From Las Vegas to N.Y.C., the Pop Artist and Singer/Songwriter Joey Miceli return with his fourth album, striking a chord close to the listener's heart with the ten tracks on "Serendipity."
With over half a million total streams on Spotify, over 100K on Apple Music and YouTube, Joey Miceli has been making his way around the industry since his first conceptual and gripping album release in 2016.
A powerful advocate for the body positive movement, Joey Miceli felt inspired to be the man he wanted to look up to as a boy, to spread a message that men don't have to look or act a certain way to be successful. Placing those emotions into his latest album, "Serendipity," lets dive right in.
Jumping into the album with the intro track, "Sunkissed," Joey Miceli opens the album with heightened ambiance through the modern Pop production and blissful orchestration. While his ghost vocals begin to haunt the background, Joey Miceli makes his vocal appearance and livens the foreground with the utmost reflection and emotion. As Joey Miceli begins to vocalize his many emotions that linger in his mind during the darkest of nights, we're genuinely feeling a sense of belonging through his poetic lyricism and heartfelt delivery. Perfectly opening the album with this emotional and gripping single, we love what Joey Miceli has delivered thus far.
Moving onto the second track, "Bad Dream," the piece opens with uplifting and airy synths while a groovy bassline heats the low-end. Fueling this track with a vast sense of modernity through the synthetic production that lies within the heart of Electro-Pop, we appreciate the versatility that Joey Miceli has portrayed merely within the album's first two tracks. Moving into the hook, we're met with a variety of powerhouse synths that make for an exhilarating experience, all while Joey Miceli sings his inspirational message of moving forward from the harsh realities we've endured and sought a brighter future to pull us in close with a warm embrace.
As we move into track number three, "Liar (feat. Santino Cardinale)," the track opens with more of a Lo-Fi blend of organic Hip-Hop and Pop through the production's natural vibrance that pushes mesmerizing keyboard melodies and a mid-tempo beat. While Joey Miceli begins singing his lyrics of wanting to escape the sadness and turmoil that a relationship seems to offer, he also comes through with a hint of spitefulness towards someone who doesn't seem to tell the truth. Santino Cardinale comes in and takes the track by storm with his warm vocals and rhythmic bars. We love the Hip-Hop influence that Santino Cardinale brought to this track, as it perfectly evens out the vibes that Joey Miceli has placed.
Moving into the ambiance that is the next track, "Saturn's Rings," we're met with a serene production arrangement that floats in the background with delicate synth patterns that meet Joey Miceli's warm vocals. We hear Joey Miceli sing more of a confident message on this tune, as he speaks of the love he knows he can provide. Listening to the production around the hook, the sonics completely switch into this heated and modern breakdown that gives us hints of the depths of Billie Eilish and her ominous vibes. This track has to be one of our favorites, as we hear a different side of Joey Miceli through the song's dynamic sonics.
Gracing our ears with a passionate ballad through the next tune, "Luna," the song begins with Joey Miceli's tender vocals and soothing background keys that remind us of a 2010 Owl City. Listening to the lyricism that Joey Miceli serenades us with, he sings a passionate message of seeking someone's love and wanting to dive deep into the otherworldly passion they have to offer. As we hear another side to Joey Miceli through this passionate and desirous piece, we're incredibly grateful to hear such an eager and heartfelt single that speaks on the beauty of proper love and the unique feeling it brings us when done right.
Another spectacular sonic arrangement opens the next piece, "The Martyr," as we hear a captivating synth pattern liven up the song while an uptempo kick pushes the song's energy to the max. As Joey Miceli begins singing another passionate and introspective message, he touches on themes of knowing his worth, which we highly appreciate hearing in artists, as their words have more influence on listeners than most think. The sonic production maintains its steady pace while pushing the fluttering keys to compliment the tender lyricism that Joey Miceli delivers. We always appreciate an empowering breakup tune, but Joey Miceli has truly made this song his own.
A heavily filtered and distorted vocal arrangement opens the seventh track, "Flicker," while Joey Miceli comes through with more of a Hip-Hop approach once again. As he begins delivering his lyricism through more of a rap style, he touches on the spiral that a past relationship has brought. We feel all the emotion, power, and distress that Joey Miceli sings of, not only through his vocals' natural emotion but the poetic and in-your-face lyricism that pulls us closer to relate. The sonics continue to spill this uplifting sense through its synthetic warmth that resides between the genres of Hip-Hop and Pop.
Reaching the next track, "R.E.M.," the piece begins with soothing background vocals and breathtaking pads that float in the background. As the organic electric guitar appears alongside the synthetic kick and accompanying drums, we're already feeling a sense of passion and genuineness through the introduction. We are absolutely head over heels for the empowering lyricism that Joey Miceli touches on through words like, "I'm starting to fit my own skin, nowhere finished, but at the beginning, I love feelin' the independence." The blend of sonic production and organic instrumentation is truly sublime, as we feel nothing but lifted after hearing such a positive piece.
As we move onto the second last piece of the album with "Beneath Me," the song opens with a downtempo production arrangement through warm keys, snappy drum patterns, and haunting background pads. As Joey Miceli pours his heartfelt vocals over the piece, he begins singing his poetic lyricism once again. Yet, this time around, instead of emphasizing his flaws and what went wrong within a relationship, he switches the theme and pays tribute to the imperfections that make up who he is. Reminding us that everyone comes with a flaw or two, Joey Miceli leads by example and embraces every inch of his being to learn from it and grow.
