The nature of a long-running project like Jon DeRosa’s Aarktica (in existence for over 25 years) is such that most listeners of the new Ecstatic Lightsongs are likely to be those who’ve been following his work for some time now. It’s the eternal struggle of the long-term working artist, but in this case also offers a lovely silver lining; those same listeners are the ones most likely to both notice and appreciate what makes this record stand out from the many ambient classics released under the Aarktica name (as opposed to his other endeavours). For one thing, here DeRosa’s vocals take center stage on nearly every track as opposed to just a few; but what might be even more striking to long-term fans can be summed up in one word. Drums.

My first single of the year is a song I wrote and produced with Flea! Follow the #BandCamp link to buy a digital download and read the lyrics, which has always been my favorite part of deep-diving into a song.

You can also stream and add it to your playlists here:

i know you come with a lot of baggage.

so what?

let me help you carry it.

with everything you’ve created for others

in this lifetime,

couldn’t you write a better story for yourself

than the one that currently ends

with everything going horribly wrong?

i can see that you’re still punishing yourself

for what happened all those years ago.

enough.

let it go.

you deserve happiness.

you deserve love.

i want to give you both.

i want to get close

and grow closer

and be the one who 

gets through to you.

i said i didn’t want anything from you

and that’s not true at all.

i want everything from you.

i want all of it.

the baggage, the love, the mess,

the closeness, the happiness,

the fear of what could go wrong

and the hopefulness that everything

will go right.

please let me in

so that we can let go

together, naked and intimate,

strong and vulnerable.

i will not leave you for another.

i will be faithful and caring

and fall more deeply for you

with each passing day.

could you do the same for me?

and when we feel the distance,

let’s not be silent or avoidant.

i will create a safe space

for us to have an honest dialogue

because i know how hard it is for you

to do that of your own volition.

i will resist the survival instinct to mirror you

and will instead hold my own energy

and be my own person

even at the risk of turning you off.

i am crazy about you

and won’t give up on us

because there’s no one else

for you but me

and me for you.

how soon 

is too soon

to say

i love you?

my april fool,

come what may

through june gloom

and beyond the fourth of july,

pencil me in

with permanent marker

to be your valentine

"Diminuendo" is in The Tale of Thomas Burberry. It’s also been featured in a promo for XBOX Greatest Games and TV shows such as Guilt and The Originals. I originally wrote this song with composer Dan Heath for his EP under the artist name “Lawless.” I recommend listening to anything and everything touched by his magic.

(As of 2023, the original video has been removed from YouTube by Burberry. It amassed 15 million views! This one is courtesy of Fashion Film Festival.)