“I went to Sri Lanka in December after my breakup to see my friend Cassie. I had an urge to get away from the city and everything. I took my iPhone everywhere and tried to capture my feelings. That’s why the editing – working with my longtime collaborator Rebecca Salvadori – is so scattered because it has to be seen as if you were in a coma. There were moments of anger and moments of emptiness, loud memories and a huge confusion. It is because you have to recognize yourself as a solo identity again. By the end, no matter the hurt, you do feel like you are reborn.  

”I didn’t listen to any music and just absorbed every sound the country was giving me. It is by chance that in the little hotel where we were staying there was Riswan, a deaf man who worked there. I took him to the sea and we danced together. 

“My desire to work around deafness and silence comes not only from an encounter with a deaf girl on the train, which inspired the Jamie xx film 'Sleep Sound,' but also by the fact that someone very quiet was a big part of my life and I have always been fascinated by his silence. I would love to make a documentary and work with more deaf children from around the world. It would be beautiful to do it in each different country with their local music and history around it. I would like to call my project with deaf children Virgo Rising, as a Virgo trait is to serve and protect.” – Sofia Mattioli