speak for the industry, I try to mind my own business. But for me, I feel that there is more of a willingness in audiences. They want stories told by a wider swath of storytellers. They're sick of hearing the same stories by the same people that look like them, that have been marketed to them. People want more breadth, more depth to their art.

Pilar Alvarado: How would you explain the south to someone who is unfamiliar with it? 

Adia Victoria: The South is a place that is extremely human, much to its own. It's where humanity was betrayed and revealed itself. I think that it's where humanity has confused itself for a place where gods walk on Earth in the bodies of white men. And I also see the South as a place of the indestructibility of the human spirit. My ancestors came here, you know, 400 years ago to South Carolina. By all means, I should not be here. By all means. I am a freak of circumstances that I should survive and live the life that I do. And it's not on me it's not by my own doing that I sit here and then I'm able to talk to you. It's because I embody the spirit of resistance and joy and determination of my ancestors. And so I think that the South is a place of deeply embedded truths. I think that this land that I grew up on and I grew up in is haunted. And it is still unrest and unsettled. And I think that these truths, they are in the nature around us. They are in the ground, they are in the air, they are in the people, and they are waiting to be acknowledged and cleaned. And I can only imagine what force the South could be if we finally get over ourselves, get over our fears, and face the truths that are in the air around us.

Child of Venus

Love, loss and transformative sonic journeys with Kaelen Ohm aka AMAARA

AMAARA, the extraordinary talent behind mesmerizing and ethereal music, defies genre boundaries with her captivating blend of dream-pop, indie, and ambient influences. With a unique ability to craft haunting melodies, profound lyrics, and a commitment to authenticity, AMAARA takes us on a transcendent sonic journey that resonates deep within our souls.

In a conversation with Kaelen Ohm, the creative force behind AMAARA, I had the pleasure of experiencing a meeting of minds and a shared passion for life and music. It became evident that our views on the power of music aligned, recognizing it as not only a means of self-expression but also a transformative tool that allows us to connect with others. Music has the remarkable ability to bring together individuals who share similar perspectives, enabling us to empathize with their experiences and find solace in the collective human journey.

Kaelen's personal journey in music began amidst a backdrop of vinyl records and diverse musical genres that surrounded her upbringing. Influenced by legendary artists such as Janis Joplin, Neil Young, and Bruce Coburn, as well as contemporary alternative bands like Warpaint and Kurt Vile, her musical foundation was rich and eclectic. Drawing inspiration from the evocative songwriting of Thom Yorke and the ethereal soundscapes of Radiohead, Kaelen embarked on a path of musical creation, shaping her own unique artistic expression.

A few days before the release of her highly anticipated LP "Child of Venus," our conversation delved into the depths of Kaelen's artistic evolution. This introspective and reflective album stands as a testament to her growth as a musician, fearlessly exploring themes of love, loss, and self-discovery with unfiltered vulnerability. With meticulous craftsmanship, each track on "Child of Venus" weaves a sonic tapestry that effortlessly bridges the realms of timelessness and contemporary artistry, leaving an indelible mark on all who listen.

Photo Credit: Clifford Usher

Pilar: So, congratulations you on your new album. I loved it. I've been going through a particularly stressful period in my life, and when I listened to your album, it made me feel grounded. It was like having a heartfelt conversation with a friend about emotions and stress. Someone recently told me to take an hour for myself, to sit down with my feelings, and I did just that while listening to your album and it was incredibly cathartic. 

AMAARA: Thank you so much. It's been quite a journey, and there were moments when it felt strange because it had been completed for a while before its release. Hearing that makes it all worth it. If even just one person feels that connection, then that's more than enough for me.

Pilar: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind “Child of Venus” and how it represents you as an artist in your artistic journey? 

AMAARA: So, “Child of Venus”, the title of the album, had been on my mind since early 2020. It sparked the idea of exploring my true essence, unaffected by external influences like my environment, public school, and parenting. I wanted to delve into the core of my soul, to understand who I was before the world left its mark on me. This introspective journey inspired songs that reflected my current experiences and encouraged contemplation and self-reflection. It was a period of deep introspection, where I questioned my true emotions, my perspective on the world, and my feelings about the circumstances I had been living in for the past few years.

From an artistic standpoint, this project opened up a pathway for me to trust my instincts and challenge myself. I started to critically examine what I was creating, ensuring that my vision and emotions were accurately translated through my music. In contrast to my previous album, "My Heart Speak," which was written, recorded, and produced in just nine days as a stream of consciousness project, "Child of Venus" took much longer. I started working on it in April 2021, after returning from Israel and finishing a series there. Initially, I thought it would be a month or two of work but what was meant to be a short recovery period evolved into a four-month journey, stretching until the end of August. This project allowed me to dive deeper into self-inquiry, creative exploration, and technical refinement, creating a unique and transformative experience for me as an artist.

