Track By Track: Auntie Flo – In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free)

“This album is deeply personal and a reflection of the journeys I’ve taken—both literal and musical,” d’Souza says of the project. “From Nairobi to Mexico City, Havana to Waiheke Island, the tracks on this album all have a special place of origin. It’s a celebration of migration, freedom, and connection while also being an evolution of my sound.”

d’Souza takes us on an intimate tour of the album, breaking down the story behind each track and revealing the intricate influences that shaped his vision with this album…

1. Nightjar
Setting – the outskirts of Nairobi in Kenya at dusk. This is where the field recording was captured that underpins the track.

Season – Late Autumn

Inspiration – the sense of craving to know what is out there in the darkness. Explore mechanisms for flight.

Colour – Deep Red to match the ground colour.

2. Green City

Setting – central Nairobi at dawn. This was where and when the field recording was captured for this track

Colour – Obviously green! Nairobi is known as ‘The Green City In The Sun’, which is where the track title comes from.

Inspiration – seeking joy in collaboration, this track embodies the entire album. Lot’s of incredible musicians contributing – On this track you can hear Yohan Kebede from Kokoroko, Ambasa Mandela from Sarabi, Laure Pitt, Ziggy Funk and Joe Howe – all brilliant musicians that were a joy to work with.

Season – the has to be mid summer – a time of greatest joy and freedom.

3. Bird’s Eye View

Setting – Havana Cuba. This was where the track really came into its own – we performed it to 15000 at the Havana World Music festival and it went off. One of my fondest musical memories

Colour – Orange

Inspiration – the closest I get to a pop record, I wanted to make something that is really catchy, simple but effective and gets stuck in your head.

Season – early summer

4. Catlak Patlak

Setting – A playground in Istanbul, this track combines Turkish nursery rhymes.

Colour – red like the Turkish flag and also to embody fire

Inspiration. – the groove is really inspired by 80’s punk funk bands such as ESG and Liquid Liquid and a kind of homage to Glasgow, Optimo and the DIY scene there. Laurie Pitt from Golden Teacher plays the wonky drums

Season – Early Spring. Still cold but the spring is coming.

5. Walk DF

Setting – this track samples the pedestrian crossing signals in Mexico City.

Colour – Dark Green as per the Mexico flag

Inspiration – the track was made during the first Trump presidency and all the furore around ‘build that wall’. I spent New Year walking freely around Mexico City and this privilege to travel by any means is one of the key themes of the record.

Season – Winter but in a warm climate

6. Aker The Lion God

Setting – Waiheke Island in New Zealand, a random bench in the middle of nowhere. On its placard, the words ‘Aker The Lion God’ are printed. What does it mean? I’ve no idea by I sat there and recorded the crickets, wind and birds and make the track from that recording.

Colour – Purple

Inspiration – travel and freedoms but the bassline was surely a nod to Charanjit Singh, the man behind the seminal Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat. I booked him to play at our Highlife party ten years ago and he played an incredible set. The club was so dark, he could see his 303 and therefore was unable to change the bassline. Every track was dominated by the same bassline – which is something akin to the bass I created for this track. I think it became firmly lodged in my consciousness forevermore.

Season – Spring

7. Freedom Of Birds

Setting – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I recorded the berminbau that gives this track its groove there.

Colour – yellow

Inspiration – I wanted to capture the raw energy of Rio and Brazil in general but also pay a nod to the recent jazz movement in London and elsewhere. This track is an ecstatic, lose yourself in the moment, kind if dance track – free flowing, uplifting and bringing a relentless groove.

Season – End of Summer

8. Nighthawk

Setting – Somewhere in Quito, Ecuador. I worked with Nicola Cruz who provided the modular synth as a counterpoint to my conch shell.

Colour – dark dark green / almost black – this is a track that needs to be heard in a rain forest at night

Inspiration – I really wanted to break from conventional musical structures with this track. Inspired by natural occurrences happening in the natural world. It should sound like the birds are popping out in surprise!

Season – Autumn at night

9. Sandpiper

Setting – This track was recorded in Seoul, South Korea. I worked with Daegum player Seuming-cha. The daegum has this really raspy quality to it and wanted to keep this track really minimal to allow it to take centre stage.

Colour – Some kind of oak

Inspiration – During my trip to Seoul, I visited the DMZ, the demilitarised zone that divides the north and south. It is a surreal place and left me with more questions that answers. That tension is evident in the track.

Season – Winter – I recorded it the first week of January.

10. Auntie Florie Rip

Setting – Saligao, Goa, India. This is a recording of my actual Auntie Florie whose name I borrowed for the whole project. She died shortly after this recording so I’m very happy to have had this experience with her and been able to include her voice in the record.

Colour – Yellows and Greens like the natural landscape of Goa

Inspiration – My mum always compared me to Auntie Florie whilst I was young, so she provides the inspiration. Even at an elderly age, she was spritely and up for a laugh. She also showed her warm and caring side when singing this song, a hymn sung in Konkani, providing a helpful translation after each verse.

Season – mid Summer.

Auntie Flo – In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free) is out now

Full details here