Francesca Michielin: “Being an artist today is difficult”
«I don’t know where to turn my head anymore», sings Francesca Michielin in “1484”, the song that opens her new album “Magia bianca”. The background of the album, which marks the return of the singer-songwriter from Bassano Del Grappa three years after the previous “Cani loose”, lies precisely in that verse. In the nine songs that compose it Francesca Michielin reacts to a long crisis: «Participation in the 2023 Sanremo Festival (she ranked “only” twenty-first with “Fango in cielo”, ed.) was just the tip of the iceberg. I, who have always been a control freak, understood that you can’t control everything. I felt uncomfortable going to the studio, uncomfortable experiencing music. It’s a difficult reality for today’s artist: you have to come to terms with a series of things that are damaging the mental health of artists». Which? «There’s a lot of music coming out every week. This has become a very competitive industry. You look at the charts, the numbers, the concert plans to see how many tickets one artist has sold rather than another. When I started there was no Spotify. Today I put myself in the shoes of many young artists who find themselves in a moment of great pressure. I would like to inspire them to be more courageous.”
The journey, from X Factor to today
Speak like a survivor, Francesca Michielin. In a certain way it is. He won X Factor at just 16 years old, in 2012: “And I’ve been going to therapy ever since.” After his initial success his career immediately went into a crisis phase. She came out in 2013 when Fedez chose her as a partner first for “Cigno nero” and then for “Magnifico”, over 360 thousand copies sold and 8 platinum records won in a handful of months. In 2015 with “di20”, thanks to singles such as “L’amore exists” and “Battito di ciglia”, he managed to carve out a space of his own in Italian pop, bringing the sounds of artists like Lorde to our country. Second place at the Sanremo Festival in 2016 with “No degree of separation” was the sign that the path was the right one. Then in 2017 came the “indie” turning point with “2640”: inside there were songs written together with Tommaso Paradiso, Calcutta, Cosmo. The subsequent “Feat (State of Nature)”, was on paper an ambitious project, designed to show all its facets: rock (in the duet with Maneskin with “State of Nature”), songwriting, pop. He was “strangled” by the pandemic. “Cani loose” was the last album he worked on together with his former manager Marta Donàamong the most influential of Italian pop of the last twenty years. Their paths separated last year. Michielin announced the divorce: «After almost ten years of adventures together, I have made a decision that is not simple but which opens a new course for me: I will no longer work with Latarma management. I thank Marta and the whole team for having supported me since I was a young girl in what is a beautiful and also somewhat ruthless world, but from today I feel the need to change direction and open new paths for myself.”
“From tonight I’ll be in charge”
«From tonight I’ll be in charge», he now sings in “Strega Command”, one of the songs from “Magia bianca”. The title recalls the children’s game “witch commands color”. The color, now, is up to you: «I felt like I had to take that step for a long time but I didn’t have the courage to do it: it was like taking a leap into the void. Then I got courageous. However, I won’t throw anything away about the relationship with Marta Donà: she is one of the best and most powerful managers in Italy. I owe my ability to do my job to her. Today I am my own manager and I have learned from the best.” He worked on the album together with Rocco Rampinoaka Congorock, Italian DJ and producer who is also highly appreciated abroad, so much so that he was chosen to remix songs by Rihanna and Mark Ronson. An important part of “White Magic” was also born from a trip to London during which Francesca Michielin collaborated with David Kostena reference figure on the international scene who worked closely with Bat for Lashes on albums such as “Fur and gold” and “Two suns”: «With Kosten I went back to having fun in the studio. And I’m sure that I will also bring that fun to the stages, on tour.”
The sound imagery
The sounds of “Magia bianca” move between calls dungeon synth, fantasy suggestions and contemporary pop referencesbuilding a refined balance that runs through all nine tracks of the album, which are joined together by both textual and musical transitions. The imagery of magic and witchcraft becomes the tool to address the issues of identity, freedom and expectations imposed on women: «Artists today have become reassuring, because it is better to reassure rather than screech: in music one no longer dares. I decided to do something different. I realized that I don’t want to do things with black magic, but with white magic. Don’t experience this work as a performance but as a passion.” What is “black magic” and what is “white magic”? « Black magic is everything that is in some way the result of choices that have nothing to do with pure and sincere love for music. I have never done things with black magic, but with this record, in this historical period, I still wanted to reiterate my position.”
