Roshelle: “I said to my passions: eat me”

Roshelle opens the rooms of “Mangiami pure”, her first album of unreleased songs. After years of research, in which there was no shortage of collaborations with Geolier, Giorgia, Elisa, Guè, Rkomi and others, the singer-songwriter inaugurates a new artistic phase which coincides with a metamorphosis and a focus ten years after her participation in X Factor. As in a box of assorted chocolates, each piece has its own taste: sweet or bitter, delicate or intense, unpredictable. Nine songs like nine different flavors. The artistic direction of the album is by Tommaso Ottomano, a genius already alongside Lucio Corsi and Chiello, a turning point in the path of Rossella Discolo, born in 1995.

“This album is the synthesis of a provocation”: in what sense?
This album is the synthesis of a provocation that I launched at everything that attracted me over time, both the shadows and the lights, to take possession of me. The title photographs this: “Eat me too, my passions, eat me up, do with me what you want until you leave nothing behind”. This work is a big step towards knowing myself and is a good start to a conversation with a me who is more aware of the messages and feelings I have felt.

And how was it born?

I had the will to do something with these feelings I felt, with this tortuous piece of life. A fundamental contribution was that of Tommaso Ottomano, artistic, musical and visual director of the project. Although the matrix of these songs is melancholic and has its roots in a sense of loneliness, I am still happy with the result and I rejoice in it. Because releasing an album means that we can move forward from now on: there is no longer any need for me to think about these songs, these stories.

And now what’s left?

I will think about it when, with great joy, I sing them live, also because performing is another of my great passions.

How much did Ottomano’s approach have an impact?

I had the pleasure and fortune of spending a lot of time with Tommaso. Expanding my cultural background by looking at certain authors, certain directors, also observing films with attention to photography, helped me. I am strongly passionate about cinema, music of a certain type, even soundtracks. And this bonded us, stimulated us.

What can those who listen carefully to the album find?

I like that, if you listen to it, you can find a lot of hidden treasures and you can also discover the things that I’m most passionate about. The themes are personal, therefore they are my experiences told, but the languages ​​we have chosen are the result of what accompanied me during my exploration phase

X Factor in 2016, “Le Ragazze di Porta Venezia” in 2019, then the collaborations with Elisa, Giorgia, Geolier, to name a few: are they all stages? This is a fast-paced market, where everyone seems to have to be in focus immediately. And instead you sailed.

Going back to the X Factor period: I wasn’t writing songs yet and that’s a big factor. If I went back I would do the whole experience again, but as a singer-songwriter. At the time I paid attention to different things. As I grew up I understood the importance and power of words, of telling something in a certain way rather than another. I also tried to look at myself a little from the outside, something I hadn’t done before.

How did you feel then?

I felt a bit like I was in a car that was no longer really in control, either of the speed or of the vehicle. At a certain point I wanted to believe in a value within me that was pressing strongly, which was that of “not necessarily” and I started to follow the my time.

How important is curiosity in your process today?

I have read a lot, I have studied many works, even if “studying” has a mechanical meaning that I don’t like. As I was saying, I followed what attracted me: authors, directors, photographers, designers, music. Before I didn’t allow myself this time, I didn’t go so deeply, I didn’t know the roots of what I liked.

On the record you also put yourself in other people’s shoes. How was “Limbo” born?

That story crossed my mind one day: this man told me what he was experiencing and I empathized completely. Since I was a child I have had a very strong relationship with the male gender that exists within me. My first tattoo was a line, a symbol of synthesis and rationality. The day after that meeting I went to the studio and this song was born, because I felt the desire to tell it from a male point of view

The album has an imagery between dream and reality.

Yes, because it is much better to enjoy the journey than a sad story. This cinematic atmosphere, this sensation of being elevated, separated from the earth, is magical. Nostalgic, self-critical, even self-inflicted feelings. There is masochism, obsession, being the executioner, and also the pleasure in feeling used.

There was also a controversy sparked by Szilveszter Makowho says he was excluded from the project, but that his ideas were still used visually. How did you experience it?
I felt sorry for the ways in which he was aggressive towards me. Knowing myself, I know the pure and genuine intentions from which ideas arise. We also had a discussion in private. He boasts of a copyright of the ideas which he has never confirmed to me. I didn’t want to follow his idea, I wouldn’t find anything interesting in doing so, even though I respect him. And then he works with other people around me, it wouldn’t have made sense to “copy” and do it under everyone’s noses. It’s a controversy that made no sense.

There is a song that comes from a confession, “Musa”. What piece is it?

It’s an uncomfortable confession. The songs cannot be explained, especially when you don’t know if they are fantasy or reality.

Is there a muse?

Yes, I had and have a muse. It’s an ode, an attempt to tell someone something they can’t hear. I’m throwing words into the wind that will probably never meet those ears. It’s a lament. It could be called “the song of the sirens”.

Where does this feeling come from?

From feeling abandoned to myself, which is a great creative engine. This person was like a cut, but a cut that made me create a beautiful patch.

Does it really exist?

Yes, no. We don’t know. Let’s leave a question mark.

Where is he then?

In the ether.