It took seven years to come back with a new album of unreleased songs.
The last was ConVoi in 2013. Seven years during which Claudio Baglioni was certainly not at rest: there was the artistic direction of two successful Sanremo Festivals, the Capitani Coraggiosi project with Gianni Morandi, a couple of tours that have toured half of Italy.
"And the record was there, it ran parallel, even if I often thought that I would never finish it. Especially in the last period, with the lockdown that paralyzed me at an artistic and compositional level for 3-4 months - says the Roman singer-songwriter. , presenting the record in zoom link - Maybe I had even less to say than in the past, but at my age we try to say it better, even if, like many colleagues, I am aware that we are fighting with a story that wins. always".
And for this, therefore, he took all the time he deemed necessary for "In this story that is mine".
A record that he took by the hand, pampered, cared for, and finally finished "even if there are already twenty things I would like to do again", he adds, confirming his reputation as a fussy, precise artist in search of absolute perfection.
It will be released on December 4th (in five physical versions), the sixteenth studio work of his fifty-year career: 14 songs, 1 overture, 4 piano and voice interludes, 1 finale.
"All done by hand, entirely played, as it was done 50 years ago, a little vintage, a little out of date, for the sounds, for the spirit of the Sixties".
A "concept" in which each instrument claims its sound space, in which the melodic lines are clearly traced and which draws the parable of love, both personal and universal, ("because as far as it has been plumbed it always has something to tell us" ), in which echoes and references to past works, explicit or more hidden, are not lacking, as Baglioni himself admits.
"The father is Oltre, the mother Strada Facendo, but there are also connections with I am here. Voice and piano are my tools of the trade. Perhaps in my life I have held the guitar more tightly than any other person".
What is not there is instead the reference to the moment we are living.
"I am convinced that the expression of popular art is abstracting from the succession of news events", he says.
"The record feels these 50 years of my music. And tries to be affirmative in what I can do".
And it is to the piece Man of various ages that the task of taking stock is entrusted.
"A sort of autobiography, but without dates, names, facts. A quick glance at what it was, because now in my mind I relive it like this: I have lost the clear memory of when something happened. More than nostalgia, it is the desire to stop time, to leave a mark ", as he also sings in the first verse that opens the record (" I lived to leave a mark ", in Altrove e qui).
"I think it's the mission of anyone who comes into the world. And I don't complain about my trip, even if there has been some empty passage", adds Baglioni, still like everyone with live activity, postponed to next year with Twelve Notes, the twelve appointments scheduled at the Terme di Caracalla in Rome, from 4 to 18 June 2021, which will be followed by four more live shows in July and September at the Greek Theater in Syracuse and at the Verona Arena.
"We are all on foot from this situation. The workers of the show business, of which I am also a part even if I am a 'graduate', are in great difficulty. I have no recipes, but we have to roll up our sleeves: create support funds, like me and others we have already done with personal subscriptions. And then look for new forms for concerts: I disagree with those who say that live shows cannot be done in streaming or on TV. It is not the same thing as live music, but you have to find a captivating formula, new concert readings to create interaction. Mine is an appeal to artists and TV publishers ".
One last step is on Sanremo, of which he was artistic director and landlord in 2018 and 2019. "Returning as a guest? I could do it, but as someone pointed out to me, you can't leave popes and re-enter cardinals. I thought it would be more dramatic, instead I came out with a good response.
This year we will do what we can, certainly the spaces of the Ariston, despite the mythical scent of the theater, do not help ".
Claudio Baglioni will present "In this story that is mine" on Rai Radio2 on December 3 at 9pm live from Rome.
Also in videostreaming on Rai Play and recorded on Rai Italia.
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