On Halloween in 2022, Angelo De Augustine experienced a sudden health crisis while at his home in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter recalled, \u201cI felt a wave of strange sensations and sensed that something was terribly wrong,\u201d adding, \u201cThen I lost control of my body.\u201d Fortunately, family members were present and quickly transported him to the hospital, where he underwent several grueling tests over the following days. \u201cUnfortunately, I was awake for most of it,\u201d he remarked wryly, \u201cbut I don\u2019t remember much, except that I struggled with my hearing, vision, and movement.\u201d Despite extensive evaluations, the medical team could not provide a definitive diagnosis and eventually sent him home, advising, \u201cReturn if you become completely deaf or blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feeling disoriented and partially incapacitated, De Augustine was determined to complete his album, Toil and Trouble, which he had been working on for the past year. \u201cI felt isolated and thought I might not survive this illness,\u201d he confessed. \u201cI was unable to perform even basic tasks, but I had invested so much effort into the album that I didn\u2019t want to leave it unfinished. I aimed to complete it, believing that I might not have much time left.\u201d<\/p>\n
This album was intended to be a continuation of his growing musical portfolio. Following his debut album, Spirals of Silence, released in 2014, De Augustine joined Sufjan Stevens\u2019 label, Asthmatic Kitty, for his 2017 release, Swim Inside the Moon. He later collaborated with Stevens on the well-received 2021 album, A Beginner\u2019s Mind. In 2023, his track Time, from the 2019 album Tomb, which features Stevens, gained significant attention when it was featured in Zach Braff\u2019s film A Good Person. Despite achieving over 31 million streams, De Augustine was too unwell to take advantage of the song’s newfound popularity. \u201cI had to completely overhaul my life,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Toil and Trouble was released in 2023. De Augustine reflected, \u201cI likely pushed myself too hard to create that album. I could barely lift anything.\u201d In the three years following his health scare, he has focused on recovery, relearning how to walk, talk, hear, play, and sing. These experiences have shaped his new album, Angel in Plainclothes, which offers profound and ethereal insights into the fleeting nature of life.<\/p>\n
Several tracks evoke the nostalgic charm of artists like Nick Drake and early Paul Simon. The enchanting Spirit of the Unknown contemplates the simple pleasures De Augustine feared he might lose forever, featuring lyrics such as, \u201cAll my life\u2019s a distant memory \/ Apples on the tree \/ The sun over the sea \/ Another melody.\u201d The lead single, Mirror Mirror, describes his struggle with self-perception, serving as a metaphor for his feelings during that challenging period. \u201cI felt like a ghost,\u201d he shared softly during a phone call from his studio, aptly named A Secret Place. \u201cYou observe everyone else living their lives, and it feels as if you don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently, he has come across emerging research that may shed light on his previous health issues. \u201cI\u2019m no doctor, but new studies are revealing more about how the central nervous system affects our bodily functions,\u201d he explained. \u201cChronic stress and fear can exceed the allostatic load\u2014the nervous system’s ability to self-regulate. In trying to protect itself, the brain can manifest various symptoms throughout the body. I felt as though my entire system was shutting down.\u201d When reflecting on the sources of his anxiety, he noted, \u201cThe music industry can be incredibly stressful, simply trying to survive in it. However, I never felt like I wasn’t meant for this\u2014it\u2019s all I know how to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Augustine grew up in a musical household, although his father, a drummer, left when he was five, leaving his mother, Wendy Fraser\u2014a professional singer known for her work on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack\u2014 to raise him alone. Initially, he aspired to be a professional soccer player, but injuries curtailed that dream, leading him to embrace music instead. \u201cMusic provided me with an outlet for expression that many people lack,\u201d he stated. \u201cI didn\u2019t take lessons or learn other artists\u2019 songs; I just began writing my own, which perhaps makes them unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his recovery, he moved back in with his mother, admitting, \u201cI couldn\u2019t even prepare meals for myself.\u201d His journey since then has been one of fits and starts: \u201cProgress has been a mix of stopping and starting, improving and regressing.\u201d A significant breakthrough came when he joined a local spa. \u201cI discovered that being in water alleviated my symptoms,\u201d he said, realizing just how stressed he had been. <\/p>\n
An essential part of his recovery involved enrolling in a daily regimen of physical and mental exercises, which initiated a \u201cslow but upward trend.\u201d He explained, \u201cIt helped me retrain the areas of my brain where connections had been disrupted. For a long time, playing guitar and singing felt foreign, but gradually, it began to return.\u201d Once he regained his abilities, he started writing new songs, beginning with Empty Shell, which opens the new album with the poignant question, \u201cWhere do you run when your life\u2019s on the line?\u201d<\/p>\n
Whenever he felt up to it, De Augustine began recording. While he had previously handled all aspects of his albums solo, his health necessitated collaboration with others this time. He enlisted the help of Kevin Morby\u2019s strings arranger, Oliver Hill; harpist Leng Bian; and Thomas Bartlett (also known as Doveman), who contributed piano. His mother also provided percussion for the album.<\/p>\n
Musician and producer Jonathan Wilson played drums and offered his expansive studio in Topanga Canyon for the track The Cure, which De Augustine described as drawing parallels between illness and addiction, an \u201coutside force that can exert significant influence over you.\u201d Wilson has since become a close friend. \u201cI often visited his studio during my rehabilitation,\u201d De Augustine noted. \u201cI was searching for nearby natural settings to aid my healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The album’s ethereal quality has been well-received, marking a significant step forward in De Augustine’s artistic journey as he continues to navigate the complexities of both his music and personal recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Halloween in 2022, Angelo De Augustine experienced a sudden health crisis while at his home in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter recalled, \u201cI felt a wave of strange sensations and sensed that something was terribly wrong,\u201d adding, \u201cThen I lost control of my body.\u201d Fortunately, family members were present and quickly transported him to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[631,1051,695,1050,194,1052,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-culture","category-uk-folk-music","category-uk-health","category-uk-indie","category-uk-music","category-uk-sufjan-stevens","category-uk"],"yoast_head":"\n