UPDATES
January 20th, 2024
Hello everyone!
It’s been a two years since I last wrote an update for this website. I’m proud and happy to share that I finally took time to update the template and layout of the website. I’m also grateful to share that I received my first grant from Holler Fund, which I am using to promote Cada Vez.
Even though I haven’t shared any updates here, I’ve been working. The work, as usual, includes wearing many hats: writing songs, recording and releasing them, doing press for them, editing videos for marketing purposes, and collaborating with friends. In 2023, I released 6 singles. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to them, please do! They have a pop-centric and vocal forward blend of genres I’ve always loved. I’ve always loved singing, but my love, learning, and dedication to singing and writing lyrics to songs keeps growing.
I also had the pleasure of challenging my music reading and bass abilities playing for HAIR last year. Musical theater is such a fun time because I get to work with others and support actors and singers with whatever the scene needs. Next up, I’ll be playing bass for Passing Strange. I’m so excited!
I’m keeping my musical practice on keys, bass, and guitars and cannot wait to share what I’ve been working on~
Thank you for supporting me. I appreciate you. The work continues!
With love,
Pierre.
December 1st, 2022
This has been a good year for creativity. I’ve been lucky to perform as a bassist twice for Portland Center Stage twice - for Hedwig and The Angry Inch and for tick, tick… BOOM! Both times on stage. Such a fun time! Musical theater has pushed me to be better about music theory and reading music, and I’m very grateful for those learning outcomes.
This year has had its highs and lows, and the lows have had me sitting on a couch and using crutches for 5 weeks. Since August 2021, I’ve been on crutches for 10 weeks for ankle and knee related injuries. I’ve been taking care of recovering and I’m happy to say that I’m feeling confident and strong enough to play basketball, dance, and bike.
My upcoming EP is coming together a bit slower than anticipated, but I’m at peace with it. Its 4 songs total. One is mixed and mastered. Another is missing vocals for a section and possibly a new guitar for the same section. The other two songs are missing arrangements, studio time with the musicians who will breathe magic to it all, and some vocal work on my part. The hardest song is done, so that’s awesome. Counting my wins. I hope to have that released by February or March 2023.
I’m really excited about creative songwriting outside of my solo project. With Caribe Norwé, we’ve released Nine Days. We’ll be releasing “Longing” in the near future, as well as another song with three amazing local artists. Exciting stuff!
Besides that, I can tell you I’ve gotten really into basketball (NBA, learning the game, and being a better player myself), Ableton Live 11 (thanks Aaron Ransley), and my new OP-1. Working with other artists has me using more samples and using less of my instruments and recording knowledge. It feels more like puzzle piece finding and puzzle solving than arranging, which is a fun new perspective to bring into songwriting.
Either way, not much has changed. Change remains constant and I’m embracing it - in relation to how I use my energy and time (when , for whom, and for what) and what the final product looks/sounds like. Excited for the future!
Thank you for reading these updates and for supporting me with your time and energy.
Love,
Pierre.
P.S. I’m still cuddling a whole lot with my feline princess, Moira. She’s the best.
March 29th, 2022
In the beginning of this year, all my energy and focus was dedicated to learning and performing for Portland Center Stage’s remount of Hedwig and The Angry Inch. I played the role of Jacek, which involved playing bass and singing backup harmonies on stage. Musical theater was a ton of fun! It was my first experience in theater, and I can’t wait to continue that journey.
The show ended on March 6th, and since then I’ve shifted focus to two songs I’ve had mastered since last year. One is Dame Todo, which will be released on April 22nd, 2022. Another one is titled My Mind, and I hope to release it around May 22nd, 2022. I love both of these songs a lot and have got marketing plans for both of them. I hope you enjoy them!
Last year, I spent a lot of time and energy on Caribe Norwé, a project where I co-produce. We have released our debut single, Drive With Me, which was on rotation on two Dominican radio stations from December 2021 until March 2022.
We have two songs currently being mastered, one being mixed, and one that needs one or two more productions sessions before going to mixing stage. These will all be released by EOY.
In relation to future solo works mentioned in my previous post: I have a name, an imagined cover art, lyrics, and a good idea of what the songs in the EP will sound like (arrangement, vocal melodies and harmonies, track listing). I hope to spend 16-20 hours in the studio to get these recorded before end of August. More to come on that.
I cannot wait for you to see what all of these songs are about!
