The sound that rises at the beginning of the track is the sound of the wind: the dominant element of my island, Sardinia. And its wind is the Mistral. Its powerful gusts uproot things, bending the oaks, stirring the sea and the sands. The wind reminds us of movement and the incredible forces that disrupt the world. Capturing the sound of the wind clearly and in detail is a beautiful challenge because if the wind is very strong, it could cause distortions or clipping in the audio signal.

My very first instrument remains my dear Zoom H4n which accompanies me wherever I go. Every composition starts with listening: an intimate/inner listening that must confront a foreign/external type of listening. My works include short environmental recordings to suggest a physical space, a tactile perception, or specific framings for the listeners. However, I'm not interested in naturalistic aspects: the material obtained from field recordings allows me to create a track of "familiarity" and then move into an alien and estranging dimension, surreal virtual spaces. That's where I feel most comfortable.

The wind blowing within "This Fever" erodes and shapes the space until it reaches a rugged landscape created with a Moog modular system and later made "nebulous" through some Pure Data patches. The track focuses on a layered and enveloping "climate" and a melody that serves as a guiding theme. Rarely do I decide to focus on the sonic object, but the intention is to dismantle a crystallized identity, reaching the unknown within the known. Transparency and nudity devoid of secrets do not seduce me. I try to keep the mystery and disturbance intact. And what is "This Fever" in the end? It could be that sudden hot flash that takes you when you realize that you are attached to this ruthless and wonderful life despite everything.

The track "Don't Runaway" is an outtake from our album "Reflections From The Road", released earlier this year, completely reworked and expanded. The basic foundation of the track is the 80's synth pad riff, resembling a vintage Oberheim synthesizer but played with Serum. The melancholic riff inspired the electric piano part that soaked the tune with a solid nostalgic vibe. I imagined somebody recollecting past moments of his youth that, with his now adult awareness, would have wished to live differently instead of giving up or runaway due to fear or lack of confidence. This mental wandering inspired the title of the track and the idea to record a very basic lyric, "Don't Runaway," sung by me and pitch-shifted several semitones to sound like a girl-like voice. My music mate Andrea added the rhythmic section in the second part of the tune, using the Elektron Digitakt drum machine. As a final touch, I recorded a few more vocal lines that have been heavily processed with the "Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch" program, a fantastic tool for creating spooky spectral textures.