With the debut single Like Thin Icepublished on June 1st, Cecilia Barra officially inaugurates her solo journey.
Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Milan, after her studies in jazz singing and her experience at the Berklee College of Music, she has built a personal stylistic signature in which Italian songwriting, neo-soul, jazz and contemporary R&B coexist naturally.
Like Thin Ice tells the emotional fragility of the twenty years through sounds that look to the London jazz-funk scene and to realities such as Kokoroko and Ezra Collective, anticipating an artistic project that intertwines international influences and Italian authorial tradition.
For the occasion we asked Cecilia to choose five songs that left a profound mark on her human and musical journey. Five listens that tell a lot about his artistic vision and the roots from which his music was born.
Hiatus Kaiyote – Molasses
“A band that I have to mention and that I had the honor of hearing live, is Hiatus Kayiote, and their song Molasses, specifically, changed the chemistry of my brain. The way they play with structures, with time, the scene changes they create going from one section of the song to another, the way they use the voices of Nai Palm (and yes, I do mean VOICES in the plural!) have definitely awakened something in my creativity, significantly influencing my way of composing and arrange.”
Sly & The Family Stone – If You Want Me To Stay
“If they told me I could only choose one song to listen to on loop forever, until the end of time, I would say If you want me to stay, by Sly & The Family Stone. Yes, that bass line is physically addictive and yes, Sly's voice and his velvety phrases send shivers down even the big toes, so what better song to take to the grave than this one?”
Erykah Badu – Certainly
“When I started studying jazz I did it guided by a single goddess, Erykah Badu, specifically after listening to her Certainly. And before the jazz police are called inappropriately, I know, it's not jazz, but that's exactly why I fell in love with this song. Erykah dirty her soul and her R&B with the perfect dose of jazz, with the piano intro, with the walking bass in the bridge and with her super personal Scatting, accompanied by rich choirs of clusters, on the tail. Do I want to get dirty like this too? Of course I do, so keep your head down and study the standards!”
Lucio Dalla – Anna and Marco
“While I was living abroad I fell back in love with Italian music thanks to Anna and Marco by Lucio Dalla. I can't explain why and how, it just happened. Perhaps with hindsight I can say that it is thanks to the drama of the melodic line, emphasized by Lucio's scratchy voice, thanks to the lyrics which are so moving and which are so easy to identify with or perhaps thanks to the perfectly balanced and detailed arrangement. The fact is that thanks to him I have picked up the my native language and I am eternally grateful for it.”
WILLOW – symptom of life
“The last song that I absolutely have to add to this list is symptoms of life by WILLOW, where jazz, rock and odd tempos intertwine in something super unexpected, demonstrating the fact that, if you follow your instincts and simply create what you feel like creating without trying to prove anything to anyone, something wonderfully honest can only come out of it.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
