When I picked up a guitar for the first time, almost two decades ago, I had no idea what beautiful, wonderful journey was waiting for me. I thought I was just going to learn some Metallica solos and be a cool boi.

Things went very differently. I started listening to new artists, making new connections at the academy of fine arts… And, eventually, I ended up writing my own music as “Caelestis”. I made a couple of instrumental EPs but, eventually, that stopped being enough. My guitar needed a voice.

Little did I know that the voice I was looking for was hiding in my same town, on my same street. When I heard that Vera, my brother's friend, was singing in a rock/metal cover band, I invited her to my home studio so we could rehearse a song I was writing and see if anything clicked.

The chemistry between our creative and spiritual worlds was so strong, that it almost immediately became apparent that finding each other in this world was just the first step of something deep and beautiful. The song was made. And then we made an EP, and then another one, meeting all kinds of people along the way. Playing live shows. Building unforgettable memories. Caelestis had become a band.

Fast-forward five years, it was 2016, and Vera and I wrote together what ended up being our most popular original single: “Agape”.

It's now been 10 years. Shooting the video for the original "Agape" is a special and irreplaceable memory that will forever live in my heart. 🌱

Framed by this natural paradise within the heart of the Campania region in Italy, my late father and I storyboarded and co-directed a narrative that gave equal space to Vera, myself, and the beautiful surroundings, which we had tied to the concept of "Agape". A love so great that it projects itself out of one's mere body, to vibrate together with the elements, and to ultimately reach the souls of others, while not wanting anything in return.

That would be enough to make that experience unforgettable. But, looking at it now, almost 10 years later, it became apparent that this memory is a snapshot of a time that is forever gone, and that can never come back. We were more naive, but also more bold. Maybe a tad bit pretentious? But extremely genuine. We had different lives, different friends. We even spoke in a different way.

The album art was put together by yours truly, with the intention to re-tell the story hidden within the lyrics of the song. A lost soul, feeling small and directionless in a boundless desert, as a symbol of a life without meaning or truth. It is only through meaningless human interaction that a tiny and stray soul can become a giant of light; for one can spend a century looking for the truth within, only to discover it in someone else, maybe in plain sight. As the hand of this ascended being reaches for the light, it's surrounded by flowers in the shades of orange and pink, as a nod to Buddhism and the chakras.

May this piece of our hearts reach the most genuine and bright depths of yours.

"Taiga" takes the form of a frosty, instrumental soundscape, heavily inspired by medieval Northern Europe. With its minimalist but impactful orchestration, "Taiga" offers listeners a soundtrack-like auditory experience that pays homage to the likes of Andreas Kübler, Joe Hisaishi and Nobuo Uematsu.

Crafted with great attention to detail, the song is a token of Cataldo Cappiello's fascination for the Studio Ghibli productions, the main inspiration behind Cataldo's latest works. The mixing and mastering, brilliantly executed by Don't Stop Studio, deliver every nuance of the composition with clarity and power.

In a world plagued by pain and greed, music serves as both a refuge and an epiphany, and "Taiga" stands as a testament to the power of sound to bring a message of love and beauty where words inevitably fail.