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Today, Brooklyn-based Argentine singer/songwriter Federico Aubele shares his meditative seventh studio album Time Drips On My Bed out everywhere now. Alongside the full project, Aubele shares Spanish guitar-driven track and video "Silent Film" out now. The new full-length offering recalls the musician's past–from growing up in Buenos Aires, to his first album–to today, two decades later. The reflective body of work gives Aubele space to understand and accept parts of his past–the pain and the joy and everything in between–that allow him to fully appreciate the present.
Out today, Aubele's seventh studio album, Time Drips On My Bed, which features artwork done by Aubele himself, brings the musician's over two decade-long career full circle. After his father's passing in 2021, Aubele found himself reflecting on his home city of Buenos Aires and how it shaped who he is today. He entered the healing process in the way most natural to him–with a guitar and a pen and paper–and deeply sinking into his roots. Slowly, 2000s drum beats, melodica and Moog synth made their way into the budding sonic universe, complete with his ever-present baritone vocals–that would become the album. It was this careful submersion into his grief and early life that ultimately served as the catalyst for his newfound creativity. These drastic life changes and heavy reflection gave Aubele a renewed sense of appreciation for his life and experiences–and allowed him to accept his past–building the foundation of his latest body of work.
It also inspired him to tap into his first album, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, and the impactful people and places that made it come to life and sparked his early artistry. Aubele says, “We’re constantly evolving and changing, which means analyzing, understanding and accepting aspects of our past. If we don’t do that, what we need to process starts spilling into our present, preventing us from fully reaping its benefits and appreciating where we are.” Unlike prior projects, Time Drips On My Bed was made without any external contributions, and much like the grieving process, this album was constructed very intimately in just one studio.
With a building beat and signature Spanish guitar, "Silent Film" explores loneliness and the subsequent bittersweet waves of nostalgia that come with it. Aubele values these nuanced emotions and acknowledges their importance, adding, "They can remind us not to underplay our emotions. It doesn’t mean that you should get in touch with someone from the past–it’s not really about a specific person–but rather about creating a better and more aware present."
The idea for the track's accompanying video emerged after Aubele observed sunlight in his living room at dusk. Aubele recalls, "It looked really beautiful and bittersweet. It made the space look like an abandoned place, a place of loneliness." The feeling is further expressed through 16mm black-and-white film shot at a cemetery and is a subtle nod to the track's title. Aubele adds on its inspirations, "The Chiaroscuro choice for the singing scenes also conveys an atmosphere of solitude and were inspired by Caravaggio and Rembrandt."
Watch "Silent Film" (Official Music Video)
The previously shared introspective "Like Fire," provides a space for a gentle processing of the passage of time, and the inescapable personal reckoning that comes with it. Aubele explains, "This song is about outgrowing moments in our lives and moving on to the next chapter. That hunger for more experiences and growth is what keeps us alive, preventing us from stagnation." The downtempo, thoughtful ballad masterfully encompasses the discomfort that comes with this change as well as the joy that comes with new experiences, connections and places, and how these emotions often co-exist. Aubele continues, "It can be painful to part with an era when you know you’ve reached the end—but it’s necessary. New faces, names and places will be there when you reach the other side and you’ll be glad you had the courage to cross the bridge."
Mixed between shots of Aubele singing, the track's symbolism-filled, self-directed video displays bodies of water, flowers, and inclement weather–things that naturally change over time. Each element of the video includes signifiers of the passage of time, one's fleeting existence and of the natural process of decay and rebirth. Aubele explains, "The Memento Mori, also called Vanitas for vanity, was traditionally a reminder of the transience of our existence and I think you can apply that to the different chapters in life: relationships, people, elements of our personalities that are fluid, priorities, what we focus our attention on."
Aubele continues, "We are, whether we accept it or not, constantly in flux. Music represents this very fittingly: it exists only for a moment, disembodied and invisible, and then it disappears." The reflective track embodies the idea that life is ever-changing, and one can only begin to understand one's life in hindsight, and Aubele emphasizes staying curious and open to what's next is a key responsibility.
Backed by a looping drum beat, the earlier released "What We Lost" recalls one's deepest memories that build one's understanding of themselves and the world around them. Aubele shares, "It's about notion of who we are and how we’re inclined to recreate, consciously or subconsciously, those moments that moved, transformed and defined us." It explores the love gained and lost in relationships of all kinds, and how when they live on in memories, they can enable one's growth or hinder it. Aubele continues, "In some cases, these moments can recall situations and people whom we lost: romantic partners, friends and family, childhood, a first love experience. By reviving them we prevent them from dissolving and being forgotten but at the same time they can keep us stuck in the past, like a ghost—a moment that repeats over and over and is unable to leave the house it’s in."
The track's accompanying dreamy video, also self-directed, shot around Brooklyn, NY including in the lush trees of Prospect Park, aims to reflect what one loses and tries to keep as Aubele takes a journey from an industrial urban area to a dreamy forest. Expanding on the meaning behind the introspective track and visual that often resembles a flashback reel, Aubele explains, "What we lose, be it a romantic relationship, a certain time in our lives, or whatever it is, becomes a part our identity but it's often also idealized and distorted through memory. Even when we know that we all have a tendency to make our memories better than they really were, especially by omitting the bad parts, we can still find ourselves daydreaming about these moments and times in our lives."
Federico Aubele has been blending cultures and defying borders throughout his almost two-decade long career. Bouncing between Buenos Aires, Berlin and Barcelona, and now, Brooklyn, Aubele has fused the sounds of each city and simultaneously melded genres into his powerful songwriting, deep vocals, downtempo electronica, acoustic guitar, flamenco and more. The musician has also managed to seamlessly and seductively join both Spanish and English since he began recording music as Boston Globe, PopMatters and Westword each note. Remezcla calls Aubele, "The true master of Latin down-tempo electronica," with "eclectic influences that range from tango and bossa nova to dub."
Last year, Aubele shared his tranquil sixth studio album The Holographic Moon. Admist pain, heartache, and growing pains, the album began to provide a path towards peace and healing alongside a group of collaborators including Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) on percussion, Iain Cook (Chvrches) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto) on synths, Melissa Mary Ahern (Sulfjian Stevens) on vocal harmonies, the YMusic Ensemble (Paul Simon, Jose Gonzales) on orchestra arrangements and Kenny Wollensen (Tom Waits). With his latest collection out now, Aubele continues this necessary work, only this time, equipped with an even greater sense of self and understanding of grief, and all on his own.
The life-encompassing, pensive seventh album by Federico Aubele, Time Drips On My Bed is out everywhere now. Aubele's latest project sees the musician grapple with grief and hardship as he makes peace with life's natural progression, bringing him to the present moment. Connect with Federico on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more from the singer-songwriter.
Watch "Like Fire" (Official Music Video) | Listen
Watch "What We Lost" (Official Music Video) | Listen
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