Stephan Moccio has written some of the most recognizable melodies of the last 2 decades, Celine Dion’s “A New Day Has Come,” Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” the Weeknd’s “Earned It,” and “I Believe,” the theme for the 2010 Winter Olympics. With ‘Scenes From A Velvet Room,’ arriving June 26 on Decca Records, he’s doing something different. He’s telling his own story. Listen here.
Today he releases “Dear Burt,” a wistful, piano-driven ode to the late Burt Bacharach, the composer and songwriter whose career arc mirrors Moccio’s in meaningful ways: falling in love with jazz first, pop later, and spending decades shaping the emotional lives of millions through melody. Contemplative and bright, the track is the second single from the album, following last month’s “Positano.”
The album’s origin is specific. Before the chart-breaking career took hold, the Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based artist took a gig playing piano 6 nights a week in the lobby of the Four Seasons Toronto. That period sits at the heart of ‘Scenes From A Velvet Room.’ Moccio describes what it taught him: how to read a room, how to curate a vibe without commanding it, how to enter a space quietly and leave gracefully. “I was the guy who was always behind the scenes,” he says.
The album opens with “Beneath The Amber Hour,” conjuring the amber light that filled the Four Seasons atrium at sunset during his late fall and early spring sets. That image persists across the record, giving it a consistent warmth and interiority. Moccio describes his approach at the time: “I had to enter with a very quiet tone. I had to noodle and play these little jazz licks and get under everyone’s skin. And then they’d realize there was a pianist in the room.”
New Orleans legend Branford Marsalis appears on 3 tracks, switching between soprano and tenor saxophone across “Like An Old Photograph,” “The Beautiful Undoing,” and “Opaline.” His melodic thread reaches its resolution on the album’s closing track, “I Break Everything I Love,” when Moccio finally brings the full melody home on piano. It’s the emotional center of the record, recalling the crushing ballads he used to close his Four Seasons sets, soft enough to avoid intruding on conversation but emotionally devastating for anyone paying attention.
Since his debut album ‘Tales of Solace,’ recorded during COVID, Moccio has built a massive Gen Z following. “Fracture” from that record has surpassed 143 million Spotify streams. Subsequent albums ‘Lionheart’ in 2021 and ‘Legends, Myths, and Lavender’ in 2024 have each generated tens of millions of additional plays. ‘Scenes From A Velvet Room’ arrives as his most personal and narratively rich work yet.
‘Scenes From A Velvet Room’ Tracklist:
- Beneath The Amber Hour
- Room 3A
- Melt
- Pink Lady
- Positano
- Like An Old Photograph (ft. Branford Marsalis)
- Dear Burt
- Bossa Noir
- The Beautiful Undoing (ft. Branford Marsalis)
- Where The River Heals
- Opaline (ft. Branford Marsalis)
- I Break Everything I Love