Bio:

Immolate Sampler
Enio

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Immolate means to die by fire as a self-sacrificial victim. The process of immolation has been employed by some Buddhist monks as a form of protest. Enio’s latest album “Immolate” borrows this theme of self-sacrificial consumption by fire. In it, he grapples with the intensity of failure, love, loss, victimhood by crimes of passion, teenage-girl adolescence, God, and Janet Jackson. Quite the gamut of emotions, eh? These eclectic musical themes however, are balanced with the greatest of care.

For this openly-queer, Canadian singer/songwriter/musician/producer, music has always been a passion. Music beyond the capacity to play an instrument, write a song, or even produce one. Music, for Enio, is about the illustrious long-player album. He is engrossed in albums and album-making. He thrives to learn how artists come to produce a full record, which songs stay and which are cut, what thematic elements flourish throughout and which have been ignored. Enio is not interested in the fleeting pop tunes—although he does enjoy one now and again. Instead, music is about creating stories, told beyond the typical story-telling media of film, television, and literature. Ironically, what Enio is best at in his songwriting is evocation of feeling, rather than retelling of story—more in the vein of so many 90s alternative rock songwriters.

Enio began his career at 11 when he would write crude hip-hop/pop inspired tunes that, truth be told, hold up as occasionally better than some of the drivel out at the time. Luckily, his musical tastes evolved, he picked up the guitar and began work on songs that would later be featured on his debut album “Yellowbrick.” Armed with a Fostex Digital 8-track recorder, Enio slowly turned out 3 other full-length albums: “Weird Toes” (a collection of demo songs); “Oz” (a hard-edged album about queer nightlife); and “The Healing of Nerves” (an introspective album co-authored with New York poet Billy Merrell). It wasn’t until 2009 that Enio decided to upgrade his recording capacities and go completely digital. Enio has now excelled at playing guitar, piano, bass, accordian, and mandolin, as well as indulging in many production techniques—all self-taught. The birth of “Immolate” was eminent. This young (just turned 30) songwriter was ready to branch out into different musical genre styles in a way he felt impossible before. He wanted to break away from the limitations of real-time 8-track recording and experiment with technology he had never used before. “Immolate” is the album Enio has been wanting to make for quite awhile—a slicked, emotionally raw and musically intricate record.

CD distribution through CDBaby.com has garnered Enio a loyal and vast fanbase—from Canada to South Africa, Australia, The US, and Germany. He has sold over 500 albums through minimal press and publicity—a rather impressive feat for someone who has never had the backing of a major label, management company or PR firm. He has exhausted the local music scene in Toronto, playing live shows in practically every small bar/pub he could find: from Holy Joe’s to opening up for Sam Roberts at the Pheonix. Enio has decided to focus his efforts on studio recording, internet live-shows, and reaching out to his fans on a more intimate one-to-one basis.

“Immolate” is the beginning of a new musical direction for Enio, open to new possibilities and new genre endeavours. Enio is currently working his way to a Masters in Sociology at York University, with aspirations of continuing on in his PhD, where he will research the sociology of music. Right now, we hope you give this passionate musician a listen, and we hope you enjoy it!

Thank you for listening.
contact info:
e-mail: enio.chiola@gmail.com