Marc Scibilia’s newest album released today Seed of Joy is like a whisper of hope in an empty room of darkness.
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With stripped-down guitars and shadowy vocals, Scibilia gently tugs at the heart and touches on emotions which are both specific to his own personal hardships but universal enough to encourage any lost soul.
Where there is silence, Scibilia brings music, where there is loneliness, Scibilia provides lyrical comfort, where there is cold, Scibilia shares an album which wraps up the listeners in a blanket of warm hopeful notions.
While this year has been hard on everyone, Scibilia has also had to grapple with the joy of welcoming his daughter into the world while simultaneously grieving over the loss of his father.
“When I was younger, pain was outside my house, I would invite it in, maybe to write about it, to benefit from its company. The older I get the more pain takes residence inside my house. It does as it pleases,” he says. “I found firsthand through making this album, the medicine music can be, when you can’t make the pain just go away. I had struggles, of course, before this past year, but when my father was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, that was a different type of thing. That was way more personal.”
Raising a child amidst so much grief, Scibilia was challenged to stay afloat of such emotional turmoil and turn his pain into something productive. This plus the amplitude of free time afforded from quarantine became a catalyst for Seed of Joy.
“Quarantine was great for my creativity. Honestly, when I’m not touring I don’t really like leaving my house. I just got in the zone, long work days, no interruptions. It was pretty fun. I was also building a new studio while I was making the album and I decided I would not use the new studio until the album was done, so it was good motivation to not overthink,” he explains.
Despite not being able to tour in-person, Scibilia didn’t let that stop him from connecting virtually with his fan base.
“I love being in the studio, so to capture performances in a place that actually sounds good to me is kind of a dream. I’ve been doing a lot of these streaming shows in the new studio as well, so that is pretty cool to have this space to work in. It sounds incredible here.”
While it’s incredible that he has the ability to continue performing, Scibilia admits that playing the deeply personal tracks off his new album hasn’t been an easy feat for him.
“It wasn’t as hard to be in the studio recording these songs as I thought it would be but since I have been playing them live on streams and whatnot it has really been pretty raw. The experiences tied to the writing of these songs it’s still such a live wire. It feels good to be honest but it is pretty tough.”
His honest songwriting is reminiscent of something like Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell in terms of lyrical rawness. Scibilia’s album is effortless in the way that he lets his lyrics ebb and flow symbiotically with the production. He admits this correlation is both intentional and authentic.
“My music is somewhat organic in its creation and really centers around the songs. I like the productions to be able to be almost anything because the songs are strong enough.”
Prioritizing good songs above all means fans are able to use his album as their own personal seed of joy during tumultuous times, just as the creation of the album was a seed of joy for Scibilia. In the same vein, he hopes the album will resonate with listeners in a deep and meaningful way just as the idea of a seed did for him.
“I think a seed is a small thing, it visually has no relation to what it will grow into. A seed feels like nature’s representation of hope. I needed that last year, I had little things I could hang onto but for the most part there was an imminent negative outcome in my near future with my dad’s terminal brain cancer diagnosis. I needed the seed, I needed hope,” he says.
“I hope this album is medicine for people who may be living with pain, that it let’s them know someone else walked and is walking that path.”
Check out Seed of Joy on all major streaming platforms today.
