Skin on Sundays

Epicentro

In us
the spirit 
of the earth
swells.
In light,
we turn seeds
into trees.
In darkness,
we transform 
wreckage
into relic.

Sunday,

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The other day, my friend Cris called me up and asked if I wanted to do a collaboration celebrating the release the song Epicentro, by BNDRA (the band consists of Cris and Compa). There are several reasons why I excitedly said yes. First, I’m super familiar with the song, because Omar produced it, in our living room, and so I heard it evolve from its early stages of just ideas into the beautiful musical piece of art it is today. Of course, that’s another reason I wanted to do it: I love the song. It was originally written in the wake of the huge Mexico City earthquake of 2017, and carries a message of strength and unity. Calamity can cause people to break or bring them together. In the case of Mexico’s earthquake, I saw with my very eyes people rising from the destruction to offer whatever they could to help. I saw the spirit of the city and its people come alive.

There is something beautiful about Mexico that BNDRA communicates so well in this song Epicentro: how much the culture of the country is still connected to a spiritual energy that comes from the universe, the earth, and every living and nonliving thing in it. In Mexico, that spiritual energy is alive, felt, and widely accepted as a truth of existence. It’s not about religion; the spirituality I’m referring to is a result of a feeling of connectedness, to other humans, to animals, to plants, to earth. I think that is a huge part of what has made me feel so at home in Mexico in the first place, so in my element, and thus I stayed. It was a pleasure to reconvene with those emotions and ideas in this collaboration with BNDRA. That’s what the poem is about, what the song is about, and my overwhelming sensation of living here in this beautiful country.

Definitely go listen to the BNDRA song on Spotify or check out the video on YouTube. It’s so lovely. 

Monster

An orchestra
I want to make it dark
And send it your way
A monster in my mind
Maybe I am

Sunday,

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Bathing Belles’ Amy, 29 & Jessica, 30 are a dream-soul duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their songs are heartfully crafted in their red living room studio, tapping into the harsh and soft realities of life and blending that with the subconscious astral world that lives inside of them. Bathing Belles music has blossomed from backyard garden to sweeping forest, from midnight jam sessions to sounding over airwaves and reaching thousands of lucky ears.

Today’s special episode showcases a segment of their first official song released a few days ago, called Monster. I wrote the poetry (or lyrics, if you will) for this song, and am infinitely impressed with their quixotic translation of the words from the page to the tongue. You can listen to the full version of the song here.

If you love them like I do, you can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

The Milky Way

The boat to paradise
is vulnerability
and its sails open
widest with truth.

Sunday,

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Amy is 29, from near Cleveland, Ohio. If atomic bombs radiated with her energy instead, their explosions would equal an entire world full of sensitivity, love, and acceptance, people living with hearts full of curiosity instead of fear. She is part of the phenomenal new chilltronica duo Bathing Belles, her voice a force that causes chills that begin in the shoulders and end sprinkling across the wide plains of the soul. It is a privilege to be in her presence, and I am one of the lucky ones who has been graced by her large existence in my life. This episode was taken on the gorgeous island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, camping on the white sands and turquoise seas, basking in natural wonder. Take a peek at the Bathing Belles’ wondrous acoustic Flamenco Beach performance of a song I wrote the lyrics for, called Trains.

The Source

Wind plowing past you,
you play your chords
you dream you are here
between the sea
and the rocks with
a mountain or two
standing ahead as you
harness their place
on this earth
with yours.

Sunday,

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MODEL: Omar is 27, from Mexico City, Mexico, and is also featured in Episode 4 of Skin on Sundays. He has played a huge role in leading me to the deepest understanding I’ve ever had of how to connect with the source energy of the universe, and so visiting these vast dunes in Gran Canaria with him was a reminder of the magic in that connection. He is behind the new music project Kid Pistola, a lovely existential trip into electro-hip hop, where his wisdom and honesty reflect as he comments on some of society’s darker corners. Omar’s heart and mind are constantly drenched in music and art, an unceasing and inspiring quality that I am lucky not only to witness, but absorb.