kala lasso x romæo - open 

music & lyrics, prod, mix kala lasso & romæo
master clarence kingston (ackeron st. records)

open

written & produced by romæo
guitar by kiri
mix by antonia gauci
master by becki whitton (aphir)

mourning

written/produced/mixed by romaeo
master by aphir
guitar by matt sitas

a musing on beauty as morality, inspired by Temptation of Adam and Eve (Masolino)

lyrics:

poised for the kill
writhing with delight
knowing that she will
banish them tonight

wrapped in her pleasure
seductress self assured
her sin knows no measure
her legacy to be endured 

graceful but cunning
sliding up her side
theres no use in running
in the garden you can't hide

bored is her gaze
easy to entice
taunted by the taste 
of their demise

the fall is on the woman, always the woman
she shouldn't have tried it

an innocent bystander
he'd warned her once before
but no man could control her
his warnings were ignored

by association 
he'd done nothing wrong
is fate not His creation 
so why is he forlorn? 

the fall is on the woman, always the woman
she shouldn't have tried it

the scales are upturned
the punishment severe
though gracious was her body its now her body that we fear 

the fall is on the woman, always the woman
she shouldn't have tried it

fall

this track was commissioned by USyd Science and FBi radio as part of National Science Week 2021. I was paired with psychologist Ben Colagiuri who studies placebo and nocebo, and told to write a track in response to his work.

written/prod/mix by me
master by clarence kingston

nausea

TAKE IT
produced & mixed by romæo
mastered by aphir (becki whitton)
cover art by willy challis

lyrics:
if you want it 
come and take it baby 
when you need it  
call and i’ll be racing  

when you talk i listen 
when you’re gone the distance 
babe it makes no difference 
obey your words of wisdom 

ritualistic reverence  
drunken by your cadence  
through storms you hold a radiance 
you torture, i have patience  

if you want it 
come and take it baby 
when you need it  
call and i’ll be racing  

dressed in fur and lace  
give fire to my waves 
got told to stay away 
but you’re my saving grace 

called forth and left no trace 
your song has made me ache 
an island of disgrace 
acting like you’ve changed  

you think i am only yours 
you know i can’t be sold nor bought 
you think i am only yours 
but you operate under my laws

TAKE IT

Track 7:
The world is so beautiful (and you’re the greatest beauty i’ve ever known)
Unsatiated beauty
Constance Mayer, “The Dream of Happiness”

I got up in the morning
It was cold had been pouring
And I started to run to your house
But my feet began to hurt
And my shins fall apart
So I got half way and had to turn around
I wrote you a letter
Saying I won’t forget ya
But I ran out of stamps so I never sent it to ya
I ran till I was crying
Had a panic attack felt like dying
And I went and sat sobbing on the beach
The world is so beautiful but I don’t want it if I don’t have you
the world is so beautiful & you're the greatest beauty I’ve ever known
dreaming for three days
a razor is bleeding
the balance of fortune cares not if you're weeping
i gave it all to you but you sailed away from me
theres nothing i could do to show you what you mean to me
The world is so beautiful but I don’t want it if I don’t have you
the world is so beautiful & you're its greatest beauty
The world is so beautiful but I don’t want it if I can’t have you
the world is so beautiful & you're the greatest beauty I’ve ever known
All the hurting was for nothing if we give up now

All tracks written, recorded, produced and mixed by romæo
Track 1 & 5 guitar performed and recorded by Matt Sitas
Tracks 1, 3, 5 mastered by Becki Whitten (pka Aphir)
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7 mastered by Clarence Kingston
Cover art photo by Matt Sitas, design by Willy Challis, MUA Mindwell

the world is so beautiful (& you're the greatest beauty i've ever known)

Track 6:
self love is a scam!
Beauty in the self
Lola Àlvarez Bravo, “Frida (Looking in mirror close up)”

I wanna love you, I wanna love you (I do)
I wanna love you, I wanna love you
But I can’t seem to learn to
Though I really want to
I wanna love you, I wanna love you
But all I can think of is how I don’t
I wanna love you, but how can I love you?
There’s so much to heat and critique
I wanna love you, but why should I love
you?
Isn’t every body valid, and that’s what
counts?
Must love be my goal to myself?
Self love is hard
(and everyone makes it easy)
Self love is a product
(everyone’s trying to sell me)
My head is full and my stomach is empty
My skins inflamed and damn it, I’m angry
Self love is hard
(and everyone makes it easy)
Self love is a scam
(nothing will ever please me)
My wallet is empty and my therapist is
laughing
I’ve focused on myself so much but for love
i’m still starving
I wanna love me, I wanna love me (I do)
I wish I could love me
But how can I love me, my life is too busy to think about me

All tracks written, recorded, produced and mixed by romæo
Track 1 & 5 guitar performed and recorded by Matt Sitas
Tracks 1, 3, 5 mastered by Becki Whitten (pka Aphir)
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7 mastered by Clarence Kingston
Cover art photo by Matt Sitas, design by Willy Challis, MUA Mindwell

self love is a scam!

