Expectations by Lorenzo Balloni

"Expectations" is an album about human suffering, the result of a period of radical emotional changes and expressive research over a 3 year period. In 2017 a mental breakdown made me reflect deeply on the human condition and how we are all inevitable victims of inherent suffering in our short and frivolous existence. I came to realize how much of our pain is generated by our desires and became interested in the concept of non-attachment to things, events and people. This realization had a great artistic impact on my music. It made me understand how important is to incorporate notions of honesty and vulnerability into music creation, as opposed to hopping on contemporary trends seeking for visibility, which generally end up being just a temporary thing. Obviously this made me question even my own musical aesthetic and realize that behind my obsession for sound design and timbral research there was in fact the need to hide my insecurity and to be accepted. In that moment I started thinking in a different way, surrendering to my own personal perception of satisfaction and trying not to be hindered by how my music "could or should" sound, trying to accept myself for what I am.

Boomkat review:
"Balloni attributes pain to desire, and his emotionally vulnerable work on Expectations is an attempt to move past the aesthetic wall of sound design and reach a place of raw honesty and depth.
He's successful too, and while the expertly-tweaked granular soundscapes can feel overly familiar, their pacing and emotional content show a unique edge. "
https://boomkat.com/products/expectations-2090d873-fb42-4d87-821d-928da3d0bf51

Foxy Digitalis:
"Ideas about honesty and authenticity can be treacherous ground to cover, but Balloni’s work is so rife with an emotional delicacy that these concepts blossom into truths."
https://foxydigitalis.zone/2021/09/08/lorenzo-balloni-expectations/

Lorenzo Balloni is an Italian sound designer living in Tokyo.

Twitter