Pilar: Do you think you are at the point in your life when it feels like it's the perfect timing for you to be releasing “Child of Venus”?

AMAARA: That’s a  really good question. Trusting and surrendering to the flow of life has been crucial for me, both as an actor and as a musician. So much of our success and how people perceive our work is beyond our control. I've learned to have faith in the process itself. I pursue my passion because I genuinely love the journey, regardless of how it's received. But I'm also aware of the importance of giving my music the attention it deserves on the business side of things, in terms of promoting and sharing it with others. 

Music has a universal and timeless quality that resonates with people across different eras. Whether it's my own compositions or songs by other artists, music has a way of touching our lives by exploring universal themes. It's incredible to think that songs from the '50s, '60s, early 1900s, or contemporary tracks can still evoke emotions and connect with listeners. That's what I find truly captivating about music. So, the timing is right because it's happening in the present. I have to trust that my music will find its place and resonate with those who listen to it. 

Pilar: I read that in your writing process, you let the music flow. Can you elaborate a little bit on that approach and  how that contributed to the process of creating your album throughout all these years? 

AMAARA: Yeah, well, for me, songwriting has always happened in the studio. I'm not someone who has a bunch of songs saved up, writing in my bedroom or at home, and then brings 50 or 60 songs into the studio. Because my life is often occupied by film projects, there are moments when I realize, "Oh, I have a few months off, it's time to make an album." And during those periods, I may not have been actively playing instruments since I'm focused on shooting something that requires a lot of my energy. So, when I find myself in the studio with another person present, I'll just sit down at the piano or with a guitar in the morning and see what naturally comes out. Sometimes, there might be a melody that popped into my head while walking down the street or a snippet of lyrics. But only about 10% of the songs that end up on the records are ideas I had brewing beforehand. I've tried to figure out why music arrives to me in that way. I would love to be sitting at home writing song after song, but it just doesn't happen like that for me.

Making records, for me, becomes a time warp and a portal to a non-linear experience. I often reflect and wonder, "How did I even create that?" I knew I wanted some songs to revolve around specific experiences, but they seemed to manifest on their own, as if they had a life and direction of their own.

Pilar: As an actor and a musician, how do you manage to balance your creative pursuits? Since you channel energy into different voices and ideas, finding that equilibrium must be challenging. How do you navigate it?

AMAARA: I think the shift in focus and energy is something I actually really need. Just based on who I am in this lifetime. I've always really appreciated change and being able to kind of step into a different modality of expression or a different side of myself. I think that I've started to recognize that I'm a really dynamic person and just my interests and all these different little sub personalities I have in myself. So that's why I love acting so much because I can try on these different suits and go into different worlds and play different people who do different things. And then music is a way for me to process my human experience and process my grief and and turn it into something that feels really meaningful to me.

Finding balance between these two creative pursuits is a continuous journey. But they complement each other in remarkable ways. Acting allows me to immerse myself in different roles, explore new worlds, and embody characters who are entirely different from myself. Music serves as an outlet for me to process my emotions, delve into the depths of my human experience, and transform my grief into something meaningful and cathartic.

Pilar: What does it mean to you to immerse yourself in the experience of love and grief through music? 

AMAARA:  Oh, just hearing that question got me teary-eyed. Yeah, well, I just got super emotional. It's meant everything to me in the past two records, to be honest. It's probably saved my life in a couple of instances. Where some things that I've had gone through the last few years have probably been my first introduction to really experiencing love and grief and in a way initiating me into really being human and having this human experience and really feeling alive.

I really struggled with anxiety growing up, and I think because of how that works neurologically, I was not really able to be super present and feel a lot of things that were going on because I was in survival mode all the time. So in the past few years, just going deeper into myself and hearing a lot of that, my heart has been just ripped wide open and I'm suddenly feeling all these things. And music and film, it all became exponentially more meaningful to me. I suddenly understood, you know, at this somewhat later stage in life as an artist, why every song has been written and why every movie has been made. And so it's been just a deeply sort of sacred initiation and experience to be invited into that chapter of my life and to have music to explore that with.

It's such a unique modality of expression where you're taking a whole chapter of your life and distilling it down into two simple verses and a chorus. So it also allows me as a person to kind of contemplate what sometimes feels so monstrous as a person to bring it down to a simple idea and a simple melody. In a lot of ways that allows me to process my experience and allow it to come down to a more like a more simple theme or something, and then let it let it go out into the world when it's released and move on. So it's been super therapeutic that way.

