Photo courtesy of Ariel Salerno.
In past years, dorm rooms typically served three purposes: sleeping, studying, and snuggling. But in the 2020-21 school year, they became our Zoom classrooms, dining rooms, and even performance venues. Ariel Salerno ’21 (aka Arieliza), a talented singer-songwriter, transformed her dorm room into a recording studio.
On July 16, 2021, Salerno released her debut album, Binchy Heads (the college years), which she wrote and recorded throughout her senior spring semester. It follows her 2020 EP Cabin Fever and The album serves as a culmination of her four years at Conn, consisting of ten songs written for the ten women in her close-knit friend group with references and inside jokes only a camel would understand. Even the album title itself is an inside joke between the friends. She drew inspiration not only from her multi-talented friends but also from other artists, like Taylor Swift, and the style of storytelling used in her 2020 album, Folklore. “I loved how [Folklore] was stories,” Salerno said. “I was like, hmm, let’s get Folklore on my friends. I want to know more about them. Let’s dive into who they really are.”
Originally created as her final project for an advanced music composition class taught by Professor Andrew Greenwald, Binchy Heads evolved in two parts. “The first version was produced in my dorm room. Budget: zero dollars.” Using basic quality recording equipment and battling typical residence hall commotion, she produced a final class project that meant a lot to her as a senior reflecting on her final year. However, despite overcoming the challenges of her dorm recording studio, she did not think it was polished enough to release yet.
When she returned home to New York after graduating in May, she reflected on her semester-long creative process: “I love the concept of this album, I like the songs, I’m enjoying them, it’s starting to become something more than just a class project… let’s see where this song can go.” At their in-home studio, with better equipment than she had at Conn, Salerno worked with her mom, Beth Salerno, her longtime collaborator, and supporter. The mother-daughter duo have worked together on songwriting and production for Salerno’s previous releases, and their collaboration on the album added yet another layer of meaning for the recent graduate.
Though each of her songs was written for a specific friend, she expanded them to fulfill a persona or broader theme, exploring the line between personal and universal. Her friend, Zoe Walker ‘21, designed the album cover, with individual eyes corresponding with each song’s muse. Only those in the friend group can tell who is who, but the eyes come together as a united group, reflecting the album’s universal themes of female friendship, love, and connection.
Salerno, an Economics and self-designed Musical Theater double major, has always loved music and songwriting. She was an avid singer and actress as a kid, and her passion grew in college as she was involved with the music, theater, and dance departments, MOBROC, coffee shop open mic nights, and more. Highlights of her campus career include starring and performing songs written for her in Professor Kenneth Prestinizi’s original show, Dee, and her musical theater senior capstone, a two-woman show titled FOR GOOD, created and performed with Becca Collins ‘21. She even studied “abroad” for a semester at the Eugene O’Neill Center National Theater Institute in Waterford, CT during her junior year.
Salerno’s economics studies provided her with the business knowledge behind being an artist, and she finds unique ways to draw musical inspiration from her class subjects. She chose not to attend a collegiate arts conservatory so that she could pursue both her artistic and academic interests. Conn’s Connections interdisciplinary curriculum allows her to merge her studies in unique ways. For instance, she thrives in writing “informative bops” with captivating lyricism, countering the idea that pop songs are more superficial than other genres, and recalls Conn classes like “Singing for Social Change” that encapsulated her desire for a multidimensional music education.
Though her attention to lyricism is strong, her favorite song on the album does not include lyrics at all. “Jane” is an instrumental journey that explores Pride and Prejudice’s iconic love story through layers of enchanting vocals, strings, brass, and a driving beat. “Speaking of smart music and informative bops,” she said, “I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. I’ve always been a big reader, ever since I was a kid.” Salerno’s muse for “Jane” also has a special connection to Austen’s work, but Salerno once again expanded that personal connection to the allure that Elizabeth and Darcy’s love story has on the masses. She collaborated with fellow Conn musicians — including her boyfriend, Ricardo Gonzales ‘23, whom she first met and worked with over Zoom last year, and Peter Marshall ‘21, who helped with instrumentals— and drew from her classical voice training to create a mesmerizing track. “I think it was my favorite because it felt the most like a character because it was trying to tell the story of Pride and Prejudice without any words or visuals, so through music and tones,” she reflected. “This song feels like a dance.” “Jane” transfigures the inner workings of a devoted reader and the sweeping power of a love story into a song that builds with fervor.
With “Jane” standing strong alongside her nine sister songs on the album, Salerno produced a personal yet universal exploration of young adult womanhood. Binchy Heads is a work of art; a tribute to the dichotomous brilliance and silliness of women; a dedication to a school that housed four years of fond memories; and a heartfelt gift from a talented alumna. I hope to hear Coffee Closet et al. blast songs like “Coffee” and “t.e.a !!” to their customers as they drink their endless coffees and teas throughout the upcoming fall semester.
Follow Ariel’s musical journey on:
Instagram/TikTok: @arielizamusic
Spotify/Apple Music/Soundcloud/Youtube: Arieliza
