Chapter One: A Multi-Generational Collaboration
Zé actually forgot the sheet music in Rio, but he arrived in Heathrow with none of the usual fluster you’d expect of a 79 year old man who’d just got off a 13 hour flight.
I hadn’t seen my great-grandpa in over 4 years, so there was a lot of hugging, kissing and much elation between the whole family, especially during that long anticipated moment where he walked through the double doors and I saw him at terminal 5 arrivals. But, at some point after all the hugs and kisses we pulled ourselves together and headed home, to Greenwich.
Me and my sister Mariana had just moved into a lovely apartment in West Greenwich. She’d been accepted into Greenwich University and Zé saw poetry in that. He saw poetry and symmetry in her studying on the meridian line, starting her new life where east meets west and the world strikes zero. He felt inspired by it and wrote a composition in her honour.
He brought that composition as a gift for the whole family and finally felt flustered when he realised he’d forgotten the sheet music back in Rio de Janeiro.
A friend of his sent a photo of the sheet music on what’s app (that’s right, my great-grandfather has what’s app) and that’s how it all started. Zé played me the song and I thought it was one of the most beautiful melodies I had ever heard.
I knew he’d never had lyrics written for any of his compositions (and he’s written entire albums!) so it’s always been in the back of my mind to create lyrics to one of his tunes and give it to him as a gift, but I never felt inspired.
Things were different now though. Now, I had a secret weapon in the form of an Irish actress and poet called Aisling Groves-McKeown.
Greenwich is The Vone’s brand new song and it’ll be out on the 7th of August 2020. It’s a collaboration between myself (Marcelo Cervone), my great-grandfather Zé Carlos Medeiros and my partner, the Irish actress and poet, Aisling Groves-McKeown.
Stay tuned here on Medium, hit subscribe on The Vone’s YouTube channel or follow us on any of our socials so you can stay up to date on all the different chapters of the story behind Greenwich.
Greenwich is already available to pre-save on Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms, just follow the links below:
To Spotify…
To all other streaming platforms.
Thanks for all the support guys and see you back here next week.
Sending much love,