Pilar: It sounds like therapy! 

AMAARA: Oh, absolutely! I love therapy. I'm a huge advocate for it. I think everyone needs to be in therapy. It has played such an active role in my life, allowing me to delve deep into my experiences and find clarity both in my personal journey and in my art.

Pilar: I know that this record  in particular has been very influenced by psychedelia. I am a huge fan, I love the experience that you get visually, musically, and emotionally, and how it allows you to connect with things in a different way. How has psychedelia helped you to connect with you inner child and allow you to heal past trauma?  

AMMARA: I love your questions. First of all, I completely relate to what you said about the experience. Speaking of therapy, I know some folks who actually study psychedelics and trauma, and how one journey can really equate to years of therapy. And it's true. There's something about plant medicine that opens up the channel of connection, allowing us to see the wider web of our experiences and how things are interconnected, and how we got to where we are.

For me, psychedelics became a primary tool about four years ago in processing everything I was going through and healing the parts of myself that really needed attention. There's something particularly profound about psilocybin that distills an experience down to its true nature. The psychedelic experience allows forgiveness on such an expansive level to be so accessible, shedding all of our adult experiences and ego. Through psychedelics, I have been able to experience, at least in the moment, an incredible sense of oneness and deep forgiveness for all the people I've hurt and those who have hurt me. It helps me let go of the attachments my ego has to the narrative and the story, allowing myself to see through to the true nature of impermanence. It feels like being in an expansive state of being a child again.

This experience has also found its way into the record, particularly in songs like "Child of Venus" and "The Discovery of Innocence." Psychedelia has been a powerful force in helping me reconnect with my inner child and embark on a healing journey, allowing me to explore and express those aspects in my music.

Pilar: Do you believe psychedelia has the power to transport your listeners to another state of mind? Talking from my own experience when listening to your music, it felt like it allowed me to give space to my emotions and grow my state of consciousness, it made me feel connected.

AMAARA: I hope so! One thing that's challenging these days with music is finding the time for deep listening. There is an abundance of music that has the potential to transport us into psychedelic states and transformative experiences. But it requires our commitment to truly engage and experience the work. As an artist, I deeply understand the investment of myself, my time, my resources, and my soul that goes into creating music. The intention is to transport listeners to different states of being, fostering healing and contemplation. But it needs attentive and immersive listening. I genuinely hope that this record has the ability to achieve that. I hope there are more listeners like you who are willing to take the time to allow such an experience to unfold. In our clickbait culture, where we rarely listen to complete songs, let alone entire albums lasting 35 minutes or more, this kind of deep listening is a rarity.

Pilar: Out of all the tracks on your record, I kept coming back to “Bright Lights”. What was the message that you wanted to convey or the inspiration behind the song? 

AMAARA: "Bright Lights" is actually inspired by a road trip I took from Los Angeles to Berkeley in 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic. I was visiting a friend in Berkeley, and at that time, I had just gone through a challenging social situation. It was one of those moments where everything seemed to unravel, and drama emerges. The song acts as a reflection of that period in my life, and perhaps it will resonate with others who have experienced similar circumstances. Lyrically, it's like a pretend conversation with myself and the person I was upset with.

Pilar: In what way do you believe your songs can serve as a musical companion for your listeners?

AMAARA: This album offers a dynamic range of songs that can resonate with different listeners in various ways. There are tracks that speak to those suffering heartache, giving them a sense of understanding. Some songs are more of a sonic experience. And then there are songs that encourage self-reflection and solitude. I love the experience of lying on the floor in the dark and immersing myself in the music, creating a sensory-deprived state where all I focus on is the music itself. But I also want people to feel free to dance to it or enjoy it while driving —however it resonates with them. That's the beauty of music—it has the power to affect each person differently, based on their own experiences and emotions.

Ron Gallo: A Human Being Most Widely Associated With Music

Photo Credit: Chiara D’Anzieri

On a Tuesday morning, I logged into zoom for my interview with Ron Gallo feeling unsettled after a sudden panic attack. Unsure if I could proceed, I decided to be honest with him about my state of mind. Much to my surprise, Ron's warmth, humor, and insight immediately put me at ease, and what followed was one of the most rewarding personal and musical conversations I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

Ron Gallo is a Philadelphia-based musician, who has also spent time living in Nashville, who earlier this year released his latest album, FOREGROUND MUSIC. The album is a bold confrontation of society's villains with a humorous touch, taking aim at male entitlement, gentrification, capitalism, climate change, and right-wing extremists. Despite the chaos, Ron infuses the album with an infectious charm that comes from his love for people and the things we hold dear. The ultimate message of the album is life-affirming, stating that although the world is in chaos, the universe exists within each of us.