Track 5:
Good To Look At
Aestheticism
Edward Burne-Jones, “The Golden Stairs”

it means nothing its just good to look at
glorified for centuries
as a man’s great masterpieces
through the crowd she rarely speaks
best not heard only seen
a value we can’t quantify
to satisfy a thousand eyes
step away the paint has dried
their instruments immortalised
it means nothing its just good to look at
petty and somnambulant
the model needs an ambulance
the dove plays wolf and cancels it
the sky turns dark and ravenous
all good things come in threes
all good art makes grown men weep
theres a crowd of them and only one of me
looking up her dress from at her feet
it means nothing its just good to look at
she means nothing she’s just good to look at

All tracks written, recorded, produced and mixed by romæo
Track 1 & 5 guitar performed and recorded by Matt Sitas
Tracks 1, 3, 5 mastered by Becki Whitten (pka Aphir)
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7 mastered by Clarence Kingston
Cover art photo by Matt Sitas, design by Willy Challis, MUA Mindwell

Good To Look At

BEAUTY TRACKLIST, CONCEPTS & VISUAL STIMULUS

Track 1: 
fall
Beauty as morality 
Masolino, “Temptation of Adam and Eve”

Track 2:
checkout (i bought into it)
A reflection on The Beauty Myth as outlined in Naomi Wolf’s seminal work
Clare Park, cover photograph of The Beauty Myth

Track 3:
TAKE IT
Beauty in the grotesque
Gustav Wertheimer, “The Kiss of the Siren”

Track 4:
interlude i 

Track 5:
Good To Look At
Aestheticism
Edward Burne-Jones, “The Golden Stairs”

Track 6:
self love is a scam!
Beauty in the self
Lola Àlvarez Bravo, “Frida (Looking in mirror close up)”

Track 7:
The world is so beautiful (and you’re the greatest beauty i’ve ever known)
Unsatiated beauty
Constance Mayer, “The Dream of Happiness”

All tracks written, recorded, produced and mixed by romæo
Track 1 & 5 guitar performed and recorded by Matt Sitas
Tracks 1, 3, 5 mastered by Becki Whitten (pka Aphir)
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7 mastered by Clarence Kingston
Cover art photo by Matt Sitas, design by Willy Challis, MUA Mindwell

interlude i

Track 2:
checkout (i bought into it)
A reflection on The Beauty Myth as outlined in Naomi Wolf’s seminal work
Clare Park, cover photograph of The Beauty Myth

i dont know how to get out of it
spent my whole life in the beauty myth
obeying the rules, making her king
my idol so graciously wicked to me
i dont know how to get out of it
redirecting attention to what i can fix
a shameful obsession i wish to escape
my cart is my haven i'm willing to pay
i bought into it
found my wallet and lost my head
i bought into it
i dont know how to get out of it
forever trapped in the beauty myth
my will for power i can't contain
to focus on ‘i’ is the way to attain
i wish i could get out of it
the incessant voice perched on my lips
to see myself as more than a figure
to care so much when i'm getting bigger
i bought into it
found my wallet and lost my head
i bought into it
what will you do?
what will we see?
tenants of the planet and of our bodies.

All tracks written, recorded, produced and mixed by romæo
Track 1 & 5 guitar performed and recorded by Matt Sitas
Tracks 1, 3, 5 mastered by Becki Whitten (pka Aphir)
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7 mastered by Clarence Kingston
Cover art photo by Matt Sitas, design by Willy Challis, MUA Mindwell

checkout (i bought into it)

call me back

flowers in my hair (for you)

don't be so hard on yourself

iconography

some demos i've been working on in self isolation.

written/produced/mix/master(lol) by romæo

track 4 produced by jack purdon.

before i cry i'll walk away.

first proper attempt at a remix. #HIFNRemix

Charli XCX - i finally understand (romæo flip) #HIFNRemix

inspired by Titian's 'Sacred and Profane Love'

“this song is a musing on the thematic ideas presented in the painting, and also my interpretation of the work. It considers the role of women in society, while also giving them a voice, independent of the male gaze. I was initially inspired by the symbolism in the artwork, for example the juxtaposition of the cherub and the sarcophagus, and the myrtle as an image of fertility. I basically materialised the conversation between the two Venus’; the verses see the sacred Venus being free and empowered, while choruses are from the perspective of the profane Venus who is bound by mortal realms, obligations, and the traditional understanding of womanhood. Ultimately the song is about wanting to reveal oneself, in every sense of the word, but being unable to.”

revealed

give you one by aphir feat sandy hsu (romæo remix)

give you one - aphir (romæo flip)

romæo - stare

written/produced by romæo
mixed by cambio sun
mastered by aphir

stare

cold brewed experimental bedroom art-pop.

linktr.ee/romaeo

romæo

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