Abroad LP by Francesco Le Metre

"Abroad is a concept album inspired by my personal experience of what it means to be away from my family and the people I grew up with in order to pursue my dream of becoming a musician and artist.

The record is an emotional, melancholic journey that slowly evolves into something darker as the record progresses and eventually ends with a sense of hope. It’s a portrait of the different emotional moments I have experienced in the past 7 years. From the initial excitement to start a new life, to as time goes by, the distance and absence of the loved ones around you.

There is a duality between accomplishing yourself and what you have to sacrifice in order to get there. The fear of failure and understanding that returning is not a practical choice, motivates one to keep going. Ultimately, that led to the acceptance of the choices I had made, and the realization that this emotional journey is inevitable. Having strong motives and perspectives has been crucial by then... maybe if I succeed and establish myself, there is the possibility to reunite with my family. I am not sure if it is morally correct to be away from them, but the only thing I can do is to move forward.

Musically, the record is comprised mostly of piano, string quartet and ambiences. I always get very melancholic the few times my family and I gather and watch old footage from my childhood. That is why as I was making the record, I decided to incorporate into the tracks some audio files from footage of my childhood, creating some ambiences and vocal loops, using mostly my brother’s and parents’ voices."

-Francesco Le Metre