For emotions, first room on the right

The first time we talked to you about first room on the right was in December 2024. Since then the project has evolved over time, while maintaining its identity clear: a music made of suspended atmospheres, guided by the falsetto voice of this mysterious Neapolitan artist, in his early twenties. First room on the right is a location. A place where you can experience emotions, relive the past, travel with your mind. It is a space in which to look inside, but at the same time it is also somewhere else: a room, in fact. It brings to mind “Separate Rooms” by Pier Vittorio Tondelli, a painful, hard, deeply emotional book. Even there the room is both object and symbol: a space in which to intensely experience feelings, but also a place separated from the real world, almost another dimension. The new EP, “the girl who played the piano” is out (she will present it on tour). Inside there are electronics and dream pop suggestions that recall M83, together with echoes of James Blake and Fred Again, artists that the young singer-songwriter had the opportunity to open live. The only guest voice is that of Drast of Psychologists. Let’s talk to first room on the right via Zoom.

In this work, compared to the past, is there a common thread?
First of all there is that of research, an infinite search on my part. Music is my main passion, the thing that keeps me going every day. I’ve always lived it the way I like: digging into the songs, looking for them, trying to find them. And it’s a very difficult thing. But the satisfaction comes when you finally manage to make a song that moves you in the way you’ve been looking for for a long time. Especially when you’ve been producing for a while, it becomes increasingly difficult to get excited.

Trying to generate emotions is another distinctive trait of your way of conceiving songs.
For me, what matters is being able to find new ways to do it: a harmonic progression that gets inside you, a drum kit that makes you say “oh my god, what a rhythm”, a bass or a synth riff that hits you.

So you play a bit of everything on this album?
Let’s say yes. I’m always into productions in one way or another. There are tracks born in my room in Naples that I produced completely alone, others that arose in other people’s studios. But I was always there to help, to give ideas. I like being inside that process.

It can also be heard in the sound of instruments.
I mainly play the piano. Actually, not for a long time, but I’m really passionate about it. I’m also starting to study a bit of harmony, although I often go a lot by ear. I don’t have the time to apply myself as I would like, but it’s a world that fascinates me too much. I’m very interested in everything related to sound: I watch lots of videos, discover new plugins, play with synths. For me it’s almost like a video game.

And you want level up?
Of course, hence the importance of the study.

The EP revolves around the female figure. Somehow you also try to give her a face, I think of the cover: this slightly mystical girl, almost a witch, with the black cat. You explore the female figure in many ways: the person you love, a friend, an advisor. Sometimes it almost seems to me that you are also talking to a feminine part of yourself. Is this a correct reading?

Yes, I believe the female figure is a point of reference in life for everyone, probably since childhood, also through the relationship with our mother. It is always a source of so many emotions. I also believe that our most feminine part, which we all have, is linked to the emotional sphere: sensitivity, fragility. There are those who experience it in a more evident way. In this sense, yes, this music speaks a lot to my feminine side, because it all comes from my sensitivity. And it’s a double-edged sword: sometimes it doesn’t help, other times it almost becomes a small superpower. In my life the female figure has been the cause of many things: insecurities, memories, hope, melancholy, but also wonderful sensations. And I’m not just talking about a person who loves each other, it’s something broader. Now that I think about it while I’m answering you, maybe it’s so present in my music precisely because it talks to my belly. And I live on this type of music. I can’t listen to music that isn’t emotional: it just doesn’t get me.

The cover you chose… is it a friend of yours, or is it an image you found and felt it represented exactly what you wanted?
It’s an image I found and said, “This best represents what I want.”

You start the project with a title, but also with a mantra: “I’m afraid of the future”. You make emotional music, sometimes dreamlike, which takes you elsewhere, but at the same time remains anchored to reality.
The fear of the future, both on a personal level and for what is happening in the world, is more than legitimate and must be revealed, even through music. I wanted to make a personal track. Usually, when I write, I prefer to abstract myself, dream a little, idealize the things that happen and build a narrative around them. But inevitably, especially at my age, I’m almost 23, the fear of the future is constant. Especially today, with all the stimuli of social media, we always compare ourselves with others. There are dynamics that in my opinion weigh heavily on kids my age. I am personally working to find a balance and live more in the present. I don’t want to lose sight of the simple things of the day. And then, clearly, music is the best place to vent all this.

Your project has a strong identity: the sound and the falsetto. But over time all this could also become an artistic enclosure. Do you think collaborations or other voices could be an evolution of the project?
When I started this project, I promised myself not to put boundaries on myself. Emotions would always be at the center of everything. In the future I don’t rule out anything: singing with a normal voice, making instrumental music, involving others like I did this time with Drast, anything.

Is anonymity part of the “video game” you describe or is it a choice?
It is a personal necessity. I’m a pretty insecure person by default, although I was much more so in the past. I don’t like social media: I don’t like the system that is created around artists, where it seems that fans are more interested in them as a person than in the music. I don’t judge anyone who does otherwise, but for me, now, it would be a source of useless thoughts and would distract me from music. I want to focus 100% on that.

How did the “first room on the right” project come about?
Totally randomly. I was with a friend of mine in Naples, at the gardens, in July 2023. We were chatting, I was going through a particular period, also on a personal and musical level. At a certain point I had this idea: start singing over some falsetto beats. In the past I had already used falsetto in choruses or small parts of songs, and I always felt a particular emotion when I did it. So I thought: if it excites me so much, it’s the right choice. I also wanted an abstract name, which wouldn’t remind anyone. I initially thought of releasing five demos with just a landscape, without showing myself. In the end the name “First Room on the right” was born: an idea that came to me from the unconscious, also connected to my room at home, the first on the right, where I make music. Everything happened very naturally.

You also had the opportunity to open for artists like James Blake and Fred Again… what feelings did that give you?

It was incredible. On the one hand I was a bit self-sabotaging: I thought “how is it possible that I am here?”. But it was a crazy and fantastic experience. Saying hello to them, knowing that they know and have listened to my music, was a blessing. They don’t let artists open who they haven’t chosen and listened to. They both gave me so much inspiration. I remember Fred telling me that half of his team thought I was a man and half a woman (laughs, ed.).

Do you see an interesting scene in Italy?
okgiorgio, nayt, Marracash, Brunori, Lucio Corsi, Andrea Laszlo De Simone and others: there are many male and female artists who are putting emotions, the most sincere ones, at the centre. This approach can only do good.