Spotlight: Diving Into an Amalgamation of Collaborative Sound, Gio Yaquinto Talks ‘Origins of the Heart’ & More
☆ By Frankie Tameron ☆
CRAFTING FROM A NEW INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SPACE — Gio Yaquinto released his first EP, Origins of the Heart, as a teaser to the world of the sound he is capable of. While 2020 was the year that the world transitioned from having everyday face-to-face connections to plugging in a Zoom Meeting ID just for a few minutes to say hello, 2020 was also a year of transition for Yaquinto. Origins of the Heart morphed from a series of individual tracks into a five-song album that holds pieces of Yaquinto within the chords. Partnering with various Atlanta musicians, he produced an album that wasn’t just full of plastic drums, but of humble beginnings.
As Yaquinto was previously immersed in the world of opera, indie rock is still a new scene to him. Previously performing in places such as the Czech Republic, Austria, and France, there he learned how to put on somebody else’s mask. “Being in the recording studio was scary,” he said. “I felt a lot of fear associated with making mistakes.” On the other side of the Zoom screen, Yaquinto presents a clean and polished look in the morning sun, contrast to the anxious picture of himself he paints for us here. “The symphony taught me how to sing someone else’s work — every move was calculated, and I knew what I was doing every time I was on stage. In the recording studio, if I made one mistake on the track, that’s how it was going to sound for the rest of time.”
Organically writing and playing his own music while sitting in a room with a bunch of musicians is what ultimately brought Yaquinto back into the indie rock world. “Being in the opera world, I was creating a singular performance. Writing my own music, I am creating something that lives past me.” Each track was released by season. “Sunflower,” released during summer, is reminiscent of those short-lived love stories that we look back on and smile about, just a little bit. “Lavender Love,” released in the fall, offers a mature look at love while juxtaposed with the whimsical nature of previous tracks.
The last track on the EP, “Your Only Son,” was released in November of 2020, a year after his father’s passing. Within this six minute song, we get a glimpse of Yaquinto without his mask on. “My father was a Grammy-nominated producer, but he lived a very challenged life,” he explained. “He dealt with addiction and a lot of ego problems, and lived the rockstar lifestyle his entire life, never truly being a responsible adult. When I was young, I knew I wanted to be a musician, but I had a desire to be a legitimate musician. I wanted something left to fall back on. When I went to school for music, they taught me how to be a professional singer at 18.”
While Yaquinto is still admittedly finding his own sound, he is in good company. He is most proud that Origins of the Heart has so many musicians touching the tracks: “My favorite part of making music is letting other musicians put their thumbprint on the songs.” He went on to explain, “Atlanta has a large wealth of really incredible Black musicians. I am playing with a lot of guys who were influenced by the church. Learning to play music this way allowed musicians to learn the blues, funk and soul. These genres are all a little heavier than my sound, so I am starting to do more funk and soul. I am around a lot of people who are making grittier music than I am.”
Yaquinto hopes that his polished sound — coupled with these new rhythmic ones — is going to be a fresh path for him in the new year. Along with recording and mastering two new songs, he is touring Atlanta with his band Edgewood Heavy and continuing Gio’s Stream Shows, a bi-weekly live-stream-podcast hybrid that was the brainchild of quarantine. The show features a rotating cast of Atlanta musicians and gives listeners an intimate look into their favorite artists. With the continuation of this show and the promising outlook of Yaquinto’s new music, 2021 looks to be a bright year for the artist.
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