When asked to introduce himself, Ron simply described himself as a human being, a sentiment that captures the genuine, authentic nature that makes him such a compelling artist and person.

Pilar: Tell me about your experience in the current music industry and how it's evolving and changing. When I was reading about your album release, you mentioned that it sometimes feels as if you are singing into the void. Can you tell me about your experience with that?

Ron: Yes, it does feel like that. The biggest problem, I think, is the loss of the live human connection, especially with the normalcy of it for such a long time. Even now, as things are reopening, shows are not the same as they were in 2019. We've had to resort to the internet for the last few years, which in itself can be a pretty bleak place. If you're not the kind of person who wants to be an influencer, it can be challenging to use your phone to promote your music or art. Sometimes it can feel like a pointless task because you're just casting things out into a void without knowing if it's connecting with people or not. But then you go play a show, and you realize that it does matter, even if it's just for a small group of people. That's been challenging, trying to navigate it. I'm excited more than anything to get off of the internet and social media and be in rooms with people.

Pilar: Do you think there is a separation between musicians and their audience? Some musicians tend to feel superior or above their audience. How do you make that kind of statement as a musician? 

Ron: Yes, I do think that there is a separation between musicians and their audience, and unfortunately, some musicians tend to feel superior or above their audience. However, I believe that this is a joke because artists are not above people, and we are all living the same lives, experiencing the same things. As a musician, I always try to knock myself back to Earth and make fun of myself and this whole thing to stay grounded. I think it's dangerous territory to act like you're above anyone. When I first started touring and people started coming to my shows, I made sure to always remember that we are all in this together. We should knock down that wall between the crowd and the artist, which is what I love about shows. It's a physical creation of the band on stage and the crowd. Everyone should do this all the time.

Pilar: Out of all your albums, this has been my favorite so far. It's like it has a little bit of everything music wise, a bit of grunge, garage with punk influences. When I listened to the first track of your album, I thought, "Oh my God!"  What drew you to these sounds?, and can you tell me a little bit about the sound evolution through the album, how it opens with fuzzy guitars and closes on a more softer note? 

Ron: Thank you so much. The evolution thing is what feels the most natural because none of us are just one thing. To commit to one lane doesn't feel genuine because even on a daily basis, there's a spectrum of emotions you can feel in one day - laughing, crying, angry, anxious, and so on. So it just makes sense for me to make a record that explores all of it. Nobody needs to listen to 40 minutes of fury. But if you have fury in there, then inject some humor, inject some different sounds because that's the human experience to me. Making a record that reflects that is kind of the point. I've always done that from record to record, evolving and changing because I get really into something for a period of time, create from that place, and then move on to the next thing. This album ties together everything so far, and I found a way to make all the experimentation fit into one, tied together with a common thread of talking about the collective experience of being alive in the world today. It just feels like what I need to do right now.

Pilar: The album feels so punk to me. The lyrics, the music, and what it stands for, it's a critique of the system and the way we relate to each other. It's not the traditional definition of punk, but that's how I interpret it. This is the new punk, the way punk should be perceived nowadays.

Ron: I find inspiration in the time period when punk was born, before the term punk even existed, in the late 70s. That creativity, weirdness, and mentality are my guidelines. Sometimes people perceive it as rock, but that's where my head's at.

Pilar: I find the lyrics of your music very intriguing because you put into words a feeling that everyone is experiencing, but might not know how to express. When we hear it through your music, it makes us feel less alone. For example, I had an anxiety attack this morning, but now I'm here talking about music that also relates to the anxiety of the world.

Ron: I understand. Making music is therapeutic for me too because I feel all these emotions. Creating a song helps me process those anxious or negative feelings. And when it's out in the world, hopefully, it can help others not feel alone and realize that we're all in this together. Blurring the lines between each other is the point, and I think this album ties it all together.

Pilar: What's your writing process like? Do you keep a journal and write things down or do ideas come to you during meditation or conversations with friends?

Ron: It's a nonstop process when I'm in a writing period. I'm always thinking about it and pull snippets from whatever I come across. I have notes and voice memos on my phone, and paper notebooks. Sometimes, I write stream-of-consciousness for a few pages and pick things out to turn into a song. It's messy and pieced together from everything. Editing and putting together pieces of the puzzle is a big part of the songwriting process. I take lines from conversations with friends, something I wrote in my notebook, or from my phone and put them into songs. Sometimes a song will come out in 5-10 minutes, while other times it takes a lot of piecing together.

