They build and crescendo, and to me itвЂ™s like the aural equivalence of watching a sunrise. The loops that seem to make up the following Dismano rise gently from the short silence left after Apricity ends. The waves of sound lull the listener into a cocoon of security. And like any guitar jam, it transports the listener. I can feel my breathing slow, my heartbeat slow. ItвЂ™s hard not to listen to, and feel everything slow down along with it, which makes it a perfect opening number.

If youвЂ™ve ever listened to any super-slowed-down music on YouTube, youвЂ™ll know what I mean. The album begins with Apricity, which has a sound I find difficult to describe, but which sounds like a beautiful guitar solo slowed down to a ridiculous extent. ItвЂ™s a comfort zone that IвЂ™m happy to escape to, and have been doing so on a regular basis since I first listened to it. ItвЂ™s an album to lose oneself in, and in doing so, lose the anxiety and despondency that the so called вЂњnew normalвЂќ imposes on so many of us. A calm sense of detachment and escapism pervades the serene and contemplative sounds of this album. I canвЂ™t think of an equivalent phrase in the U.S.-maybe because being calm, an acceptance that others are human, that situations come up, and, as a result, things might not move as quickly as weвЂ™d like-arenвЂ™t things we particularly value or want to accept.ДЄs I go through my day and am stressed about little things I frequently tell myself вЂњcon calmaвЂќ and it reminds me to save the stress for things that really deserve it.Con Calma, Mohammed AsrafвЂ™s second release of the year in his guise as Pie Are Squared, is well named. After all, in Italy, everything stops to make sure that kids eat well. ItвЂ™s town вЂњcon calmaвЂќ in action for all concerned-the relaxed and understanding patrons, the husband and wife team, and the parents who make it all possible. вЂњPaolo gets one slice of salami pizza and one hot dog pizza, a bag of chips, and a Fanta.вЂќ Times about 30. The restaurant comes to a standstill for other patrons, who all stand around waiting for about 45 minutes while the staff of two completely focus on each order for the kids. So parents have organized this thing where a couple of them go to this restaurant with all the kidsвЂ™ requests for pizza-all custom made and assembled into labeled bags-which the volunteer parents then deliver back to the school a couple of hundred yards away.

But thereвЂ™s no school lunch available for the middle school students, and people seem to fear that they might go hungry, or have to eat something cold, in which case the world might end. Served by volunteer grandparents at long tables. The elementary school has a hot lunch provided, complete with three courses, china plates, and actual flatware. Wednesday is the long day at the townвЂ™s public schools, so the kids donвЂ™t get out in time to go home for lunch. The two could win the Olympic gold in pairs for вЂњcon calma.вЂќ ItвЂ™s always a comforting and calm experience eating there, even on Wednesday lunch during the school year. ThereвЂ™s the wife who serves and works the register, and the husband who cooks in the back. ThereвЂ™s a local restaurant that we love that serves squares of pizza from big sheets and little else. Meaning we get it, you are doing the best you can, it will all work out, breathe. The waiting crowd kept telling her вЂњcon calma.вЂќ With calm. There was a big crowd of hungry people waiting for their morning coffee and pastries, and only one woman working-her two co-workers hadnвЂ™t come into work that day. By a lot.ДЄ perfect example of вЂњcon calmaвЂќ was a morning when I was at a cafe near the beach on a small island. The phrase is very different from вЂњcalm downвЂќ in English, which, to me, has this slightly judgmental, and even a bit condescending quality, that hints that you are overreacting. One of my favorite Italian expressions is вЂњcon calma,вЂќ or вЂњcalmly.вЂќ I hear it used several times every day.

Con calma meaning