ABOUT THE UPCOMING ALBUM

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For over a year, between 2017 and 2018, I recorded and worked on songs as I traveled between Normal, IL and Brooklyn, NY.  The idea, so I planned (and obsessed over), was to record in my father’s painting and drawing studio.  A “homecoming,” I imagined.  Back to basics and back home, figuratively and literally.  Just myself, a few dear friends, and a few instruments.  And I would execute as much of the process myself as I could - the performing, the recording, the writing, etc. After many months of work in that lofted, warm studio and in a friend’s small studio in Brooklyn, I was almost ready to release the material I captured. However, just before Christmas of 2018, I decided to start over.  What I brought back to NYC to work on were songs that weren’t yet finished being written.  

MY GUT INSTINCT TOLD ME THESE SONGS WEREN’T READY.  

I decided the songs I was so prepared to release were like many of my father’s sketches that lay surrounding me in his studio:  

SKETCHES OF SOMETHING BIGGER, AND ROADMAPS OF AN ALBUM I COULDN’T ACHIEVE BY TRYING TO DO IT ALL MYSELF. THEY WERE MOMENTS TO CONSIDER WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN’T.  A KIND OF SCAFFOLDING ON WHICH TO BUILD SOMETHING STRONGER, DEEPER.  LINES INSIDE OF WHICH TO PAINT.

Eventually, I may share the material I captured in Normal, IL and Brooklyn -but until then - I’m following my instinct:

 …AND DOING THE HARDEST THING: LETTING GO.  

That “letting go” inspired me to begin working more often with others.  In February of 2019, I traveled to Nashville to write with Lera Lynn, an acclaimed songwriter who’s recorded with Grammy winning musician John Paul White of The Civil Wars, as well as Dylan LeBlanc, Rodney Crowell, Shovels and Rope, and JD McPherson, and worked on the hit HBO Series True Detective (music produced by T Bone Burnett).  We wrote one song during the session, and I was so impressed that I asked her to produce some music for me. 

In addition to singing, Lera has a gift for song-crafting, arranging, and is a natural producer.  After describing what I wanted to achieve, we decided instead of making a few singles and just releasing some music on streaming services (which would be a cheaper, more practical route these days) to make a more complete project - a full-length ALBUM!    

Together, we assembled a team of incredible musicians and an award-winning engineer to help bring my vision to light.  Recorded in August and October 2019 at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, TN and in Todd’s studio.

Featured Compositions – Gossip of Flames:

An entrepreneur and expert in sherry wines, Africano journeyed to Granada, Spain as a side trek while on a trip to Jerez to develop his own portfolio of barrel-selected wines (Africano’s premier sherry wine brand BUELAN COMPAÑÍA DE SACAS launches nationally in April 2021). Atop the hillside slopes where Mirador de San Nicolás towers over the city, an outpouring of emotion struck and defined his latest single “Mirador.” 

“It was a beautiful moment looking out over the city of Granada, and I just had this overwhelming feeling that Mirador de San Nicolás was keeping us safe,” says Africano. “It was as if Mirador de San Nicolás were a caretaker in a sense. I quickly dug into Saint Nicolas, and devoured the works of Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca. This all brings of bit of Spain to an Americana song, ‘Mirador.’”

During the stripped-down trio sessions with Lynn and Lombardo, Africano performed Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Her percussive guitar and spoken word delivery spoke truths to his own juxtaposition of sadness and hope, and the idea of trying to be someone. The live, first take of the track emulates a rawness to his vocal that rests upon warm production featuring Lynn on background vocals.  

Africano and Lynn’s writing sessions edged on the darker tones of life with snippets of mysterious moments. “Don’t Pass Me By” sways with sultry guitars and a soul-drenched chorus of Lynn backing Africano as he sings, “Now I see inside. Life, don’t pass me by. It’s over in a moment.”

“Somebody Moves You” catches ahold when a companion truly loves you, and all you want to do is return that feeling as deeply as you can. The loss of such a connection is a fleeting experience for Africano as he’s reminded of the fragility of love as he stares into the night sky.   

On “Long Nights Noon,” he sings, “I had a one man funeral for my picture book life, burned the pages, tried to erase time. I was in a white wall, everything seemed to fall like a heavy snow. I didn't know, if I was floating or fighting. If I'd make it through, but you're a long night's noon.” The character he portrays ultimately exhales with gratitude and comfort after a long season of desperation. 

The late songwriter Felix McTeigue (Florida Georgia Line’s “Anything Goes”) co-wrote “Fire Keepers” in Nashville the day Africano learned his father had a stroke. With a heavy heart, he finished the writing session and rushed back to Normal, IL to be with his family. 

The passing of Africano’s mother after a long struggle with breast cancer encapsulates “Heavy to Hold.” Initially sung from the perspective of a mother during her final hours of life in the hospital speaking to her son, he transitions to his own mind to reveal, “there’s no pain like leaving without saying goodbye.” Africano was left devastated learning his mother had passed while he wasn’t by her side. Carrying, and then letting go of the guilt he felt, Africano knows she will always speak to him through the world around him and the beauty she left behind. 

Alternating between his viewpoints and those of his father, “Little Boy Lost” takes phrases drawn on the latter’s paintings and life lessons he learned while the two talked at the kitchen table for a sentimental piece he penned for his father. In a fine falsetto, Africano lets go with an expression of rapture. “Cheated My Heart” marries the sounds of Sam Cooke’s Night Beat with the ephemeral production style of British singer Michael Kiwanuka. Craig Alvin’s ambient soundscapes bring Africano down a desolate country road to proclaim, “you cheated my heart, you tore me apart…empty words felt like heavy rain.”

Gossip of Flames concludes with the demo of “Lauren Jean” recorded at his dad’s painting studio. which is written from the moment of a spark of new love.

Africano is no stranger to the stages of New York City and country/folk bars across the country as a touring artist. He’s had songs in the films “Southbound” and “Four Corners Road.” Africano will return to live performances in New York City in summer and autumn 2021.