indieBerlin met singer-songwriter Azzura: a long trip to reach the light

by | indieBerlin

double Azzurra B - web (1) (1)indieBerlin talked to inspirational and promising artist Azzurra about her music as she will be performing her delicate electronic and dark pop this Thursday at Marie Antoinette.

As she just released her powerful singles Grey and Kidnapped, she proves, once again, that her striking sensibility and raw vocal talent has no limit. We cannot wait to hear her debut album Underlight and we will just be able to do so on the 12th at Marie Antoinette! Join us for a night of live performances, emotions and discovery. Azzurra’s presence and strong dedication to her music is certain to make a impression on you this Thursday. Read all about the artist’s inspirations, her impressive music tastes as well as her will to make a difference, artistically and humanly.

Tell us a little bit about your musical background

There are no musicians in my family but thanks to them I grew up listening to the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Genesis, Nina Simone, Queen, Jeff Buckley and more. My father usually bought a lot of records. Growing up I started discovering music on my own, approaching the electronic trip hop scene (Massive attack, Moby, Portishead, Lamb) and then more recent artists such as James Blake, Sevdaliza, Banks, Sohn etc.

Tell us something about yourself that you always wanted to say but no one has ever asked you yet

I would like to talk about weaknesses, no one would love to talk about it. Because if you are sad you are not interesting. I would like to talk about all the artists like me that are making sacrifices and fighting to believe in a dream. Despite everything I’m positive,in the last years many psychological support networks were born, inspired by Music support in UK and it seems that also other countries are starting to put more sensitivity about it. We can also listen to more hip hop artists talking about depression or fears, which means that recently there is more awareness about it.

How does the songwriting process work for you and in your band?

I usually compose my music with Ableton Live and a midi controller, it helps me to write the melody. Then my producer Federico Ferrandina works out my ideas in a wider arrangement and adds his own ideas developing and sharpening our shared artistic vision. It always happens remotely as we are in different countries (he lives between Rome and Los Angeles). He recorded all synths, guitars and he hired strings players to complete the production and once the instrumental part was ok we brought our lyricist Clea Scala in the process. She penned 80% of the lyrics in the album. Then I reached Federico in his studio in Rome to record the final vocal tracks.

 If you had to describe your music to a deaf person, what would you say?

I can describe it like the moon after the eclipse, like a long trip to reach the light.

If your music was a movie, which genre would it be in?

Federico would say it’s an existential sci-fi movie, in the tradition from Metropolis to Blade Runner

 Tell us a secret about yourself

If I tell you what secret is it?

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I got many of my inspirations from the pain, which i believe is part of our life. I think that light cannot exist without darkness. Love and positivity are also part of my creative process as a counterpoint to all the blurred colours I see in the world.

What was the nicest compliment you once got?

Last Summer when I played in Italy, after the concert I was surprised to meet a beautiful pregnant woman, she told me that when I was singing a song called “Shining” the child started to dance in her womb. She also told me that was something never happened before. I had tears and goosebumps, it was an intense emotion. As a singer – songwriter my goal is to convey emotions.

How do you feel about covering a song?

As a singer I’ve started performing when I was 13 years covering songs of my favorite artists. I’ve recently did with Federico a personal version of one of my father’s favorite bands, the Deep Purple. The song is titled “You keep on moving” and we’re going to perform that cover during my next concert on December 12th at Marie-Antoniette.

Do you dream in color or black and white?

I like to dream in color even if this world seems to fade to an uncolored, dark tone. That’s the reason why I wrote my first single Grey.

Do you want to greet somebody?

My French Label, Another Music Records, they put love, transparency and professionalism in our work

 

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