Solo Projects

City Society (Rich Cupolo)

Inspired by the sounds of chillwave and 80’s synths, Rich Cupolo created a memorable mix of electronic dreampop and danceable beats in his solo project, founded in 2012, and first released in 2013. As a multi-instrumentalist, he sings, plays all instruments on the songs, and does all the recording in his studio. The beginning of recording in late 2012 was particularly challenging because of the almost total shutdown of New York from Hurricane Sandy, but this event ended up creating more inspiration for the music as the city slowly recovered. City Society’s tracks are also inspired by Cupolo’s travels, which capture an appreciation of new cultures and people.

Zero Bedroom Apartment (John Emanuele)

Zero Bedroom Apartment is the cinematic, ambient, minimalist side project of John Emanuele. Since 2010, Zero Bedroom Apartment has released 7 EPs and more than 100 songs. After beginning to learn Keyboard with the start of his work in The American Dollar, John began to make short, sparse, minimalist material, sometimes ambient, sometimes more textured. It was both a productive and learning experience. Starting in 2009, finding some extra time, Emanuele began to record short pieces, exploring Ambient and other realms. Unsure how short pieces would be received, he released Ambient Works Vol 1 and Filmmuzik 1 in 2010, to see if people would enjoy the short pieces, similarly to how The American Dollar released Ambient One, unsure of it’s reception. While clearly within a smaller niche, John found a warm reception online among those who had discovered the music, and he would continue to release more eps and collections of music over the coming years. After releasing more than 100 songs as Zero Bedroom Apartment, around 2016, Emanuele felt the project and creating short songs had somewhat run it’s course. In the time since, he has created works that span into new areas, while maintaining the signature ambient sound, however finished songs and arrangements continue to be evasive.