Rocco DeLuca is Rocco’s second album with 429 Records and his fourth overall LP. Produced by seven-time Grammy winner, Daniel Lanois, Rocco DeLuca builds upon the experimental mood of his last solo album, 2011’s Drugs ‘N’ Hymns.
Currently residing in East Hollywood, CA, Rocco hosted a series of recording sessions with a number of notable, local musicians whom he fondly refers to as “Local Folks and Family.” They include drummer Oliver Charles (Ben Harper), guitarist and vocalist Christian Letts (Edward Sharpe), bassist Seth Ford-Young (Edward Sharpe), violinist Odessa Jorgensen, bassist Gus Seyffert (The Black Keys, Beck), vocalist Soko, and drummers Josh Collazo (Edward Sharpe) and Johnathan Wright. Additional production, mixing, and performing was provided by Simon Katz (Youngblood Hawke) and Chris Karn. Whereas Drugs ‘n’ Hymns was notable for its spare, quiet intensity, Rocco DeLuca once again directs spontaneity to achieve the colors of the day and night.
Says DeLuca:
“I went through school as an unfavored, untalented, quiet student who was allowed to find his own course. At about nine years I realized, that of all the curious forces, the one I was compelled to be most completely controlled by was music. From that moment I had a place of my own. For me, music is a place where everything and everyone is invited. It is the intersection of every walk of life. Even economics and prejudice yield to music.
Lately, I have been writing letters and not sending them out. Every piece of music on this new record is a token of those letters addressed to both animal, plant, human, and the moon. Friends and I would meet up to play and listen to Big Bill Broonzy and Washboard Sam. My friend Pier, from Austin, played the Chess release real loud for me one night and it had power. Many friends made this project possible, including Daniel Lanois who is always going 'further out' creating new sounds and blowing my mind. When Daniel hears music he believes in, he simply calls it ‘soul music.’
I look forward to seeing the country again and learning from her mountains, valleys, and fast paced cities. I extend my arms and play new every night for friends and strangers alike. The Masters left behind all that beautiful drama; light to see and shadows to hide within every move.”