My heart and my brain are both in a very good place. I hope yours are as well.
With love,
Pierre
January 31st, 2022
What a year 2021 was! I released You Said, Lecciones and a song called Drive With Me as a co-writer and co-producer for a project called Caribe Norwé.
I have two more songs that I need to release for this solo project, as well as three other songs via Caribe Norwé.
I still have an EP with 4 songs that are currently sitting in demo stage with a clear direction of where they need to go once they reach production sessions, and I’m excited to complete and share those with you.
2021 had me dedicating a lot of energy and time dedicated to Caribe Norwé, while 2022 has me playing bass for Hedwig and The Angry Inch. I’ll be performing on stage until March 6th, and will then shift focus to production. Theater is really fun!
I hope to release two songs while I’m working for the theater, so please stay tuned. As always, I really appreciate your support. Looking forward to the future!
September 2nd, 2020
My newest album, Jarineo is out and available via Anima Recordings in cassette and CD formats. The singles got some attention, which was pleasing to see. This has been a year not many expected. Music keeps me going on a daily basis, and I’m writing some new songs I’d like to share in the future. There’s a single coming out before end of year. Maybe an EP in the next six months? We’ll see. For now, I want to share a little about what folks had to say regarding the singles from Jarineo (Flying Again; En Casa; Psychotherapy). I’ve also linked the articles below:
“There is no singular style that exclusively defines the music of this album; Pierre steered his ship into a staggering array of genres and lyrical topics and alluringly alchemized them into a light and airy experience. Each song brings a frisson of surprise through its ambient passages, soothing piano textures, endearing indie-folk rhythms, or sporadic mesmerizing post-rock moods.”
- New Noise Magazine
“Psychotherapy feels like a dream in which you find yourself reconnecting with parts of your brain that you may have neglected previously. “
- Independent Music News
"Jarineo will open that third eye of yours to start the healing process for yourself so you can help pass along that serenity the world is so currently desperate for. It’s an album that truly captures the spirit of fervent peacefulness."
- BTR Today
I hope you’re able to stay sane, positive and motivated through these difficult times.
Thank you for your support.
March 25th, 2020
My upcoming album, Jarineo, is now mastered by Eric Leavell (Husk Recording). We are so excited and proud about the end product, and I cannot wait to share it with you all. I’m currently working with Dylan Garrett Smith on art work for cassettes and CD’s, and love the direction he’s going with it.
Lastly, Jarineo will be released by Anima Recordings, an independent record label founded by David Fylstra. David is a friend and talented human who plays drums in Flood Peak, a band where I play bass, and does it all for his project called Folian. If your time is limited, I’d definitely recommend listening Ache Pillars and Blue Mirror - I absolutely love these.
There will be three single releases before Jarineo is released, and I’m hoping to share snippets of it on Instagram. Last but not least, there is a song that we did not include in the album, but will be released on its own. I haven’t decided when exactly, but I know it’ll be digital only. Dylan is also working on the art for that.
I’m making sure to use this time at home during COVID-19 to write new music and stay engaged with creative projects. Very excited about where these drafts will take me and the folks I’m collaborating with. More to come on that later this year. Please take care of yourselves and practice social distancing as much as possible. Please stay inside and stay safe!
July 12th - August 21st, 2019
I’m currently working on recording 22 songs with Eric Leavell (Husk Recording). I met him while recording 6 songs for Flood Peak, a sludge band where I play bass with two other talented humans. If you like heavy music, give us a listen and come to a show. Our energy on stage is worth it!
Anyway, I immediately felt very comfortable with Eric’s work process, communication, collaboration and creativity, so I asked if he’d be interested in working with me. I had about 60 songs that had no conceptual connection, so I had to narrow down and select a group that made sense together. More importantly, I needed to be realistic about narrowing the number of songs so we could actually finish the work.
I was able to send 28 songs to Eric, and he narrowed those down further to 22. So far, we’ve had 4 recording sessions, and we have about 11 songs with bed tracks completed. We have 11 more to go. I’m feeling very good about my approach for this next release. Collaborating with Eric has allowed me to spend less time doubting my decisions. It’s allowed me to let someone else take care of the technical decisions, while I focus on performance, instrumentation, and improvisation.
If you’ve listened to my first releases, you know I’m all about improvisation and not overthinking it. However, Niño was not like that. At all. I don’t want to share the name of this next release yet, but I can share that I’m hoping to do this release thing a bit better. I want to work with folks on a couple of videos for multiple singles, and I want to ensure I play more shows.