Pilar: Out of all the  political and social  commentary of the album. What It's the subject or the theme that speaks the most to you, that makes you want to scream about?

Ron: The issue that infuriates me the most and is at the core of many problems is toxic masculinity. Whether it's anti-environmentalists in big trucks or old white men in power who refuse to accept change or new generations, this is what angers me. It seems like in many of the world's problems, if you trace it back, it often leads to an old white man. While I don't like to generalize, it's a common theme. This theme is reflected in the song “Entitled Man" which addresses how these types of individuals treat women. It's a problem that is manifesting in various ways.

Pilar: Could you dive a little bit into the personal perspective behind the last song on the album "Love Someone Buried Deep Inside of You"? Given that most of the album criticizes America and its people, I am curious to know if this song is more personal, and whether it is relatable to you. Is it something you are telling yourself or someone else? This song spoke to me more than the others, so I wanted to ask about it.

Ron: The song “I Love Someone Buried Deep Inside of You" comes from my experience of having loved ones who struggle with addiction. They may be addicted to drugs or other things, and I try to be there and love them as they slowly become someone else. The song is my attempt to capture that feeling. The way it connects to the rest of the album is that people become addicted to drugs or alcohol because of the systems they are living in. The way things are structured causes anxiety, depression, mental illnesses, and struggle. People then seek relief from these symptoms by turning to drugs or alcohol. That's how I think it connects to the rest of the album's themes. Ending the album with this song is another way of saying, "Okay, we've gone through the social political commentary, but let's come back down to Earth and leave it on an emotional note." That's where the sound comes from. I think it could be interpreted in different ways, but that's what the song means to me.

Pilar: You often speak about things that are very sacred to you. So, my question is, what do you hold most sacred in the world?

Ron: I think the thing that I'm always trying to focus on is trying to get myself and other people to focus on the things that unite us as people, as opposed to the billions of things that divide us. So, one thing that's really sacred is human connectivity. When you remove all the ideas you have about the world and yourself, and the things you believe in, you just strip that all away and you realize that we're actually just all people living in this world. It's very humbling, and then we can stop fighting and being in opposition to each other. That's a pretty sacred thing, that very core fundamental thing that we're all just alive. It's very basic, but it's so easily forgotten. We go about our day and get lost in what we do, what we believe, and what we think about this and that, and we just forget that very basic principle. How that ties to hearing about people in the world and what we're doing here and just a common respect and sense of humanity. Empathy, all those things are super important, especially recently when they are more and more buried and forgotten. So, those are the things I'm always trying to remind myself and everybody.

Pilar: Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? It kind of reads that way.

Ron: Yeah, for sure. There have been periods in my life where I was deliberately on a spiritual path, whether it was going on meditation retreats or having practices to stay in tune with the things I was reading and listening to. I think we're all spiritual beings, whether we're aware of it or not. I fluctuate between being very outwardly in pursuit of spirituality and times when I need to just live and put all of it aside. Sometimes you can go too far, even with meditation and certain practices, turning it into almost a competitive thing within myself. So I'm just going to set it aside and practice accepting things by being in the moment and not isolating myself.

Pilar: I think it can become an addiction itself to a certain degree. Like, if you feel lost and you're finding yourself through meditation or spirituality and all of this and you get stuck, then it just becomes a new addiction. You lose yourself in that. So, I do think that you have to find spirituality in every aspect of your life.

Ron: Perfectly said, that is exactly right. Especially when you're heavy into a period of doing a lot of meditation, you may get certain feelings or experiences that are very cool and give you clarity and a sense of peace. But then it becomes problematic when you start to feel anxious or stressed and think, "Oh no, I lost the thing. I gotta get back to that place." Finding spirituality in every aspect of your life is almost more of a practice than just meditating.

Pilar: Do you believe external change in the world is possible, or do you think that all change that can happen is just internal, within us? 

Ron: Well, I like to remain hopeful. I believe that it starts from within, so maybe it's both. If you work on yourself and live by those values, it can influence the people around you, and that can lead to wider change. I think it's always worth it to try and be good, open-minded, respectful, and kind to people. It's important not to give up and say, "these people are ruining everything, so I'll be the same way." That's dangerous thinking. It's important to be mindful of our actions, like picking up our trash and not treating things like garbage, because that attitude of "someone else will take care of it" is easy, but it's not productive. I believe in the power of positive actions, and it's always worth striving towards.

Ron is about to start his tour in the USA. His album FOREGROUND MUSIC is available to stream on all major platforms. If there’s anytime to be taken away from our conversation is that his record is one not to miss, and his message one not to be ignored.