Interview with Atelo Songs

You are gearing up to release your new single "not in the mood." - tell us a bit about it.

“not in the mood.” is a song recorded in my home studio at The Albany Barn. It’s got an upbeat feel to it with some grimy sounds coming off of an off-kilter punky-tonk piano and a cigar box slide guitar. The lyrics dive into an introspective view of not being content with your past self, and realizing that you are probably embarrassing your future self as you speak. While self-improvement is important, it is also important to give yourself a break every now and then.  Simply stated, you won’t always be in the mood to improve.

Is "not in the mood." part of an upcoming album or EP? If so, tell us a bit more about what we can expect.

Yes, it’s a single off of a new album that will be coming out in early 2024. I’ve spent all of 2023 working on it, and am excited to finally get it out there. All of the production was completed in my home studio, and I’ve also been working on a stop-motion video that will be coming out for “not in the mood.” in January.What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I’ve been into music for as long as I can remember. I got my start singing when I was in elementary school thanks to community theaters. When I was eleven years old, I saw a local band play and that’s when I decided I wanted to learn guitar and start making my own music. Because of how much of my life has been dominated by music, it’s hard to tell what I would be doing otherwise. I like to think I would have gotten into some other medium, perhaps film or visual art.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I enjoy going out with a friend or two, sometimes to watch live music, sometimes just to have a few drinks. I also have been doing a lot of video editing lately. I used to go snowboarding in the winter, although it’s been quite a while due to an injury of mine. I’m actually planning on hitting the slopes again this winter for the first time in 3 years or so.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

I’ve been living in Albany for the past decade, and have worked with so many talented musicians here. I came up here for college, and I think I had a very sheltered view of music at the time. I quickly learned about all sorts of genres and subgenres that went way deeper than whatever mainstream media was feeding me in high school. Moving to Albany made me much more experimental and willing to push my own boundaries in my music.

What is your dream venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

My best high school friend and I once made a pact called the Wembley Pact. Basically, if either of us ever book Wembley, we have to have the other come up and play with us. On a smaller, more realistic scale, playing at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City always seemed cool to me.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Definitely Elvis Costello; I get told I sound like him quite frequently, and he is a massive influence on me. Other groups on my dream lineup would probably be Rubblebucket, City & Colour, My Morning Jacket, Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Be willing to compromise, as bands revolving completely around one person’s ideas usually don’t last long unless everyone’s being paid. Keep an open mind about what you are writing, and be willing to change and transform it through the band’s creative process.

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?

I’d tell myself to start looking into other aspects of the music industry sooner. For the longest time, I was hyper-fixated on writing and recording, and nothing else. Because of this, there are a lot of pre-Atelo albums out there under my real name that nobody ever heard, because I’d post my recordings and then forget about them, moving on to making the next one, never promoting or marketing the songs in any way. The start of Atelo Songs signifies when I finally started to realize how much more work was to be done if my songs were ever going to be heard.

Of your songs, which one means the most to you and why?

I have a song out called “2020’s so far. (two years in)” that is pretty different from what I usually put out. It’s just a piano-driven, electronic beat with myself rapping about the first two years of the decade for me. There’s no chorus, no hook, just rhythmic spoken word for about 3 minutes straight. I had only made it to help me cope with some traumatic events that had happened to me. I didn’t have any intention of releasing it, but after showing it to friends and family, they convinced me that I should. It is an extremely blunt and personal song about my experiences, which is why I think it means the most to me. I hadn’t released anything that raw before.  

Here’s a link to that song:

What is the creative process for Atelo Songs and what inspires you to write your music?

Most of my songs will start out as just me singing and playing acoustic guitar or piano. I’ll think of a melody in my head that I like, then build the music around that. I usually keep a stream-of-consciousness book around me and write whatever words come to my head in a moment of inspiration. A lot of it is gibberish, but occasionally if I need a jumping-off point for lyrics to a melody I’m working on, I find just what I need in it. The idea of music is just fascinating to me. The way we can organize the way air around us vibrates, and trigger certain emotions with those vibrations, is kind of insane when you think about it. So I will always be inspired to write music. The lyrics are the tricky part. I write lyrics to make sense of my own brain, why I am feeling a certain way, or what is making me perceive things the way that I am. The entire Atelo Songs project is riddled with introspection.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I want people to listen to my music and relate to the feelings that I’m singing about because the subjects of my songs are often things that don’t get talked about in day-to-day conversation. So whenever someone tells me they relate to my lyrics, I feel good, because it means I made someone out there notice that they’re not the only one with these difficult inner conflicts that are hard to talk about.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

For now, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m already getting started on the next album, but I’m going to make sure I continue to play shows throughout New York. On January 18th the stop-motion music video for “not in the mood.” will be released, as well as the title and release date of the new album.