At this time, I’ve got 2 shows confirmed, and 2 shows waiting confirmation. I’ll be playing old songs and new songs, and I’m hoping you can join me. My sets are different from recorded versions, so the experience is well worth it. As usual, I’m very interested in your feedback - what you feel and think; the songs you enjoy the most, and the songs you could do without.
I really hope you enjoy the stuff I’m working on. I’m particularly excited about the songs where I’m singing (about 5 or 6), since I’ve been too self-conscious about my voice in the past. Getting to enjoy and love my voice has been a beautiful process. Writing about
Thank you for reading this, and thank you for your support. I’ll write here as I reach milestones.
Reviews for Niño’s single: Moraleja
Moraleja, the single from Niño (EP), was released on November 16th, 2018. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and I am thankful to everyone who took time to listen, write, and support my work. It means a lot, and does go unnoticed. Read more below!
HighClouds was the first webzine to show interest and excitement about Moraleja. HighClouds also reposted Moraleja via SoundCloud. Below is what they wrote, as well as a link to their website.
“The brains behind Juracán, Pierre Carbuccia is a Puertorrican multi-instrumentalist who grew up in the Dominican Republic and now resides in Portland, one of the world’s alternative rock capitals. Carbuccia is now releasing Niño and he’s putting out “Moraleja” as lead single. Meaning “moral” in Spanish, the song’s title conjures up a clever game with its lyrics: “¿Cuándo va a ser que vamo’ a entende’ / que nadie tiene la respuesta a nada?” (When are we ever gonna learn / that nobody has an answer). The only song with lyrics in his latest release, “Moraleja” encourages the listener to search answer from within rather than looking for them elsewhere.
Though Juracán’s lyrics are worth musing over, it is at coming up with dreamy instrumentals that he truly shines. In fact, by the end of the song his vocal tracks are so intermingled with each other that it’s hard to make out what he’s singing. It’s a nice little touch to a song whose vocals end up mirroring its instrumental, as the true backbone of “Moraleja” is its interplay between the several guitar lines playing behind Carbuccia’s vocals. Carbuccia might be the only person behind Juracán and a guy with longish hair who plays guitar, but he’s hardly the singer-songwriter type. Ethereal and introspective, “Moraleja” is a song that has been dreamed up rather than written.”
Remezcla (via Richard Villegas) added Moraleja to their Songs of the Week segment, and added it to his Spotify playlist for a while. Below is what he had to say, plus the link to the article.
“Channeling the solemn stillness of Simon and Garfunkel and refracting it through the prism of Caribbean folklore, Juracán’s “Moraleja” is a delicate statement from the Dominican-Puerto Rican songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. “Moraleja” is the lead single off his forthcoming debut EP Niño, which presents the listener with a tremulous glimpse into Juracán’s world of atmospheric storytelling.”
NPR’s Alt.Latino (Felix Contreras) listed Moraleja as one of his favorite Latin songs on November 21st, 2018. He also wrote about Helado Negro, Draco Rosa, René López y J Balvin on the same article. He also played our songs on his Podcast episode on November 22nd.
“Pierre Carbuccia is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Dominican Republic. Once he absorbed the local lingo of Afro Caribbean music, he explored rock and other forms. Now, under the artistic name of Juracán he produces the kind of electronic/acoustic mash-up that will probably live at the top of my playlist for a while. "Moraleja" is just the tip of the iceberg of Niño, an entire album due out in early December.
How I didn't know about him before, I'll never know. But I'm glad I do now.”
The Deli (Portland) had encouraging words to share, and even nominated Juracán as Emerging Artist of the Month! Extremely honored about the nomination, and excited about the exposure it could bring to Niño (EP). Below is what they wrote:
“Juracán, the newest project from Pierre Carbuccia, has his debut album Niño coming out December 7th. Together with High Clouds, the single “Moraleja” was released November 16th. The song is oddly evocative of the small, lazy clouds you come across on a sad plane ride home. Carbuccia’s voice is layered with a tenderness born from a place of pain and healing. He cites bolero and merengue as inspirations behind his soundscape. Together, the styles produce a calming, but still infectious, rhythm. It’s a complicated, nuanced song that speaks well of the work Carbuccia has put into this album.”
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to listen, write, and support my work.