Hiya The New Citizen Kane, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
Hey! Great to be here, looking forward to get into it 🙂
Thanks for joining us today… Tell us bit about where you are from and how you got into music?
I’m Irish by birth, but grew up between Italy and Ireland. A child of the ’80s, I come from an artistic family, so I was always surrounded by music, art, literature and theatre. I went to a performing arts school from my teens and grew up participating in local theatre groups and concerts. I loved all forms of performance, but music always resonated with me the most.
I started writing poetry and music around the age of 11, and eventually went on to study music production and sound engineering. I was recording and releasing my first EP by the age of 20, before interning at Nellee Hooper’s Meanwhile Records and later working as an in-house writer at Italian dance label Fourifase.
The New Citizen Kane persona, and my return to working as a recording artist, came much later in 2013 after I moved to London. So I suppose music has been the constant thread running through pretty much everything I’ve done.
What’s the live music scene like in Valencia right now?
I moved to Valencia in November as we were expecting the birth of our first daughter. We were actively looking to slow down our pace of life and focus more on quality of life.
She was born in February, so we haven’t exactly been out and about loads since then! But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and diversity of the live music scene here.
I’ve also been fascinated discovering Valencia’s history as one of the key pillars of the European New Wave scene in the ’80s. There’s a really interesting musical history here that I’m only just beginning to scratch the surface of.
Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
I’ve really been enjoying discovering new Spanish indie and electronic acts. Petro y Toni, Marta Loe and Gitano de Palo are a few I’ve seen and enjoyed recently.
I’m still very much in discovery mode though, so I’m sure there are plenty more rabbit holes for me to disappear down!
Whats your thoughts on all this talk about Indie poo going round the socials at the min?
There’s always some form of cross-genre tension, musical snobbery and internet outrage happening somewhere online!
I try not to get too caught up in it. I think there’s room for everyone and every genre. Not every artist or genre needs to be pushing boundaries all the time, either. What matters more to me is the intention behind it — whether it comes from a genuine place.
Music doesn’t have to be revolutionary to be meaningful. Sometimes you just want to have a fucking good time!
What’s the biggest thing you hate having to do to showcase your music?
Probably trying to come up with interesting ways to perform and promote the music on social media.
The reality is that it’s an essential part of building an audience these days, but I’m always trying to stay within the boundaries of what feels authentically me. TikTok isn’t really a platform I naturally resonate with, whereas I’ve always gravitated more towards Instagram and have built a really lovely connection with my core audience there.
I think the challenge is finding ways to play the game without letting the game dictate who you are.
What are your ambitions for the band?
I’m not really thinking in terms of a traditional “band” trajectory, to be honest. The New Citizen Kane has become much more of an entire creative universe for me — music, visuals, performance, storytelling and all the strange little worlds that exist between them.
Obviously I want the music to reach more people, and I’d love to play more live shows and continue expanding the visual side of the project. But my biggest ambition is actually to keep making work that surprises me.
I spent a lot of years chasing numbers, recognition and what I thought success was supposed to look like. These days, I’m much more interested in building a body of work and a life that I’m genuinely proud of.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
I actually wrote a song all about it called Ugly Alligator, check it out, haha.
I think it’s an incredibly strange time to be an independent artist. There are more tools and opportunities to create and reach an audience directly than ever before, but there’s also an enormous amount of noise.
The traditional industry model still has plenty of power, but I don’t think artists necessarily have to fit themselves into it in the same way anymore. I’ve experienced enough of that world to know that what looks like success from the outside isn’t always what it appears to be.
For me, independence has become less about rejecting the industry and more about deciding what parts of it I actually want to participate in.
I’m not trying to win the industry’s game anymore. I’m trying to build a life and body of work I’m proud of.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
Probably that I don’t need to constantly be doing more.
For years I equated momentum with progress — more music, more content, more numbers, more recognition. There’s always another goalpost and the industry is very good at making you feel like you’re falling behind.
Moving out of London, becoming a father and having a home surrounded by nature has completely shifted my perspective. I’m still ambitious, but I no longer want ambition to come at the expense of actually living my life.
I think I’m finally learning that stillness isn’t the same thing as stagnation.
What’s currently in your ears and on rotation at the moment?
I’m absolutely loving Natsudaidai, the Japanese electro-funk duo, and also the new material from Welsh singer-songwriter Mantaraybryn.
My listening habits are pretty chaotic though. One minute it’ll be electronic music, then Aaliyah, Fleetwood Mac, some obscure ambient record or something I’ve stumbled across at 2am.
I think I’m permanently searching for something that surprises me.
What was your worst experience on stage? Any funny stories to share?
The first time I played Secret Garden Party, back in 2013, I was playing the Little Gay Brother stage on the Saturday night. I made the rookie mistake of absolutely caning it with the crew on Friday when I arrived, got very little sleep and, needless to say, by the time of my set my voice was on its way out the door.
I made it through the first two songs and then my voice just completely disappeared. I basically growled my way through the last three songs.
But I danced my tits off to make up for it.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Yeah! I’m currently one chapter into my album PSYCHEDELIKA Pt.2, which I’ve decided to release digitally across four EPs, each representing a different emotional arc and a foundational question about the human experience, rather than bombarding listeners with the full 20-track experience all at once.
For fans of CD and vinyl, though, the whole thing is already available to enjoy in physical form.
The first chapter, FREE TO FEEL, dropped in August and asks: are you willing to wake up and challenge your own beliefs?
The next chapter, DO YOU TRUST INSTINCT, arrives in November and asks: now you’re awake, what do you really want?
The lead single, INTERTWINE, comes out on Friday and is probably my most confidently electronic release to date. Ironically it’s about disconnecting from the digital world and remembering what happens when you put the phone down and actually connect with another human being.
What was the recording process like?
I spent most of last year recording the PSYCHEDELIKA project — both Parts 1 and 2. I’d left my previous career to focus purely on music, so I was completely tuned into the creative process. It was intense, but incredibly liberating.
I was operating with a new-found confidence and, more importantly, I’d become much less attached to the expectation of results. That gave me the freedom to really lean into my ideas, experiences and stories without constantly second-guessing whether they were commercially sensible.
I think PSYCHEDELIKA Pt.1 is more chaotic, both in its rollout and its overall sonic journey. Pt.2 has had more time to settle, reshape and reveal itself, so it feels like a more structured and cohesive body of work.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Honestly, no.
I couldn’t be prouder of the final project. PSYCHEDELIKA feels like my master project — not because I think it’s perfect, but because it feels like the most complete expression of everything I’ve been exploring creatively for years.
At this point, I’m much more interested in making something honest than making something perfect.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Free Palestine.
And remember: in a world built around consumption, creativity heals. ❤️
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