“Don’t ever forget me, don’t ever change / And if I hurt your feelings, I’m sorry love is strange / Your eyes they spoke of sadness, fragility / I think that’s why I loved you, you are a part of me.”
Toronto, ON singer-songwriter Andrea Ramolo is excited to share “DUST,” her latest single released today, and the first taste of new music from her upcoming album “Quarantine Dream,” that shall follow later this year. Born of Italian-Canadian descent, Andrea remains a firm favorite of ours here at Team GDW, whom we first encountered live back in 2016 during her ‘Scarlett Jane’ days with friend and bandmate Cindy Doire. We subsequently featured Andrea’s stunning “Nuda” album back in 2017 (now available on vinyl), very much enjoyed “Homage,” her album of Leonard Cohen covers that followed, and cannot wait to hear the new music that she is preparing to share this year.
“DUST is a song scripted in isolation about the fine line between human connection and toxic attachment,” offers Ramolo. “It’s about our human longing and addictions to things, to each other, and about the acceptance that we are truly mirrors for one another in this life.” Produced by Swedish-Canadian recording artist Sarah MacDougall at The Dream Ship, and mastered by Elisa Pangsaeng, per Andrea’s website, “DUST” is a piece of James Bond-ian noir seduction, about an intense, albeit brief, intimate encounter during the pandemic with a man whose darkness and struggles shed light on her own about fear, trust and judgement. Andrea’s Bond reference is pretty fitting, given that when I first heard the exhilarating instrumentation and her passionate vocal depth on “DUST,” hints of Dame Shirley Bassey did cross my mind, such is the power being displayed here. “We all have our poison, which I believe must be embraced without judgement,” Andrea adds. “And we all need love.”
“I wanted to believe you, wanted to stay / And feed the good inside you, to keep the dark away / But tell me do you take your demons to bed / And would you choose the poison, over my love instead.”
Accompanying the single is an outstanding music video that builds visually on the ‘noir seduction’ theme, captured and recorded by director Nikki Ormerod. “Old time friend Nikki … and I always wanted to get creative together,” shares Andrea. “She is one of the most successful commercial photographers in the city and has made some beautiful short films. My song naturally lived somewhere deep in her visionary mind and we created an elegantly gothic and gorgeous piece, which Nikki calls a short opera.”
The video also allows Andrea to rediscover another of her early passions – dance – and shares the screen with National Ballet of Canada and Red Sky Performance dance artist Jera Wolfe. “I knew on this record that I wanted to create moving visuals with dance which was my first love and my foray into music,” Andrea continues. “I started off my artistic life as a dancer and was thrilled to get to do a [dance] piece alongside Jera. It’s unreal. It tells of this connection through a contemporary dance piece choreographed by Shawn Bracke.”
“Lying in the bathtub, with your black heart tattoo / I wish I took that photograph / I can’t stop thinking of you.”
Ramolo and MacDougall contribute most of the instrumentation heard on “DUST” – Andrea providing the vocals and baritone guitar, while Sarah handles drums, synth bass, electric guitar, synths, and instrumental programming. Organ and electric bass are provided by Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist Aaron Goldstein, who is also credited with additional production duties. “The record is all about dreams … the bad and the good … the extreme hopes and aspirations and feeling of loss and loneliness and all of that this pandemic has inspired,” Andrea shares in closing. “Extreme hope, extreme fear, extreme loss, and extreme imagination – wishing and hoping for a better tomorrow.”
Photo Credit: Jen Squires
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