Landing on the last track of the project with the outro piece, "Eden," we're genuinely lifted into pure serenity through the song's heart, emotion, and desire. As the song begins with soft background keys and a mid-tempo drum beat, Joey Miceli comes through to sing his honest and genuine message towards a past lover. While he sings his introspective lyricism regarding the loss of oneself after leaving someone behind, Joey Miceli touches our hearts with his tender lyricism that depicts the dreadful process of moving forward from someone you once thought was yours forever. Ending the project on an emotional note, we can't get enough of the heart that Joey Miceli has captured within this piece.
We're nothing but impressed with the depth, emotion, and versatility that Joey Miceli has provided through his fourth studio album, "Serendipity," as he brings the listener into a personal story to allow them to relate and find a space they can feel safe within.
Congratulations on the release of your fourth studio album, "Serendipity." What inspired you to create the album?
Thank you! And thank you for taking the time to listen. I was really inspired to create ‘Serendipity’ after I released my last record, ‘Talkative.’ I got a bit more personal on that one and touched on some things that I had always wanted to talk about in my music, but never could find the right words. After the response ‘Talkative’ had, I was so relieved because it taught me that I can go there and people can relate and not look at me like some alien for feeling the way I feel. I felt I finally could find those right words after that realization; what was most important was keeping a sense of hope amidst all the other feelings expressed in the record. I don’t have enough hope in my life as it is, especially when I was going into writing this album, but I was able to find hope in some of the most tragic things that have happened to me through this album.
What lyrical concepts and messages did you want your audience to learn from and take away within your versatile and emotional album "Serendipity?"
That exact thing. I wanted them to feel emotional and reflective. My goal in music is to make people feel understood or to almost give them a hug through their phones. I mean, ‘Saturn’s Rings’ probably isn’t exactly comforting, that’s more of an aggressive statement, but I think records like ‘Luna’, ‘The Martyr,’ ‘Bad Dream,’ and ‘R.E.M’ are more reflective and inclusive to how the listener may be feeling. I find comfort in music, and frankly, I need to find comfort in music. That’s why I feel it’s essential for me to take my music seriously in the sense of whoever decides to listen, I need to take care of them, make them feel joy, guide them through what they’re feeling in their own lives, or just make a good record if it’s not that deep for them.
Could you explain what it was like collaborating with Santino Cardinale for the tune "Liar" within "Serendipity"? Would you say that both of you have established chemistry that makes the process easier?
Yeah, so ‘Liar’ was actually the first song we wrote and recorded for the album. It was our first time working together in person and I just remember being so nervous. The recording and writing process is when I feel most vulnerable, so we definitely had to write about something we both had gone through in order to feel more comfortable. In this case, it was shady people doing shady shit. I think ‘Serendipity’ is a huge reason Tino and I are so close now and that’s because I had nowhere to hide. He knows me for me. He heard every lyric as it was written, he heard the stories behind every word, and he heard how hard some were to actually put on the record. But I have never felt more comfortable making music with someone and I swear I tell him every day how lucky I feel to create with him. He’s so insanely talented and I’m just super grateful to have had such an experience with him.
Did you have any help from other producers, songwriters, or engineers within your album "Serendipity?"
Tino and I did it all by ourselves. That’s what really makes it so authentic. I was writing through the lens of a new friendship and how vulnerable it is to open up to someone and let someone get to know you. I think that definitely supported the vulnerability heard throughout the album and it almost feels like a little time capsule. A lot of our friends were present while we were recording and whatnot, and I definitely played the album through its phases for people I love. I remember Santino’s brother, Gianni, and his girlfriend, Brooke was sitting with us while Tino was working through production for ‘Luna’ and I was just writing like crazy because I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. Brooke loved it from the beginning so that gave me confidence in what I was feeling about the song. Then I got stuck on one line in the chorus, “precious like a pearl,” because I thought it sounded awkward, so I turned to G and Brooke and saw what they thought. It was moments like that where I personally feel like the album is what it is because of the people surrounding us and how willing they were to dedicate time to listen to our ideas. We couldn’t have made it without the support around us; it gave us validation.
How does your album "Serendipity" contrast your previous three albums? Did you experiment with other approaches or themes within the recent project?
I like to think I’ve been authentic in my writing the entire time, I just chose when I wanted to really open up and when to not. I was in a very different place with the first two records. I didn’t know who I was or wanted to be at all, I was lacking true self-awareness, I was in a toxic environment, in a toxic relationship, and I was unhappy. I’m still not happy, but I know what I deserve (most of the time at least). That makes a difference and helps me find that hope I was talking about. ‘Talkative’ was the very beginning of that journey, and ‘Serendipity’ is just the manifestation of realizing my flaws, seeing through evil intentions, learning to be a better man, struggling to be a better man, coping with my grief, and trying to genuinely be myself through it all. ‘Serendipity’ is the most me record I have and I plan to keep putting my life and feelings on display so others can find catharsis in whatever I decide to create.
instagram.com/joeymiceli
twitter.com/micelijoey