BAND CRUSH: PORCELAIN RAFT

If naptime were still a designated part of our day like in preschool (we wish!), Mauro Remiddi would be in charge of the lullaby. The Italian-born, NYC-based musician has played in a handful of bands over the years, but now he's secured his spot as the newest sleepytime soundtrack with Porcelain Raft. His debut album Strange Weekend is the stuff of daydreams- sweeping synths, ambient vibe, and soaring, ethereal melodies- making us never want to come back to reality. Remiddi filled us in below.

Your album comes out in a few weeks. How do you feel?

I can't wait. I feel like I've been living in the vaccumn where I was the only who who'd heard the album. I was like, "Ahh, I want to share this!" Now that I can talk to people who have heard it, it feels like it actually exists.

It's just you playing on the record...how is that going to change when you perform live?

Well, when you play alone, you're restricted in the size. Now that I'm starting to play in bigger places, I realized that I need to create a different live show to fit the space, I'm playing with another musician. A few songs are going to sound a bit different than on the album, and I'm excited.

How would you describe Strange Weekend to someone who hasn't heard it? It's not an album that's in your face, it's not there to make a statement. What I like about it is that it has this sense of not imposing anything; for me that's a good thing, because it gives you space to project your own things and experiences.

How did the recording process work? When I was making the album, I would write the songs and record them the same day...in that sense sometimes the meanings of the songs came later.

What's next for you? I'm about to go on tour with M83 in Europe in a few days. After that I'll be back here [U.S] to support the Smith Westerns, and then it's back to Europe with M83. Right now it feels like the quiet before the storm.

Buy Strange Weekend January 24. Put Me To Sleep by Porcelain Raft