Premise: I am very biased.
Anyone who knows me knows that no matter how much Italian music I’ve listened to, few are the voices that have managed to enchant me like Levante’s, singer of Sicilian origins but adopted by Turin that in 2013 stole my heart with her Alfonso (if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to scream “CHE VITA DI MERDA (WHAT A SHIT LIFE)” at one of her concerts, I am telling you, you’re missing out on pure joy), and a few months later made everyone fall in love with her debut album Manuale Distruzione, Manual Destruction, (for which she was also a finalist for the Tenco prize).
In an indie-pop music scene like ours, made up of out of tune guitars and (bad) singing Facebook statuses, Levante is one of those artists who helped me regain faith in the art.
Her lyrics are never mundane or predictable but always inclusive and ready to accept everyone’s point of view.
Sure, she writes her stories but is aware of the fact that each can then find their own subjectivity, to turn words into their own journey, always unique.
That’s what I tried to do with her latest album, Abbi Cura Di Te (Take Care of Yourself), released in 2015 by Carosello Records.
I wanted to read the texts in a “Bossy” key, using this stratagem to talk to her on issues dear to our project, pending to see her again onstage (my ticket for March 13th in Milan is waiting for me at the cash register at Alcatraz, my name is already on it).
TEARS DON’T STAIN
“No one will know
I cried like a dog to get you “
I. Crying is a female prerogative.
We tell children not to cry like little girls and so, in essence, not to show their feelings. What do you think when you see a man cry?
L. Yes, crying is, in the consciousness of many, attributed to a “female” attitude, legacy of a chauvinist culture in which the man is tough and unfamiliar with fragility. In reality, for a long time now, we have begun to move away from that idea of man. I’ve seen many cry and I never once thought they were a “pansy” but rather sensitive people, sometimes fragile. We all are, denying it is useless.
HELLO FOREVER
“Take all that I have
even if it is little
it’s worthless”
I. The idea that a woman must vanish for her man is dangerously normal. The opposite, a little less. This story is not about you, but about your friend.
The question is: when a person tells you about the end of a love story, is the narrative different according to sex? Do you see a lot of differences between the story told by a male friend, and that of a female friend?
L. I have known both sides of that love story, their version of the facts, their tears, their weaknesses. I find that this is not an issue of gender, but purely of character. Most of the time we find ourselves talking about stories in which the woman is complex and sensitive and the man is shallow and crude. This isn’t the case. That’s an old picture, and if such situations still exist among young people today (which I’m afraid they do) then I have been fortunate enough to not have experienced them.
“Even if it is little, it’s worthless…” I want to clarify that it is not a synonym for annulment, for debasement. It’s ironic… provocative. “Leave the world indifferent” is the next sentence that tells, “ok, all I have given you won’t have shaken the world… but it was all I could give and I donated it to you.”
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
“Wherever you will go
take care of yourself
care of your troubles”
I. The female figure statistically must take care of more people within a family.
How does one carve out time for oneself? If you think of the women in your life, what example did they set for you?
L. In my family women have always been in control, always. Since grandma Rosalia, to grandma Maria, and to my beloved Mother. Many children, many grandchildren and a lot of “familial” work. I have always been surrounded by strong women that yes, took care of the family and worked hard but never forgot about their passions, friendships and that bit of sacred free time that you cut out from your day with a little planning… I don’t think it’s impossible.
CARUSO PASCOSKI
“Come on let’s dance together
I like this slow dance
your beautiful eyes escape
and I like you for real”
I. They always say that men should make the first move, but if I think back to my teenage years I can only remember my friends complaining about having to always do everything themselves, because “if I wait for him…”
Was it the same for you?
L. Hahaha, sometimes yes it was. When I am certain of wanting something I never hesitate, not even a little.
I think I scare men. I have a very direct attitude, some even say I can be “aggressive”, so… rarely does a man approach me. It’s always been the opposite.
