Know the album

Milla: I started this one with the two chords (D and then D over C) and it felt so intimate somehow. Once I began to mumble the words and I realised what it was about, I had to take a step back to realign my head. The end result was one of the most personal few lines I've written so far. This intimacy, combined with the late hours of the moment of its creation convinced me that this was the opening of the album. It is not a unfinished song anymore, it is a prologue.

Milla: Sometimes I do feel like things weight heavier on me, that somehow, somewhere, there is a quest bigger than my current station, that it is my responsibility. Sometimes I do think I dream too much, with unheard of scenarios, abstract matter, far off realities, and quixotic was an escaping road to a land where that was actually appreciated, encouraged, even. The song is not about me, per say. Instead, it evokes a quixotic mind that will never be named, but serves as a reminder to me and all of those out there who need a coaxing hand towards the extraordinary.

Milla: When I first got into music school my instinct was to just stop writing altogether. The overwhelming new information cluttered my brain and I felt I was so small, knew so little, that nothing I could say mattered. I did not have a cause or the way. After three years of total silence and no creation, only gathering, I was at the verge of implosion. In my room, I let go of all words and chords occupying my busy brain, unsettled and unheard, began writing the most absurd progressions with the singular aim of impressing someone and letting this unknown person know that I knew something. This became unbearable to the point I felt anguish. And in the mist of all possibilities I wrote this song, a testimony to all that I know and don't know. A lesson to myself, a reminder that my music is my own, it is not a showcase display of cleverness, in fact, it exposes all that I don't know, all that I can't phantom. I want to let go. It is fine, I'll dance to that.

Milla: I don't have much else to say about memories, everything is out there, in photos, videos and mainly on the lyrics. Memories is one of the few times I've been able to let go of metaphors for fear of being discovered, understood. I didn't rely on distant connections or elaborate scenarios to express how bittersweet the memory of Ireland is. How I would do it all again a bit different, what I would give to go back. That is memories, the bittersweet at the back of my throat that comes back every rainy day.

Milla: The comeback. This song was born when I was 17, it had only the first verse and chorus. In 2020 I was pressured into recording something of mine by a dear friend and I could only remember this song, I felt like it was worth saving. I got my old notebook and while playing it to him realized it maybe needed a second part. I sat down and it flew out of me. The feeling was such, a discharge of emotion, like letting go of the breath you've been holding on to three whole years. I couldn't stop, blame this song, I'm still dreaming to this day.

Milla: The quibble that remains. The only possible way to cure a restless night is a restless song.

Milla: I like saying this is the favourite daughter, you probably met me through this song. Although I don't like admitting it, this song moves me as well. It describes the feeling of timeless passion, the way it doesn't sneak in, but owns it all. The song gave me an understanding I didn't have before, it taught me how to feel the love I already have. I love this song because it has such detailed imagery comparing nature and mythology to a world within. I guess it is the favourite daughter for a reason.

Milla: This song is originally a harmony study, I choose a melody and reharmozined it over and over again, but the melody spoke so dearly to my ears I knew it deserved a special place in the narrative of Bed Thoughts. I had the honour of having my talented friend Rodolfo Lima soloing this piece on the double-bass. This track was recorded live.

Milla: When I wrote this, I could only think about how my beloved deserved the most beautiful of songs, the richest of melodies, the deepest of harmonies, and how I could never give him that. Idyll is a hopeful letter to our future, with the helpless hands of today. The internal jokes, Perth, the unwanted jobs, I do it for you. So simple, so true, in the best of ways I really do hope it works for you.

Milla: One day a student of mine was feeling a bit lost. She had just started High School, the days were starting to shrink. The thing she loved the most, singing, was put aside to give space to around twenty subjects, its book sheets and concentrating silence. I could not bear to see the sparkle begin to fade, I had to do something. Stating support, I told her I would pull her to the arts, which she loved. I told her I would carry her and guide her, I'd be the compass I wish I had when I was her, sixteen and in broken love with music. Effusive soul is everything I wished she had kept, her shinning eyes. Effusive soul is dedicated to all my students, to all my artist friends, a pledge for them to keep making art, it matters.  

Milla: If Aeolus & Breeze is the favourite daughter, Call it Home is the oldest sibling. I wrote it when I was sixteen and this song has always been close to my heart. Like many of my songs, I only truly understood what it meant to me after finishing it. The concept of "home" is ever-present in my music, running through the album like a stream, feeling like you belong, comfortable, feeling like time is happening now. In this song, I explore different scenarios that sound like home to me, or the total oposite of it. 

Milla: What is there left to say about Odella? It might be the best thing I've ever created, and I owe it all to the most special person. I would like for Odella to feel like a reassuring hug to all who think it is not possible to get over, or move on. To those who foolishly think they're not strong enough, good enough, enough. Endless source of inspiration and beauty, you're guarded forever in the minutes of this song, and your album.