Part 2

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

For me, reading is rewriting. You have the freedom to imagine a new world for words. When I write lyrics, I'm in my own flow. Often I sing my lyrics directly, improvising. Other times I write in a notebook and then rework it on stage. Words in music are an alchemical process. I either write my own lyrics or sing songs by other writers.

I rework the compositions, working on the scores, the voice and the arrangement, the soundscape in which the voice ''dances''. Even in the Baroque period, choruses actually indicated a repetition with virtuoso variations of the performer's choice.

I'm going to talk about a Baroque aria that I sang and recorded in the past: Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.  



I think the essence of Baroque intensity is comparable to that of modernity. So I chose When I'm Laid: the farewell song between Aeneas and Dido, a mythological moment and an archetype of modern history.

Dido is a mythological figure. She represents abandonment, including the loss of love, roots and territory. This strong woman, Dido, builds a city like Carthage, but falls in love and loses it. Dido and Aeneas had to say goodbye. Aeneas couldn't go back and Rome was built. Destiny is stronger than human will.

I approached this song just as a song, but in a trip-hop interpretation. The strings are written like a cello score, but the drums are acoustic drums, the vocals are sung very close to the microphone and the sound is saturated, like a 50s jazz song. There’s a sense of passion, mystery and a great evocation of a wound that will never heal, like a contemporary torch song.  

Here’s a selection of some of my other reworkings of renowned songs: Eisler - Brecht: "Und Ich Werde Nicht Mehr Sehen;" Luigi Tenco: "Ti ricorderai;" Kurt Weill: "Youkali;" Thelonious Monk: "Round Midnight;" Tuxedomoon "In a Manner of speaking."

[Read our Tuxedomoon interview]

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Daily practice and training, on the artistic-physical-expressive level, is essential, and if it's seriously damaged, medical solutions are available. It's important not to underestimate this.

The voice requires daily care and treatment. Talking is something the voice likes to do. In searching for a way to relax in my life, I found that caring for the voice leads to introspection and a smarter lifestyle.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

I think that technology plays an indispensable role in my artistic experience, and mine is a multifaceted experience.



Technical equipment is now part of my language, my voice filtered through microphone and software. And in many ways post-production is the key to the music’s essence. The microphone is an instrument in itself, to be analysed and selected. Part of the composition.

The use of electronic technology, of software, of the possibility of reproducing the voice, of capturing it, of recording it, of processing it and inserting it into soundscapes or instrumentations of various kinds, has always been fundamental in my research, in my career, in my experience.

My story as an artist begins in the Italian new wave. I am a singer who has gone through many eras and who is still developing a very personal path, focused on a 360° approach in various musical-theatrical soundworlds. I have always carried a thread within my work of elaborate elements and attitude. This has not neccessitated academic knowledge, but a personal approach to music.

Recording the voice has changed a lot in the last few decades. Thanks to technology, I can now work on specific details such as the microphone, the sonority or the processing of the voice. I can also edit or sample the voice. I can also change the sound of the voice, make edits and sample my voice. I see these as possibilities.

I like to record in the studio, make specific edits and create effects. I have used many different software studios over the years. I recorded with analogue equipment in the 80s and then digitally from the 90s until now. I use technology as a different way of composing. It's not just a tool to help me create sound; it's a real tool that produces the work. Technology is an integral part of my compositions.

I don't work alone; I work with electronic producers, technicians and sound engineers. Sound engineering, recording studios and groups of other collaborators help me to understand how to use the voice in music. It's not just about the notes or the soundscapes. It's about the sound itself. That is my speciality. I also work on different kinds of songs. And I also focus on the voice as an instrument, where the materiality of the voice disappears and the voice becomes a pure form of sound.

I also work with my voice in theatre, where I perform other characters. I don't just focus on composing, but on finding the right character to express what the project needs. Technology is a useful tool in this process. I'd say technology is fundamental. Without it, my approach to sound would be completely different.



For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What, from your perspective, makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

We need a ‘’voice protector’’. I discovered mine! He is an engineer who loves the voice of the person he is working with.

Yet the focus needs to be multi-faceted. Understanding how to listen to your amplified voice and, over time, discovering how to make it feel more like your own is crucial. The way you listen, both acoustically and psychoacoustically, is very personal and depends on your taste, and this process combines phonological techniques and deep self-listening.

Become familiar with your own voice and empirically determine which microphones and software are closest to what feels right.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

I see the voice as an instrument. The space in which the voice flows is not separate from the physical presence of the performer / singer. Our life force and breath are combined with sound. The sound quality of our voice says more about us than the words we say. The human voice is one of the most powerful healing forces in the world.

Our lives are filled with a hidden force that gives voice not only to our thoughts but also to our physical bodies. Listening is a simple gesture of welcoming someone, a practice that is quite challenging. The human breath is what determines our voice.

Voice and sound, as well as the performer, also have the opportunity to resonate with space. Intersections are part of my path. Exploring various theatrical and musical experiences, sometimes even including experiences in different fields. This has been a topic of investigation for me for many years.

There is also an inner landscape of the actor, as Konstantin Stanislawski talked about, which has a connection to the outer landscape; drawing on experiences, even very different ones, is a way of discovering the dimensions of humanity.

This is the stuff of art. Starting with the breath ...