Like dark chocolate with sea salt or sneakers paired with a tailored suit, some combinations shouldn’t work, but not only do they work, they dazzle and rewrite the rules. That’s exactly the case with “Paparazzi, Izakayas and Cowboys,” the new album by Simone Sello, a musician born and raised in Rome, now based in Los Angeles, and deeply in love with Japanese culture.
Much like California itself, the singer-songwriter is multicultural, someone who understands that opening yourself up to worlds doesn’t just expand the mind, it seasons life in a singular, unrepeatable way. That’s why, across 15 tracks, he boldly erases boundaries, placing Spaghetti Western side by side with rock and blues, surf music, and retro-futuristic electronics, generously seasoned with Japan and its musical traditions.
Each song in “Paparazzi, Izakayas and Cowboys” tells a story of adaptation, fusion, openness, and an urgent need to absorb, like someone suddenly cured of blindness.
The track “Big Dipper Horse Ride” welcomes listeners into the album. It’s as ’80s as Atari, Cyndi Lauper, and Back to the Future, surprising with its blend of synthesizers, a relentless violin, and other intense elements that give the record its neon glow.
Meanwhile, “Grey Horse’s Standpoint” slows things down and shifts the album’s emotional axis. Opera, whistling, and guitar intertwining with effortless grace as the piece looks back respectfully to classic westerns and epic storytelling without getting trapped there.
That ability to transform without losing identity resurfaces in “Cocktail in Kanda,” one of the album’s most evocative moments. The song feels like stepping into a tiny bar in Tokyo with dim lights, overlapping conversations, and a gentle melancholy lingering in the air.
Further along, the album allows itself unexpected winks and moments of irony. “The Cat and the Fox” introduces a lighter pulse that works as a breather within the broader narrative. It’s one of those tracks that effortlessly brings a smile.
The final stretch opens back up into wide landscapes. “US 395 and Beyond” feels like an endless highway, deeply American, as its title suggests, capturing that distinctly local sense of constant motion, where the journey matters far more than the destination.
Simone Sello’s path is rooted in early musical training. He began studying violin during childhood and eventually found his primary voice through the guitar. His first significant recorded appearance came in 1987 with his contribution to the album “Metal Attack” (RCA), a starting point that propelled a solid career as a session musician in Italy.
In 1997, he relocated to Los Angeles. From there, he built long-standing collaborations with international artists and projects, including Billy Sheehan and Aaron Carter, and became part of the Disney ecosystem as a producer, creating remixes for Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. In 2023, he spread his wings with the release of the EP “The Storyteller’s Project,” conceived as a narrative-driven work designed for live performance.
“Paparazzi, Izakayas and Cowboys” unfolds as a continuous story about identity, displacement, and curiosity. Simone Sello is, in many ways, the album itself, and he seems to relish it, like someone who found his place in the world across 15 songs, decided to stay, and left the door open for anyone willing to step into a colorful universe where the rules are rewritten and minimalism has gone on vacation.
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