You have a rotten soul. When I first moved to Boston, I got a job at a Blockbuster in Central Square. It was a 20 min walk away from the room I was renting. The job was terrible but I got 5 free rentals a week. So the first show I binged was HBO’s ROME.
I’ve always been a fan of history and really loved ROME, especially the first season. The second season ends with the death of Cleopatra… and there was something about the scene that stuck with me. I wasn’t able to find a video of the scene, but I have HBO’s description…
Cleopatra then met with Octavian regarding his proposal that she be allowed to keep her kingdom, but soon realized that Octavian's true intent was to keep her as a trophy and to parade her around in chains in Rome. Cleopatra decided that she would not be Octavian's pawn and ordered that preparations be made for her suicide. Her method of death was via the bite of an asp to her breast. Tipped off that she was in the process of killing herself, Octavian rushed to Cleopatra's chambers in an attempt to prevent her death. The dying Cleopatra rose to meet Octavian and spoke into his ear, "You have a rotten soul." Those would be her final words as immediately speaking them, she collapsed onto her throne and died.
Cut forward a couple years. I had just moved across the country with Maddie and our little daschund Meatloaf. We had managed to rent an apartment in San Diego in the West Palm Beach. There, sitting in an empty living room, I first stumbled across the song ‘Cleopatra’.
I don’t recall exactly how everything came together. I’m pretty sure the intro and the main refrain (“let the Devil have his way”) came first. I was particularly excited by the rhythmic idea for when the track really kicks in. That scene from ‘Rome’ swam to the surface of my subconscious and I based the lyrics on the moment when Cleopatra committed suicide, as the forces of Rome bore down on her family.
I think what really connected with me was the idea of someone standing up against insurmountable forces. Cleopatra was powerless to stop what was coming, but - rather than be used - she stood for the honor of her legacy.
“Cleopatra” was written around the same time as “Pharaoh”, in that empty apartment. “The Warlock” came soon after. Those songs were the first inklings of an album that would become “Valkyrie”. They’re foundational ideas. They encourage other similar ideas to flesh out the story of the record.
A couple other tidbits about the song… the rhythm when it all kicks in (at 1:29) was inspired by Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”. The acoustic breakdown (at 2:27) starts with a Dmaj7+6+9 with a minor melody on top… it creates a creepy vibe that reminds me of Sondheim.
In other news, I’ve been singing my little heart out. My good friend Yan Perchuk (Vibrant Productions) has been helping me out. I’ve been working with Yan for about 7 years. He engineered the vocals for ‘Valkyrie’, as well as a nearly every recording for my other band, Polaris Rose.
Finishing the album is just the beginning. The amount of artwork that I have to make is pretty tremendous. Plus I’ve been collaborating with other artists for some fun merch designs. There is gonna be a lot coming next year, so I appreciate everyone who has reached out looking for the new songs to drop! You guys keep me going during these quarantine times.
More soon.
Peter