SONG PREMIERE: Pauline Pisano Shares “The Well”

NYC-based singer-songwriter-keyboardist Pauline Pisano is preparing for the release of her upcoming album, Inside The Wheel, due September 5th. Produced by Dan Weiner, who helped derive a dark/hopeful vibe to its conceptual aesthetic, the project originates from a 2016 Summer tour in that was canceled last-minute. After ending a long-term relationship, and with no plans or work, Pisano gathered up all her belongings and drove to a secluded cottage that had been in her family for years. The solitude and peace of being at the one place where everything had always made sense allowed for much-needed self-exploration. For ten days she would write, meditate, and be with nature – and the result is at the heart of Inside The Wheel. Songs of self-awareness and forgiveness are told as a dialogue between three characters: herself, her wise youngest/oldest self, and the “furies,” with each character assigned a vocal timbre: self is Pauline’s voice unaffected, the wise young/older self is a voice heard an octave below, and the furies are heard in hard-tuned 3rds, 4ths and 6ths. These characters flow in and out of each song and often speak to each other.

The ten tracks on the album are to be experienced in order, turning continuously like a wheel. Today, Pisano shares a new track from the collection, “The Well,” a sonic voyage that combines classical and pop elements alongside insightful storytelling making for a thoughtful and intriguing listen.

Pisano discusses the story behind the song, “‘The Well’ is a song about radically accepting a situation and finding peace in the midst of a troubling moment. It was very much inspired by the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh. There are three characters in the song. The protagonist in the song is unknowingly trapped in her well-of-thought. She can not see past her own wants for her future and is therefore stuck in her sadness. She can not accept where she is. The first voices the listener hears however are a choir of voices, who are attempting to pull the protagonist out of her way of thinking by asking her to accept the situation and then move forward because she is still “here, alive and there’s much to celebrate.” Along the journey our protagonist meets a third character, a wise being, who offers up the idea that perhaps we never understand the journey but not knowing is a part of the magic of life. By the end of the song the protagonist takes over all of the melodies a symbol that she is now able to accept her reality and that “maybe I’ve been trapped in my own well.” She is now freed from her destructive thought pattern and can begin to heal.”