interview
Rita Zingariello
Il canto dell’ape is the third al-
bum by Rita Zingariello, sin-
ger-songwriter from Puglia.
I would start with the title and
concept of the cover: can you
tell me how they were born?
A friend of mine has given me the
nickname of Queen Bee because
she says I remember her this spe-
cial animal that loves being sur-
rounded and loved in a unique and
univocal way. I would like to see
who would not want it :) From this
joke a song was born, the song was
born the title of the album and
then the cover image, which depi-
cts me as an unlikely queen, with
hat and a scepter of paper, sitting
on a throne deliberately low, with
an almost austere expression that
masks my underlying shyness.
You talk about songs like your
“psychotherapy”. What did this
record cure you for?
Only once in my life was a psycho-
logist, driven by the curiosity to
know me better... we chatted, I did
a test and at the end of the me-
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eting told me that I could be her
assistant :) The privilege of wri-
ting songs means finding a fissure
from which to release emotions
that otherwise I would keep inside,
it means emptying me leaving a pe-
rennial trace of what I have been
up to the moment before writing.
When I recorded this record, I sim-
ply took care of my emotions, the
one from which I cared afterwards
I could not even imagine it. Now
I can finally say that the desire to
sing it in the world has become one
of the best motivations for the re-
mission of a disease that scared me
so much.
How are the sounds of your al-
bum born?
In reality I am a curious person
who likes to join musicians who
make beautiful music and I never
discriminate on beauty. I listen to
jazz and electronic music, classical
music and Italian author music, in-
die pop and indie rock, especially
in English. Then I stop there whe-
re listening has lightened my heart
and tore a smile. In my
records, in this especial-
ly, I have searched and
chosen sounds that meet
these requirements first of all for
myself. If I should then be able to
stimulate, in the listener, important
reflections without becoming bo-
ring, my bet would be won.
How was “The Snow Game”
born?
From my personal relationship in
danger. A story dominated by in-
decision and the inability to make a
choice. When I realized that I had
to surrender to the feeling, I wrote
this song, inviting the other person
to get on the thin thread of my life
and risk his balance with me.
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