Brick by brick Michele Bravi built his debut
Four albums since his debut in 2014 with “In small steps” until recently “What do you see when you close your eyes” For Michele Braviwhich turns thirty today. He wasn’t even twenty when, after winning the seventh edition of X Factor the previous year, he debuted with his first album. We then took a leap back ten years and re-read how we had reviewed the first album by the musician from Città di Castello.
“A passi piccolo” is a record truly born “in small steps”, built brick by brick, without too much haste. In this sense, Michele Bravi could not have chosen a better title for his debut album; the album arrives six months after the singer’s victory at the seventh edition of forging ahead too early and for courageous and unusual choices.
“A passi piccolo” is produced by Michele Canova (with the executive production of the singer’s manager, Fabrizio Giannini – both Canova and Giannini have been part of Tiziano Ferro’s team for several years now), it was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios of Los Angeles and the Kaneepa Studio of Milan and contains eleven songs including the singles “La vita e la happiness” (by Tiziano Ferro and Sergio Vallarino, better known as Zibba, the unreleased song that Michele presented on the stage of
There are several Italian artists who were called to take part in the work of the album as authors of the lyrics of the songs contained in it: Giorgia, with whom the young singer from Città di Castello had the opportunity to duet during the talent final show, he wrote together with the singer-songwriter Norma Jean Martine the song that opens the listening to “A passi piccolo”, “In bilico” (a song that can be considered an ideal business card, through whose lyrics Michele seems to introduce himself to the public : “Balanced on the voice, between light and dark I am / in a race with fears, one day I will win / I feel all eyes on me, it’s vertigo / it’s a journey under construction, I have no certainties”); Tiziano Ferro, in addition to writing “Life and Happiness”, also appears as the author – together with Emanuele Dabbono, former competitor of the first edition of X Factor – of “Never be afraid”; Luca Carboni signs “Amarti da qui”, a song freely inspired by “Aquì te amo” by Pablo Neruda; Daniele Magro, former author for Emma and Noemi, signs the title track “A passi piccolo” (song initially intended for Noemi, discarded from the final tracklist of “Made in London”).
To these we must then add James Blunt, who together with Tobias Gad composed “Serendipity”, the only track in English on the album (the song should have been included in the album “Some kind of trouble” by the English singer-songwriter, published in 2010, but was then put aside), and some young local authors such as Andrea Regazzetti (who edited the Italian language adaptation of “Un giorno inpiù” and “Bene per semper”), Piero Romitelli and Emilio Munda (“A truer world”).
As regards the more strictly musical aspect of the album, “A passi piccolo” presents itself as a good debut album; it is an album that manages to highlight every facet of the voice and personality of Michele Bravi, who here confirms himself as a good interpreter capable of entering into the songs and making them his own: the eleven songs contained within the album range in fact from traditional and melodic ballads such as “One day more”, “Life and happiness” or “Loving you from here” to songs with more colorful and lively atmospheres, such as “Never be afraid”, “Good forever” ( than with the Its ternary rhythm presents itself almost as a sweet, soft dirge – “You hold me, but so strong/and I discover that I am as delicate as ever/and the heart remains still until I love you/forever”, Michele sings delicately at the beginning of the song) and “A passi piccolo” (a song with a jaunty sound, characterized by some piano chords which, supported by drums in the background, support the singer’s amused interpretation – Daniele’s lyrics are very beautiful Magro, who lightly describes the desire for revenge following what appears to be a defeat: “Disappointments are useful: the darkness, the storm/and we will reap the fruits, whatever remains”), passing through a passage pop/rock with an international flavor like “Serendipity”.
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“Sotto una buon stella” (a ballad slightly “dirty” with electronics, in the style of Tiromancino) and the song that closes the album, “Prima di sleeping” deserve separate mention; the latter is a song composed by Michele Bravi and characterized by almost dreamlike, surreal lyrics (“And then the window opens/and I start running and running outside/there’s the smell of fresh grass outside/the imagination doesn’t calms the colors/I stay here”, Michele sings with his warm, enveloping and deep timbre) and from a melancholy and tedium melody that places the piano in the foreground.
Michele and his team knew how to wait for the right moment to deliver a simple but quality album to the market. “A passi piccolo” is an album that contains within it many interesting ideas which, if cultivated in the right way, could bear good fruit in the not too distant future; and the conditions to continue to do well (not only as an interpreter, but also as a songwriter: “Prima di sleeping” is the best surprise on the album) are all there.
