“My father has always been a lover of music. I was probably around 6 or 7 when I became fascinated by his record collection. I loved the artwork, the smell, the lyrics, and I was always curious about the music trapped in the ridges.”
“By this point, I’m pretty certain he’d gotten rid of his player. It was just the records that remained. There were some incredible salsa albums along with The Mama’s and The Papa’s, The Carpenters, Cuban son, and so much more. I spent hours looking through the song titles, checking out the styles, and wishing there was a way to unlock all that music. I just wanted to transport myself into my father’s youth and absorb every bit of it. He must have noticed my curiosity, because during one of his business trips he returned with an old player and a pristine copy of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I felt like my little heart was about to explode. Everything about the music sounded so rich. It felt like something truly special and palpable.
We moved to Madrid, Spain when I was 12, and the next vinyl I remember getting my hands on was Luz Casal’s rendition of “Piensa en Mi” which was featured in one of Pedro Almodovar’s most beautiful films, Tacones Lejanos. As a kid, I always had a tough outer shell, but deep inside I was an old soul and hopeless romantic. I felt every bit of pain in her scratchy delivery. I’m forever grateful to vinyl for that much texture, and to my father for giving me the tools to listen and appreciate it.
As a teenager in Napoli, I’d get lucky sometimes at the flea markets. It required a little less partying the night before to make it bright and early to the Poggioreale Market on via Pasquale del Pezzo, where you can still find everything from punk to funk and reggae. Sometimes I’d get extra lucky and find a gem like “Se Telefonando” released in 1966 by Italian rebel banshee, Mina. She was my favorite! Fonoteca was another cool spot. Record stores are places where you can get lost listening and discovering so many gifts. Post-punk, Ethiopian jazz, and records from badass composers like Ennio Morricone, a master of the Italian golden age of film, were some of my favorite finds.
These days, my mini collection shares space with my man Shan Nicholson’s more extraordinary one, where you’ll find everything from Antonio Carlos Jobim to The Smiths, Suicide, Eric B and Rakim, and everything in between. Sometimes on Sundays, we get an extra special treat, and Michael Holman of the band Gray (former bandmate of the late Jean Michel Basquiat), will invite us over to listen to some of his rare finds for hours on end. I’ve listened to songs in his living room that have blown my mind and I know they’ve forever changed me. I love that. I love discovering something so exceptional that it makes me tear up and feel so many chills running down my spine that I just want to run home and create again.
On one of those Sundays Michael gave me the album Shades Of… by Gray, and he signed it, “My Roxiny, You inspire me..Michael Holman.” I came home and listened to it for hours. One track in particular, “Eight Hour Religion” is truly one of the most haunting, beautiful pieces I own. Who knows, maybe one day my future kids will want to listen and absorb every bit of my world too. Till then, I’m living it, completely immersed in the music.”
—Roxiny
“Goliath,” Roxiny’s current single, is taken from her forthcoming EP “Rituals.”
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PHOTO: KEITH MAJOR
