2018 June I made my pilgrimage to Italy and studied under maestro Pino Forastiere for a couple of days. During one of our sessions, we touched briefly on composition techniques and approach. I was asked to compose something based on the motif of his songs. By some dumb luck, I managed to muster up a short little section. Pino seemed pleased and I was asked to develop it as homework. "Cascade" is the end product. I built the song around the short little section (3:00 - 4:24) but spent more time than expected, trying to chip away at it and really focus on writing, not making, music. That was the easy part compared to the numerous times I tried to get it recorded but failed time and time again. I wanted every note to count and say something. Today is Pino's birthday and this is my little present to him. He is an exceptional musician and I am honoured to call him a friend. As Dr Jordan Peterson puts it, "Do what's meaningful not what's expedient." Most times, doing what's meaningful is often really hard.. This was really hard for me as I am not a very good guitarist, but I enjoyed the struggle and found meaning in it, I hope it gives meaning to whomever is listening. Happy Birthday Maestro! If you liked this song and would like to support what I do, you can purchase it from the link below. For $1 you can buy me a cup of coffee and own 5 minutes and 14 seconds of my "heart" work for the rest of your life. http://derekchua.bandcamp.com/track/cascade