thomasazier

Paliwanag

Today I’m releasing 2 new tracks. This is the most personal work I have made up to now; to play it now is as thrilling as it is terrifying. In 2023, my wife was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We were deep into chemo trajectory, about a year after the birth of our son. During that time, I was navigating a collision of ongoing artistic work, being a father, illness and desire. This situation offered me an opportunity to look at life from a radical new angle. Community became a buoy that kept us afloat. From the empathic day care workers to kind nurses. I began to see threads connecting my personal struggles to larger problems; or even societal and geo-political fractures.  Some of these ideas and experiences were too layered and complex to put into words. I didn’t know how to. But I imagined the music for it. This work began as a series of instrumental compositions. It was only when the dust settled that I was able to write down memories as short sentences, like quick brush strokes. I found myself wondering if within the realm of love songs, could we sing about illness and desire. About sexuality and longing for someone who is very sick. The song Year In A Spiral became a litany, a reflection of life on the brink. As the release approaches, I find myself dreading the impersonal nature of the streaming machines. At times, I’d rather keep these songs for myself, they almost feel too exposed. While I’m afraid, I also know this track was built on the idea of starting a conversation. In a world this fragile, I believe our greatest strength lies in our willingness to be vulnerable with one another. 
Thomas 
A special thank you to my close collaborators and the people I admire most: @ellen_treasure , @annelottecoster , @jofrancken , @adrienpallot , @maartenhogenhuis and the incredible @janos_mijnssen who arranged the strings for Twenty Twenty-Three