Entirely recorded in home studio, "Eremos" embodies my various musical and cultural backgrounds and experiences, including early western and modal music, experimentation and tradition, medieval music, radical improvisation, maqamat and deep investigation of their respective languages. "Eremos" symbolizes the journey of the hermit through different worlds and ages, a journey accompanied by recurring female figures from Mediterranean mysticism, feminine archetypes present in many cultures, such as the Christian Madonna, compassionate mother of all mothers, beloved and adored in the medieval laudas, bringing consoling guidance and the highest light; and such as Magdalena, a symbol of human imperfection, worthy of being praised because of her truth. The album takes a solitary path back to the origin, following the steps of Rumi, who, like nobody else, was able to describe the pain of separation from the source. Nature, the hermit's companion, is present in various sounds, colors and scents: whispering of leaves, quarreling bees, Mediterranean sounds and echoes of the forest, fires, winds. And as in the ancient pilgrimages, here you will also find moments of levity and self-irony, of dances and songs, of flutes and drums. As the pilgrims lose and find themselves, even the most ancient fears may be exorcised. More on www.valentinabellanova.com