Article by Marzia Picciano
44 km from Lecce and just 10 minutes from Gallipoli is Matino, a municipality in the province of Salento which, in line with the territory, stands with its maze of narrow streets of white stone buildings in which to accommodate around 10-11 thousand inhabitants. In this picturesque and perhaps bordering on cliché scenario, he was born, grew up and wrote music Tomstage name of Giuseppe Tomaa very young singer-songwriter recently guest of the sacred-grail stage of Italy, XFactorin the 2025 edition, in the first phase of Bootcamps.
The narrative of contrast seems almost obligatory in this case, yet there is no desire to take refuge in a simple operation to tell the story of the journey of a boy in his early twenties who, actually active for much longer (he has been writing and composing since he was 14) can say that he has finally arrived at the publication of his first album, Another Planet (Zoo Discs), quite an achievement. Although he doesn't feel he has anything particularly special to tell, “but I consider myself very lucky. I have a family that completely supports me in what I do and my life is divided between studying and musicto”.
The album also includes what was his first unreleased television song, Letter from a soldiera piece freely inspired by a friend in the army, his condition as a human among other humans outside of what we would call a peaceful context. The work of identifying with the other which is the not-so-hidden fil rouge of Another Planet.
From Matino, Toma addresses what it means to close ourselves in the walls of a war situation, what we almost naturally (if not necessarily) build, piece by piece when we are upset, or when we suddenly find ourselves far from something or someone. “It's about distance from the people you love and the loneliness that comes with it.” Giuseppe says that we end up living on our own planet, where all the others and the things that perhaps until a few days ago were part of it are immediately members of other universes.
After all, how many times have we looked at a universe from the outside and failed to find the way in?
Here, Another Planet says that at the end of everything, when we discover the other, we are able to understand if there is water, life forms, in short whether it is a replica or potential such. Eventually being on Earth accustomed us to a perception of “specialty” which fades not too subtly into presumption, but then how did a very young man like Toma move everyone in September last year, simply by looking at or entering his friend's universe?
“I think they are normal feelings, I tried to deal with them without trivializing them. My age and the things I experience lead me to reflect a lot on these issues, also and above all in relation to my future. The feelings I feel are the only thing I want to communicate with the public.”
Like all those who pursue the path of songwriting, you start by putting words and thoughts together, and then you can't stop. “I started writing when I was 14/15 years old, at first almost as an exercise, then it became a real need. For a few years, it became impossible for me not to write when I experienced or saw something that touched me emotionally.” Perhaps an exhausting, even self-destructive exercise? “In the last year especially, I've been coping better, I try not to force what I want to write in order to make it as true as possible”.
Kind of what a singer-songwriter aims for, in general.
“Being a songwriter means representing people, making them feel close and understood with your lyrics. I am very inspired by the great songwriters of the past, but also by modern artists, both Italian and foreign, especially foreign in the last period, who bring something different to their lyrics that I don't hear in all the others.”
Yet in Another Planet there is an important mix of genres. Toma was born as a pianist, yet he is capable of moving from ballad pop to the lighter trap-like genre, just listen to pieces like Different. If something like this can be interpreted as lightness or the need to mature in a specific flow of identity, Toma has a much more precise vision.
“I think it's important to be versatile, I experiment every day, even if the songs are always born in the same way, that is, on the piano or guitar with which I accompany myself. Musically I'm trying to evolve, I want to find new keys to communicate with people, without limiting myself to just one genre.”
A lot has changed since XFactor. Perhaps because he thinks that the most important thing that XFactor has left him is the awareness of being able to do something important. It's also about knowing yourself, as well as knowing the music and art of others. Letter from a Soldier it had been written two years before the debut on that stage. There was an important focus on others, real mines of stories to be translated into music.
“Today I am much more focused on myself, on what I experience firsthand. In a certain sense, I have discovered that the best way to talk about what others experience is to talk about yourself.”
However, without leading to a competition first of all with one's own mind and heart.
“Today I think we all experience a condition of greater pressure and expectations than in the past. Life is increasingly hectic and social media has increased social distances. In a certain sense today everything seems more difficult and under the spotlight.”
Another Planet it also becomes a personal warning to remind us to always relate to a world that evolves, implodes and explodes without finding peace, but leaving a sense of impotence that becomes necessary to turn on the most important element: connection, and to see the other, to better see where we are.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
