September 5, 2024
GALACTICA: The Rebirth of a Studio and a Story
As is only right when such radical changes happen in people and in situations, a page of history comes to an end. In our case, this page was not closed but turned over so that we could continue writing our story, both personal and musical.
In this general upheaval, our historic recording studio and rehearsal room were affected too, and GALACTICA also underwent radical changes. When our activities came to a halt, the studio was in a state of deep abandonment, the instruments lay unused, and a decline began throughout the whole structure that was symbiotic with my state of health. I refused even to enter that place, which for so many years had been a source of inspiration and joy for me. The state of abandonment it was in was similar — indeed identical — to my mood. It took a long time to find the desire to build again, and it took all my friends’ patience to wait for that moment to arrive, but in the end the battle against deafness and depression was won and new energy finally became available.
So I decided to rebuild GALACTICA, to put this desperate and dark period behind me, to turn this page of life and start writing a new one. Here too, the work was extensive and very demanding: there was cleaning to do, things to discard and throw away if they had deteriorated or were no longer needed, walls to put back in order, acoustic lining to remove and replace. Just seeing how badly it had been reduced broke my heart, and I got angry with myself for allowing that decay, but I had no choice — I had no strength, and no reasons, either.
Then, after the darkness, the light returned. As with all things in life, there is always the possibility of reaching a goal, of having a purpose, and mine has always been to be able to play again — it doesn’t matter where or how, what matters is doing it with the people you love and who share and understand the way you are, and the Ross54 are those people.
When I first created GALACTICA, I did not pay much attention to environmental comfort: there were dark panels on the walls and ceiling that did their job, fairly cold white lights and not much brightness — just enough to get the work done.
This time, no. Maybe it was my personal change, maybe it was something else — I don’t know — but I decided to create a much more comfortable environment, more suited to encouraging a creative process, and at the same time more functional, with spaces better organized and managed. From a dark soundproof cellar to a bright, sunny, comfortable environment where we can not only play but also spend time together. Of course, everything is arranged around music, but that does not stop us from sitting down and talking, perhaps over a drink.
I created colored, relaxing lighting, and I will improve it in the near future. Colors not only have the ability to relax and soothe, but also help creativity. I won’t go on and on about the study of light frequencies; let’s just say they are useful not only for creating the atmosphere but also for helping us think.
