Atmosphere: Re-ignition Sequence

Cairo Croon

aka Justin Nunn

Atmosphere: Re-ignition Sequence is a five-song reimagining of the original album, “Atmosphere” that I released in 2021.

While the original album finds solace and content in death and in the afterlife, Re-ignition Sequence takes a hopeful look toward the future. There is an implication that the work of reconstruction and sustainability is brutal and will require everything we have - our very lives - but will ultimately lead to a better world for our children.

The songwriting borrows from the Bible - with references to Sodom and Gomorrah and St. Peter. Other tracks like Collide examine how our terrestrial bodies can behave like celestial ones.

The centerpiece of Re-ignition Sequence, Casanova, is where all the concepts of the album - love, loss, queerness, revolution, death and fear, merge into a fluffy and contemplative 3 minute track with an accompanying visual.

In Re-ignition Sequence, I watch the world end as a result of a hole in the ozone layer, and I contend with what that loss could mean for me. In that loss, I find love - a love that is passionate if not a little naïve. My partner and I become intertwined, but never lose sight of what’s at stake. Our love grows to be a kind of stabilizer and it becomes what inspires me to survive. Although love could not keep me or my partner alive, it does become the thing which inspires change - in myself first and then in my children.

As listeners move through this re-sequenced album, I offer “considerations” to guide the listening experience.

Production: Cairo Croon (Other Side), Dupre (Mama, Collide, Casanova).

Featured visual by Pasquale Angerame.

OTHER SIDE (SLOW BURN)

Consider - The other side of what? Revolution? Life?

Verse 1

Be still, lover.

Your shortness of breath isn’t lost on me.

Tranquil lover,

Tell St. Peter to hold the gate for me.

Are you aware

That I’ll see you there,

Just as soon as my work here is done?

I know you’re scared.

Hold my hand.

I will be with you

By the Other Side.

Verse 2

Tell me, lover,

What do you think life there will be?

Peaceful cover?

Escape from the darkness we’ve held so deep?

Free of care.

Love repaired.

The end of pain as we know.

Your hands thru my hair.

There’ll be fresh air.

Be first to show me

On the Other Side.

Verse 3

Hear me, lover.

Our love is so strong that the gap can be breached.

Distance covered.

No plane of existence that we can’t reach.

You’ll lead the way.

I’ll follow your pace.

We’ll stand together in the sun.

Until that day,

Save my space.

I will be with you

By the Other Side

By the Other Side.

MAMA (SLOW BURN)

Consider - What, and who, are we afraid of losing?

I'm sorry, Mama
But sorry comes too late
You tried to make
Me change my ways
But pride got in the way

I'm sorry, Mama
I'm begging you to stay
Don't fade away
I've made mistakes
In, oh, so many ways

And I know words escaped
All the love that you gave
I let it go to waste
Now I have words to give
And leave you with:
It was hard to say what you meant to me back then

COLLIDE

Consider - What are we willing to sacrifice, or even destroy, to see the other side?

Chorus

We twirl like we’re in orbit.

Your world and my world comes crashing towards the end.

I’m built for your enjoyment.

Destroy me. Destroy.

I’m ready for it.

Verse 2

Frozen in place, feel the temperature rising.

On a new plane, ‘cause you got me so high.

Crashin’ might lead us to dying,

But I like the way we Collide.

Verse 1

I seen your face from across the horizon,

Beauty and pain inside your eyes.

Gravity pulled me beside you,

And I like the way we Collide.

Pre-chorus

We’ll be the first and the last.

A passion so strong it exists out of time.

Relics of future and past.

They’ll tell our story years down the line.

Hook

Now be kind to me, love.

Be gentle to touch.

Be soft when we talk,

And rough when we fuck.

Be kind to me, love.

Be gentle to touch.

Be soft when talk,

And rough when we fuck.

CASANOVA

(VISUAL)

Consider - How does love change us? What does love offer us amidst change? What is the function of love in the revolution?

SPIRIT SURVIVE

Consider - What is the revolution worth to us? What will it bring to fruition if we work in symbiosis with our planet?

Refrain:

Ashes for soil

Dead plants for new life

Body for spirit

Let spirit survive

I buried my loved one next to a wilted willow tree,

Worried that his love and his rage would go to waste.

I planted a seed and watered it with what remained of me:

Body, blood, breath, bone, brain.

I prayed that I might see the freedom of which he spoke one day.

Refrain

Aloe vera crawled from hollowed husks and sunken skulls in the dirt.

The vines reclaimed their residence and scraped the sky.

Flora and fauna from fire and brimstone.

In the wind, a whisper of new life.

Refrain

My body gives out as I write this, the only strength I have left is in my hands.

The children work with the earth, reclaiming for it whatever it demands.

They know I’ve given all I could.

They know they’ll give more than I did.

Refrain

Cairo Croon

aka Justin Nunn

I'm a storyteller at heart. Writing music started as a way to express and process my grief. I was in a dark place and needed a way out, and songwriting provided a rope in the well. Now, I write music as a way to examine myself and the world around me. As I’ve done small performances in the U.S., I’ve noticed how my music can connect with other people. They don’t have to know, nor do they have to be a fan of me as an artist or a person. There’s a sincerity in my work that is felt through the lyrics and through my voice. They understand the music, and in that moment I feel like they understand me.

Songs tend to start small - a random line in the Notes App or mumbling of melody in the Voice Memos. I give myself space to leave the writing where it is and come back to it later. The inspiration will hit when the time is right. Usually, the instrumental - the music itself - is what brings the writing to the next level. From there, I might start in the middle of the song, with the second verse, or with the bridge. The first sample ends up being the foundation for the rest of the track - lyrically and thematically.

My biggest inspiration is Frank Ocean. The way he can blend his real life experience with fictional tales, film and television, and religious iconography fascinates me. Frank is also an artist who refuses to be defined by any one genre, and has carved a lane for himself. Because of this, my music has always been a blend of different genres - fusing pop song structure and melodies with R&B-style vocals and lo-fi hip-hop instrumentation. I don’t ever want to sound like anybody else, although I’m sure that's unavoidable to some extent. My music is something that I can stand behind, because the lyrics are honest and I know that I took the time to present the best product.