Commisioned by

Cristian Estrella

Release Date

January 15, 2023

Project

Music

Video-ep composed and recorded at the Château des Chézeaux (Loire Valley, central France).

In the second release on Present E-Records, Estrella sings about heartbreak and pays tribute to nature.

For the former, he plunges into the depths of grieving loss, with the song “Silent scars”, which arose from isolation during the pandemic, the harsh Slovakian winter, and sudden loneliness.

Album

Silent scars

“Music allowed me to put sensations and feelings into words that are not always easy to understand, much less to process,” says Cristian. “It is a constant work of reflection and emotional alchemy, where art is the most direct therapy. At least for me, it was the key I found to unlock sadness, recognize it, face it, and sing to it. Buddhists talk about turning poison into honey. Maybe it’s utopian, but that’s what I tried. After several years living in Europe and with a veritable collage of languages in my mind, the lyrics came to me in English. And although it is not my mother tongue, I tried to respect that impulse as much as possible. We live in times of war, consumption and individualism. The digital world is destroying human features… Why don’t we accept that we are imperfect? We should not be afraid of showing ourselves as we are. We are finally passing through on this planet, and the best way to dissolve superficiality is to share our spirit. Being as we are and being honest with ourselves to give ourselves that way”.

The recording of “Silent scars” was made during the composition process itself, as was the shooting of the clip. “It was new to my usual way of working, which is generally much more methodical. This video-ep is a polaroid of the birth of songs ”, he concludes.

Le saut innocent

The instrumental “Le sout innocent” was conceived as an interpretation of the flight of butterflies. The Loire Valley is one of the most important areas in the world for butterflies watching. The walks through Saint-Gaultier, Rivarennes, and then through Vicq-sur-Breuilh (Limoges), filled the Argentine artist’s mobile phone with slow-motion videos.

“Here the process was different. I am interdisciplinary, and video occupies an important place in my work. After a guided walk and a few personal excursions through dreamy parts of the French countryside, I simply surrendered to the exuberance of the butterflies. I kept shooting and shooting. I saw them up close and found a large number of shots. I was inspired by those videos. Slow-motion reveals the personality, behavior and beauty of these beings. There are also dragonflies and bees. I tried to celebrate that light with melodies that described the flight, which always begins with an innocent leap.”

The clips were shot and edited by the musician himself using mobile phones and portable macro lenses. This stage, together with the mixing and mastering of the tracks, was carried out during his stay at the Can Yes Wow artist residency in Ibiza, Spain.