What would philosophical examination sound like?
Background
Guido Voza is an Italian producer, composer, and musician. He is such a believer in his music that he refused to send a photo to IMPOSE to feature in this article, as “at the center of everything, there is only the music, and nothing else.” Before Circle, the 14-track, sophomore album featured today, Maya was created and was the beginning of Voza’s solo venture.
Before Guido Voza’s solo outing, he worked with a handful of other groups, spanning the range from reggae to hard rock, although never culminating in anything long-lasting.
Voza describes Circle as:
“A film without images. A song with no chorus. A track with no length.”
At its core, Circle is a progressive rock album — drawn out from what Voza used to listen to as a child. Circle‘s inspiration was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche and the three metamorphoses of the spirit, found in his book, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” In this book, Nietzsche introduces a process of spiritual transformation that characterizes his vision of the flourishing life. The phases of spiritual metamorphosis are symbolically represented by the camel, the lion, and the child. Tim Rayner of “Philosophy For Change” summarizes:
“We become camels [taking on massive burdens of weight] when we take on the labor of philosophical thinking. Eager to prove ourselves capable of embracing the truth, we collect burdens, conquests, and scars. The camel asks: “What is heaviest … that I may take it upon me and rejoice in my strength” (Z, 54).
The camels are taxed by their burden, risking bitterness and despair. The camel must become a lion, or be ruined by their quest. It is always in the “loneliest desert [that] a second metamorphosis occurs, the spirit here becomes a lion; it wants to capture freedom and be lord in its own desert” (Z, 54).
The lion is the “king of the beasts,” and becomes a lion when the individual realizes that there is nothing to forbid them from creating their own values. In doing such, the lion encounters a dragon, which is Nietzsche’s image of societal norms. To transform, the lion must engage the dragon in mortal combat. Yet, there is no happiness in fighting dragons for eternity. To complete the three metamorphoses, the lion must become a child.
A child-like spirit is vital to happiness, health, and well-being. “The child”, Nietzsche says, “is innocence and forgetting, a new beginning, a sport, a self-propelling wheel, a Sacred Yes” (Z, 55). The lion becomes a child when the individual who says “I will” ceases to affirm their values contrary to the law of societal norms, and affirms them instead. Life is no longer a reactive struggle to defeat other forces, but a celebration of one’s potential, knowing the joy of life and the innocence of perpetual creation.”
Verdict
Circle is an ambient, self-regulatory, perhaps magnum opus (artist’s most important work). It is an answer to the existential — the constraints of simply being. Both a journey and a battle, it must be experienced as a whole; never fragmented into ‘favorite track this’ or ‘favorite track that’. Perhaps the only limitation of Circle and Guido Voza’s vision and creation, is the genuine depth of the meaning, and effort required to appreciate the scale of its significance.
Ultimately, with such brute strength and will required to take in the experience, Circle earns a 4.5/5. If only the value of the experience was quite as easy to share with your neighbor, it would be higher. But what is art, but a subjective experience, often under-recognized by others? Guido Voza is a compelling artist, and IMPOSE hopes to hear more from him.
Support
Circle is widely available online, being found on Amazon Music, as well as Spotify, Google Play Music, and even iTunes.
