Slow Wave Sleep (SWS)‘s music catalog, along with its music videos and social media content, is rooted in a conceptual, fictional story. The songs allude to this narrative with varying degrees of explicitness. Each release serves as a chapter in this surreal saga, drawing inspiration from the extremities of reality and the dream world. Consequently, each piece of music is not just a part of the story but a dream in itself, with ideas manifesting as ethereal sensations and hazy recollections that I must periodically translate into music. The narrative would be more detailed if it were solely up to my volition.
The project’s name, inspired by the third stage of sleep, reflects a profound, restorative phase where vital functions are minimized, and the brain engages in slow-wave activity, which is less conducive to forming memorable dreams. It is during this phase that memories intertwine to craft dreams, with only a fraction of these being recalled during the REM phase before awakening.
About SWS
Slow Wave Sleep chronicles the journey of Spiro, a fictitious character who embodies Rèfles, an Archetype.
Rèfles, composed of human repressed emotions, roams in a singular direction as black plasma, accumulating into his liquid form. Over time, he has gained consciousness and resides in a parallel dimension with other Archetypes, communicating with humans solely through dreams and art.
The initial eight episodes unveiled certain aspects of the characters. In earlier works like the first three volumes of Hypnagogic, L’Ultimo Uomo, and Chroma, events unfolded erratically within the Archetype Empire—marked by time travel, interplanetary shifts, and inner-self adventures. However, with Spiro nell’Ecosistema, the narrative shifts to Planet Earth and adopts a linear progression.
About Rèfles
Imprisoned for amassing excessive emotional weight, Rèfles’ escape to Earth coincides with the internet age, which has exponentially increased repressed emotions. Fearing his growing power, the other Archetypes watch as Rèfles flees prison, inhabiting the body of Spiro, a solitary Rhine River fisherman. A thunderous strike marks the transference.
Rèfles’ earthly mission is to return emotions to humans, thereby earning his release from prison and restoring his original state. To accomplish this, Spiro marks individuals with three stripes using his black blood. His left side, akin to Rèfles, contrasts with his human half.
About Spiro’s duality
Spiro, always carrying a knife, uses it to access the black blood within his left hand. Yet, his human side is prone to explosive anger, quelled only by self-inflicted physical pain. He conceals this fury by biting his right palm, maintaining secrecy.
Initially spotted by hikers, Spiro performs nocturnal rituals undetected. After gaining their trust, they assist him in reaching Vemetown, where he faces abandonment and a hefty hotel bill. Isolated and disheartened, he spends a year attempting societal integration, often forgotten.
Nature walks offer respite, leading to an accidental discovery of Planet Vena—a blue-hued realm devoid of air, money, and death, populated by imaginary friends. Here, Spiro bridges realities aboard The Flying Dutchman, a spectral vessel soaring over Vemetown.
However, when a child glimpses the ship, rumors of a deranged foreigner force Spiro to flee to the Arctic. There, he endeavors to connect with humanity through the Rite of the Three Nails.
Rèfles’ fragment
Rèfles’ terrestrial sojourn remains incomplete. Leaving a fragment behind in prison, he monitors Spiro, poised to terminate him should he fail his mission. This fragment, manipulating the four elements, steals memories from deceased flora and fauna, analyzing their genetic makeup. Ultimately, it executes Spiro, heralding the rapid spread of cumulonimbus black clouds.
| albums |
Spare time in the Arctic (2022)
Spiro nell’Egosistema (2021)
Natura Morta (2020)
Spiro nell’Ecosistema (2020)
Chroma (2018)
L’Ultimo Uomo (2018)
| eps |
Nubifragio (2023)
um (2022)
Hypnagogic Vol.5 (2021)
Hypnagogic Vol.4 (2021)
Gilberto nell’Egosistema (2021)
Points (2021)
| music videos |
Preludio Numero Due (2020)
Garuda (interactive – 2020)
Fiore di Loto (2020)
Valzer Nero (live in the Studio, 2019)
Elogio della Follia (2018)
Ragnarök (2018)
Parresìa (2018)
| demos |
Congruence (2017)
Hypnagogic Vol.1 (2016)
Animal Instincts (2015)
KAI (2015)
| extra |
Spettro (book 2018)
Vena (VR game – 2017)
Sgamos vs Fates (short film – 2016)