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LP
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SQM 039G-LKP
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$35.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 6/12/2026
Damian Dalla Torre returns with People Pleaser, a record shaped by movement, collaboration and an ever-deepening relationship with sound as environment. The Leipzig-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer first found wide attention with his 2022 debut Happy Floating, and his subsequent album I Can Feel My Dreams was named the #1 Contemporary Album of 2024 by The Guardian, an accolade that broadened his audience and deepened confidence in his evolving voice. That second album, written between Europe and South America, opened unexpected doors and took Dalla Torre to stages across New York, Japan and Italy. "When you release music, it's very intimate," he reflects. "You show your emotions pretty raw. I was kind of scared. But getting so much positive feedback gave me a lot of self-confidence to try out more." People Pleaser begins in that quiet shift of confidence. The title stayed with him for months before he committed to it. "It was a working title for a long time," he says. "I didn't actually think I would use it. But this term also felt somehow relevant in connection with the phase of self-negotiation during the development process. Some aspects are related to pressure, others are positive." The ambiguity felt right. Rather than presenting it as a statement, Dalla Torre leaves it open, an invitation rather than a confession. At the center of People Pleaser is collaboration. Guitarist Bertram Burkert, whose playing stretches from classical delicacy to electric abstraction, joined Dalla Torre in the studio for an intensive three-day session, recording a wide palette of textures that would become the backbone of the album. Vocalist Laura Zöschg, a key live collaborator, harpist Babett Niclas, organist Felix Römer, tape experimentalist Markus Rom, marimba and vibraphonist Volker Heuken and Japanese artist Manami Kakudo also contribute, creating a sound that feels intimate yet expansive.
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LP
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SQM 026LP
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After his debut album Happy Floating in 2022 (SQM 013LP), Leipzig-based producer Damian Dalla Torre returns to Squama with I Can Feel My Dreams. Developed during a residency in Santiago, Chile, it incorporates electronic, jazz and ambient influences utilizing Andean quena flutes, synthesizers and field recordings and again centering on collaborations with fellow artists like Ruth Goller, Miriam Adefris, and Christian Balvig. A wistful haze runs throughout the album, coming out at the end, there's both light and darkness and no need to choose.
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LP
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SQM 013LP
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Happy Floating is the debut LP of Italian composer, producer, and reed player Damian Dalla Torre. Over the course of two years, the Leipzig-based artist recorded 19 musicians in all kinds of places to bring to life his unique blend of avant folk and electronic. With reeds, brass, guitars, bass, drums, mallets, synthesizers, organ, and electronics, the album feels like a mindful walk through a flowering meadow, tickling and caressing all at once. Born in Northern Italy to a family of non-musicians, his knack for woodwind instruments was uncovered by the sight of a big shiny baritone saxophone in a red velvet case that belonged to his grandma's neighbor. It was and still is an odd instrument for anyone to play in the Val di Vizze, which may have added to young Damian's excitement. He opted for the slightly smaller tenor saxophone, took up lessons and eventually studied music in Vienna and Leipzig, where he's currently living and working within a spirited network of musicians, of which many are featured on this record. 180 gram vinyl.
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