by Luna Blanc
Le’ts start in the middle. Many years after both Josh and I, separately, had had music running through our veins and had already been the air we breathe. Although, mine in the form of a dream and Josh’s as his reality.
Let’s start in the middle. In a retail store in the big and unknown county of Fairfax, in northern Virginia, where Luna and Josh met.
Listen to the album while reading the text.
First Encounter
I, Luna, remember pacing outside the entrance of a big retail store where I had an interview scheduled to start in 15 minutes, going over my lines, my experience. It was so early in the morning, all the other stores in the mall were dark, and all the mannequins were staring out their windows, waiting. As I walked in, I saw one person standing behind a counter. As soon as he looked up at me, I forgot about everything. I forgot why I was there, what my lines were, nothing else mattered other than his eyes, his long black hair, his tattoos, his smile, and then suddenly, his voice. And with his voice, I could barely find mine. And phew, was he hot.
“Hi! how can I help you?”, Josh said, with that amazing, warm smile of his. Dear god, please don’t be my interviewer, because I am going to melt into the chair, I thought.
“I am here for an interview” I blurted out.
A Blurred Job Interview
He directed me towards the end of the store, where the manager was, and with a sigh of relief and a bit of disappointment, I walked away from him and towards the back.
Yes, I aced the interview, but the whole thing was a blur. A blur, because all I kept thinking about was the good-looking guy at the front of the store. I made sure to walk out the same way from where I came from, so I could see him one more time.
“What’s your name?” Josh said as he saw me walking by.
“Luna” I shyly said. You’re supposed to ask what is his name, you idiot, I thought to myself.
“I’m Josh. Nice meeting you. I hope you get the job” he said, with a smile, that killer smile.
I melted inside. “Thank you,” I said.
I walked out and called my friend, my dear friend who wouldn’t hear the end of it. THen I waited for a few days and spent days looking at my phone waiting for the call telling me I was hired. I must confess, that Josh became the main reason why I wanted the job after I met him. I was like a teenager with the biggest crush ever imagined. To me, it was more than that. It was a pure connection; I probably had met him before in a different life, I knew him (don’t worry, I am not crazy, you’ll learn that he felt the same way in a minute).
Hired!
They called: I was hired. I couldn’t contain myself; my heart was racing out of joy, something I had never felt before.
“I like your blue boots” were the first words out of Josh’s mouth on my first day.
After a few passing conversations, he mentioned that he used to make music for a living: Corrupt Souls, Drum n Bass, under the DJ name Impulse. I used my lunch break to google him. There he was. And there was his music. And then he turned into my hero, someone I looked up to, an inspiration, someone who had made a dream that I also had, come true. But, what happened?
Of Heroes and Heroin
So I asked. And, Josh, is the transparent, humble, honest human being that he is, answered: Heroin.
Josh started making music at a very young age, was discovered when he was 18-19 years old and started touring not too long after. He has been to almost all European countries, all over the US and was having the life of a star (he would never explain it like that, but to me, that is exactly what he was (and still is): a star.
After a while, that life became a little too intense, especially at such a young age, he was offered something that would make his life easier, at least to his eyes and whoever offered it. So he tried it. And then, he was hooked. He stopped showing up to his shows, started selling all his music/studio gear, all for the dope. For that high that takes all your life problems away, all the anxiety, all the worries, you’re just like a baby in a warm blanket.
So he stopped. He stopped his dream and his life as a musician. And after many long years of warm high and misery, he stopped that too. And started anew.
Music Is Everything
He told me he had felt that connection too, with me. He told me I gave him hope, and desire to do it again. Music.
Before he had met me, he had promised himself to never touch another synth again. Yet, once we moved in together (yes, I have skipped the part where we finally go out, and have our first kiss, and then tell each other “I love you”), he said he saw something in me, while I was playing with “Garage Band” on my phone, that inspired him to say “let’s get some synths”.
I mentioned at the beginning that I had music running through my veins since I was young, like Josh, and I had a dream. However, mine was about poetry and film. I always did have music in my head, and always wanted to learn how to make music. It was my source of inspiration for all my other arts. Music is everything.
I have learned everything I know thanks to Josh. To love deeply, and to make music, I understand music so well now. He is still my hero, and I am his muse. And so, S Y Z Y G Y X was born.