As far as 2020 is concerned, saying Last year was a beautiful, terrible mess. might be one of the best summations possible for a year filled with intense isolation and (hopefully) equally intense transformation. While there are undoubtedly ways we’d rather have spent our time – not in loneliness, loss, and sheer existential dread – hopefully we were also able to take some small consolation in appreciating our surroundings, the relationships we strengthened, and the personal growth we put ourselves through.
Well as it so happens, Joseph Borsellino – aka Calo – chose Last year was a beautiful, terrible mess. as the title for his new EP. A skilled saxophone player, Borsellino dropped the EP back in April. A largely hip-hop, electronic, and sample-based project that fits in with contemporary jazz efforts like Moses Boyd’s body of work, Last year features contributions from friends and collaborators Calo has come in contact with in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, including Anjali Rose, JoiBeatz, and mitamu.
To coincide with the EP’s single “so many lifetimes,” featuring vocals from NYC’s Anjali Rose, Calo has released a conceptual video accompaniment. As the EP’s second track, the song serves to establish the mood and themes of the rest of the release. It opens with the lyrics, “How far can one bird go? How long can time unfold until the wings grow tired?” Delivered by Anjali Rose in a soft, smooth cadence, there’s a melancholic reflection on hope here, nearly defeated by the ironic knowledge that movement and activity is severely limited in the isolation of quarantine. “There’s so many lifetimes, so many lives in one,” we are reminded. There’s an audacious yearning, as if the singer is staring out the window at rain while thinking, “I’m going to do so much living once this year is over.”
The video itself – edited by Anjali – features stunning, kaleidoscopic footage of microorganisms and cellular-level activity, all depicted in bright fluorescent coloring. This reminder of the microcosmic scale of life should be sobering: life goes on even without the obvious imprint of humanity. “Nature is healing” has become such a commonplace tagline for social media posts over the past year that it is easy to undervalue the beauty of that phrase. Life at all levels yearns to connect and interact with the world around it, even those little prokaryotes that we regularly fail to consider. After being collectively sidelined for a year due to a microscopic virus, it’s best that we don’t take for granted the impact such a small thing can have on the world-at-large.
It’s not just Calo’s smooth sax performance that set this EP apart as a more-than-capable effort by a young, emerging artist; it’s also his ear for contemporary production. He’ll often eschew the front-and-center nature that saxophone often comes with. It’s a loud instrument, after all. Instead, he’ll often mix it down, allowing it to help contribute to the dissonant, airy atmosphere of the EP’s six tracks rather than rely on in-your-face sax solos that dominate the musical palette. Fans of breakbeats and glitchy synths will get pulled into the landscapes of tracks like “asmr” and “lone wolf.”
Watch the video for Calo’s “so many lifetimes” featuring Anjali Rose below, and listen to Last year was a beautiful, terrible mess. on Bandcamp.