Mark Pagano is on a mission to keep the St. Louis kindie music scene on the map. The kids indie musician known as Marko Polo will release his second solo album, “Aqua Phonic,” on Sunday.
His new music, with lyrics like “You can find them in a lake called Xochimilco (zo-chee-MIL-ko) / they’re pink with a bioluminescent glow” and “Every life that spawns / is dependent on / this covalent bond” rocks a definite back-to-school vibe — but without the homework, and with year-round appeal.
“Aqua Phonic” builds on the zoological advocacy and natural musicianship that earned 2022’s solo debut “Mammal Music” Best Kids’ Album by the Riverfront Times. Turning seaward, his follow-up album shares his love for manatees, walruses, coral and all things water; he’s a “double Pisces” after all — sun and rising.
Over the past 20 years, the busy singer-songwriter has become an expert in sharing his knowledge of amphibians and mammals. His passion is fueled by a contagious love for nature, his partnership with schools under the Springboard To Learning program and his family’s subscriptions to magazines like Highlights, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Xplor and National Geographic.
Fans of Pagano’s back catalog of salamander songs will appreciate the lead single “Axolotl,” which follows the 2018 hit “Hellbender” from “Endangered Species Project,” one of many albums from his longstanding group Fire Dog, from which he insists Marko Polo is not a departure.
Equally comfortable in classrooms, stages, playgrounds, and water, Pagano’s work with students frequently serve as the inspiration for new songs. A nod to the type of salamander popularized by the video game Minecraft, “Axolotl” was co-written with Gateway Elementary students.
“I've learned a lot about [axolotls] since I started working on the song,” he told St. Louis on the Air. “A lot of this stuff’s not in the song, but they were a sacred animal to the Aztecs and they come from Xochimilco, which is a lake in Mexico City. And unfortunately, that lake has been basically destroyed and their habitats are demolished. But it's also one of the most researched animals in the world right now because of their regenerative powers. They can regenerate their brain and their hearts, so scientists all over the world are studying this animal to see if we can use this power of regeneration to heal ourselves.”
Pagano’s own children and a couple of their friends sing backup on a number of other “Aqua Phonic” tunes.
Of course there are adults on the album too. While most of the heavy creative lifting is performed by Pagano, (guitar, bass, charango, electronic layers/drum machine, vocals), and Grammy-winning kids music producer Dean Jones (keyboard, bass, vocoder, hand drums), professional musicians from Jones’ network are used sparingly and effectively. On each of the eight songs on “Aqua Phonic,” individual contributions form covalent bonds that transform simple, accessible melodies into magical works of art.
“It’s not just all around us / It also is within,” Pagano harmonizes with backup vocalist Katie Mullins, who goes by Katie Ha Ha Ha, on the opening track “We Are Water.” On tunes like this, layered vocals ride a groove-based flow that leave listeners thirsty for more, despite the track’s slight departure from his usual style.
“It's gotten some really good feedback,” he said. “It is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. It's like more of a rap kind of spoken-word piece with an emphasis on the flow, but I guess I was thinking of water and flow and just the feel of that beat, and that kind of directed the approach for that song. And it's a direction that speaks to some of the music I like to listen to that I don't always dip into for [my writing].”
The bridge kicks into a breakdown of practical health advice.
“It can really make you think / When did you last take a drink? / If you’re not feeling great / You may need to hydrate,” Pagano sings, the last syllable echoing into an ocean of reggae-pop funkadelia.
The most compelling collaboration on the album doesn't come from a musician though, but rather a National Geographic photojournalist, Acacia Johnson. Browsing the magazine one day, Pagano came across a passage in an article about walrus conservation the lyricist in him couldn’t resist. The article begins:
“The first rays of sun are breaking over the tundra cliffs, the air is alive with the cries of wheeling seabirds, and from the open sea, the pale forms of swimming walruses are approaching the shore below. Their tusks draw crisp white lines through the black water, their breath rising in golden puffs. They’re chiming: a haunting, metallic song like a softly ringing bell. It’s a sound you hear with your whole body, as if you’re underwater.”
It’s not hard to see the poetry behind the writing, nor difficult to imagine Pagano jumping out of his seat to contact the writer for permission to use the passage as song lyrics, a proposition to which Johnson readily agreed.
“She doesn't do a lot of writing actually,” he explained. “This was one of the first pieces that she had published of her writing… I just reached out to her on email. I sent her a little demo and she loved it.”
The resulting song is “Walrus Sings.” (Also: Check out Alaskan conservationist Diane Okonek’s recording of an actual walrus song.)
The process of working on this album was a welcome change from how last year’s “Mammal Music” was produced — entirely remotely. For this album, Pagano was able to work with Jones once again but for the first time in-person. Pagano met Jones at his modest cob house in upstate New York having been afforded travel and work expenses by an artist support grant from the Regional Arts Commission. The funding supported the work of audio engineers, musical artists and graphic designers over the course of eight months.
Pagano played 30 shows this summer at various libraries and schools and has recently secured a residency at Zoomies Pet Cafe, where you can see solo renditions of these family- and pet-friendly songs at monthly shows through the end of fall 2023.
“Aqua Phonic” hits streaming services this Sunday.
To listen to Mark Pagano talk about "Aqua Phonic" and to hear music from the new album, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Marko Polo performance
When: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 19
Where: Zoomies Pet Cafe + Boutique, 5838 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO 63109
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
