IBERICO
Q What was the spark that started to make an album that publicly talks about what society does not wish to view?
A I have always loved songs full of meaning that can shake you up and in my own small way I wanted an album that could contain a series of strong emotions that could get inside you like a punch in the stomach. There was no real spark, but rather a clear idea of what to say.
Q In Cowardly (Vigliaccamente), you portray the mind of someone planning violence without justifying it. What was the biggest challenge in writing such raw and unsettling lyrics?
A When you write about someone or something you have to try to get into the mind of the person you want to talk about without judging them, otherwise it is not a story but a sentence. The biggest challenge is to be credible without falling into banality.
Q How do you, yourself, tread that fine line between talking about darkness and falling into the trap of romanticizing it?
A Sometimes it can be really difficult. You have to be clear about what you want to say and above all you must not force the words. Inspiration always comes and with it the right words. The important thing is to let it flow.
Q Aborto is both deeply intimate and fiercely political. When you wrote it, were you thinking more about personal stories you’ve witnessed or broader cultural patterns?
A Aborto has traits of absolute truth. It is about stories that I have heard or witnessed and of course it’s also about a wide cultural patters still alive in Italy (and other parts of the world). It is a collage of events, voices and people that have sewn together in unison in my mind.
Q Filo di Arianna is a confession, in effect a call for help. Do you see it as autobiographical, or is it more a collective voice of anyone who’s felt trapped by depression?
A Filo di Arianna (Ariadne’s thread) certainly has a biographical part. There was a moment in my life when I entered the vortex of depression and I admit that it was not easy. It negatively affected my personal life. Writing helped me, it has always been my relief valve. The most difficult thing in these situations is to ask someone for help. My advice is to do it. Showing our fragilities is not a sign of weakness but of humanity. We should remind ourselves of this more often.
Q Gaza is striking because it centers the voice of children instead of making a political statement. Why did you choose that perspective?
A I wrote this song after reading a newspaper article that talked about the massacres of innocents, of children killed during the bombings. It came out in a matter of minutes like most of my songs. Talking about Gaza in a political way would have certainly made the song a partisan statement and this would have made it unsuitable for the message I wanted to convey.
Q Louis tells the story of a man forced to hide who he loves. Was this inspired by someone you know, or was it more a reflection on the hidden lives many people endure?
A Even Louis like Aborto is inspired by people that I have personally known and by real events, too. Nothing comes about by accident.
Q Shame comes across as painful as violence itself in your work. Why do you think shame is such a powerful emotion?
A Uncontrolled emotions are the strongest. They are powerful because they can put you in front of what you do not want to see. It is not easy to explain.
Q Lo Scacciacorvi is moving in its depiction of a man reduced to outcast status. What was it that made you want to write about a human who becomes invisible to the world around him?
A Invisible people have always fascinated me. I have always imagined an invisible person like someone who is not truly and deeply understood by the society, because too many people are used to judge a book by its cover. Lo Scacciacorvi is the “oldest” song on the album. I wrote it about twelve years ago. Probably my university education and my work have influenced me. I still have a vivid memory in my mind of when I was a nursing student during an internship. I remember a patient, a lovely lady, who was mute and had eyes as blue as the sky. I went to her many times during my shift because she was unable to call for help and I took care of her as best I could. She probably knew she had not much time to live; this was very clear and painful just by looking in her eloquent and sweet eyes. She was also alone in the world. That same evening, instead of ending my shift and going home to my family like usual, I decided that I had to stay close to her, to spend a bit more time next to her bed to show her she wasn’t dying alone.We communicated only by starring lovely at each others’ eyes. We didn’t need to speak a word. The last memory I have of her is her hand holding mine, held tightly almost as if trying to find a last hold before leaving this life. It is hard to forget her intense eyes looking straight into mine one last time before dying. These are the invisible ones that I will never get tired of talking about and the Scacciacorvi has a bit of her too.
Q Il Corso del Sole is brutally honest about aging and regret. Do you think nostalgia can both heal and destroy?
A Nostalgia can be a double-edged sword. It happens to everyone to think back to the past, perhaps feeling a little nostalgic for what we had and that is now gone. We must be the ones to know how to transform the memory into a cure for our mind and not into the cancer that devours it.
Q Morgana Effect brings the record to a close with one of transcendence. Why did you opt to end on that note, instead of in despair? The vanishing into love photograph is so poignant. Do you consider love the only true escape from violence in the world?
A Ending my album with total despair would probably have left a sense of emptiness to the listener. Love is the most powerful feeling we can experience. Where there is love there cannot and must not be violence. What other force is capable of changing everything?
Q There’s no turning away from pain throughout this album. What gives you courage to keep writing about things others don’t want to touch?
A It may sound bad to say, but I can relate to pain better. Whenever it comes to me, I absorb it, metabolize it, and give it new life in the form of words. I think it is wrong to run away from pain. Facing it is the best way to overcome it. Talking about it makes me feel better.
Q Some of your lyrics are nearly written as short stories. Do you think that you’re a better storyteller than a standard songwriter?
A I have always been fascinated by stories since I was a child. It is probably the most natural way I know to talk about something and get into it in a visceral way. I don’t think I’m better storyteller than standard songwriter. There are many ways to write and describe something. My writing is also constantly evolving so I don’t know where it will take me.
Q Your music regularly displays the humanity of individuals called “monsters” or “outcasts.” Why does it matter to you that you do this?
A I think it’s important to believe in others. If we only looked at the cruel side of things, we would end up judging them as if we were God. I believe there can be humanity even where we do not see it openly. After all, we could all be monsters and outcasts to someone else.
Q When you’re writing about mass tragedies like war, do you feel compelled to have a voice for the voiceless?
A Music is the greatest tool we have to send a message of peace. We have to use it. They are not alone.
Q Silence is a recurring theme in the album title and lyrics. What kind of silence scares you the most?
A Conscious silence is what scares me the most. Turning your head away, pretending not to see something, closing your eyes just because as children they told us that the monster would disappear. The truth is that even if we close it, it doesn’t disappear. In fact, it ends up creeping inside us until it makes us equal to those ugly things.
Q Finally, what do you want listeners to feel after listening to these stories that the world tends to overlook?
A It would be nice if listeners became aware that silence is not the solution for the evils we do not want or that we pretend not to see. If even just one song could send a positive message inside those who listen to it, it would be a great success. Knowing that a woman can find the courage to go back to living after listening to “Aborto” would fill me with pride. Knowing that a gay boy or girl can find the words to tell the whole world what they feel without hiding anymore after listening to “Louis” would be an achievement. Knowing that someone, who ha the vortex of depression, listens to “Filo di Arianna” felt less alone would open my heart with infinite joy. I would like listeners to feel this. If even just one of them felt it, it would be the greatest success I have ever achieved in my life.