THE REVENGE OF THE GOOD
“From how much I wanted you
I looked for you
in me and in the world
from how much I wanted you
I found you
Here you are, happiness”
I. Why is it that a man who seeks his own happiness is empowering and a woman who does the same is selfish?
L. Really? These distinctions still exist?! How infinitely boring. I do not know why a man should be allowed to chase happiness at any cost and a woman can’t do the same… I don’t think this kind of distinction exists, at least not in the context in which we find ourselves living in.
It’s obvious that in answering your question, I mean it limited to customs and to the society so-called Western and evolved: this conversation would be very different if the analysis shifted to pathological situations of abuse against women, or to sexist cultures, unfortunately not so distant from ours in terms of space and time… But in that case, a deeper reflection would be required and we should take a much more complex anthropological path.
COUNTING TO TEN
“Among the things I would like
there is the understanding of why
you have to throw up
your frustrations on me”
I. Given that female solidarity exists (because otherwise I’ll really throw myself into the sea), have you ever had to confront the envy of another woman?
L. EVERY GODDAMN DAY. Female envy is very dangerous and the most absurd thing is that who feels it does not know they are suffering. Very serious! Instead of turning that sentiment into something positive like admiration, esteem, many prefer getting mean. Anyway… only thing worst than female envy is male envy, undervalued as human tears. Because, precisely for that consciousness, man is not expected to envy others… but yes!
To conclude this banality of the discovery of hot water I wanted to say that, yes, solidarity exists and it’s TRANS.
EVERY GODDAMN DAY
“You’re free to go
but maybe I’ll keep you a little”
I. Once a friend of mine told me that she had written to her ex, when I asked why she said, “to tell him that I didn’t want to hear from him.”
Is there some truth to the stereotype of the undecided and complicated woman? Above all, is it true that men are always framed?
L. Men in these things are very simple. If it’s over it’s over, if it goes on it goes on. Mode ON or Mode OFF. Women are more complex and I won’t go further with the explanation, there’s too much to say.
TILL DEATH DO US PART
“Will you take
as your lawfully wedded wife
to love, honour and respect her
in sickness and in health
for richer and for poorer
till death do Us part?”
I. Given the song is written thinking about something else entirely (and maybe in privacy I’ll tell you how much I cried hearing you sing with your mom), what do you think of gay marriage and the current situation in Italy?
L. The situation in Italy with regard to gay marriage embarrasses me a lot. I am embarrassed having to explain, to those who oppose these unions, that love knows no limits, and it mustn’t jump these obstacles. It is a matter that touches me closely, and that makes me suffer greatly.
Two people who love each other and want to be together deserve equal rights and equal opportunities and, although many argue the contrary, couples of first league and second league don’t exist.
LET ME GO
“And let me finish
at the end of a path
to find it alone
the road like a real man”
I. What does “real man” mean to you?
L. The “real man” of which I speak in the song is not a kid. He’s an adult, a man who is lost but does not lose the strength to find himself.
I LOVE MYSELF
“Yes, I love myself
even when I do not know to put up with myself”
I. The idea of loving yourself is perhaps the common thread of this album.
Do you believe that the acceptance of one’s own shortcomings (especially physical) is more difficult for a woman? Why?
L. Oh, I’m the wrong person to ask such a question. I do not know why we don’t accept what we see in the mirror. We try to maybe change ourselves according to that problem that is the subject of our conversation: the rules of society. Others want us to be perfect and we do not want to disappoint them. Accepting ourselves is the most beautiful thing in the world but also to wanting to improve is, only if the only goal is to please ourselves.
PLASTIC POSES
“It is the desire that I don’t have then
to hear the usual clichés”
I. If you think about men and women, what are the common grounds that come immediately to mind?
L. I think of the kid with the gun in his hand and the little girl with dolls and everything else is a consequence of those early teachings.
TICKET FOR UNLIMITED TRAVEL
“Despairing while running to the train
I won’t get on
I have a ticket for travel
limited to hell”
I. A final question that can be useful for everyone, men and women: how did you change your ticket and make it unlimited?
L. I did not stop in front of the closed stations, I did not stop because of a failure of the train, I did not stop. Because he who hesitates… is lost.
This is my ticket for unlimited travel.
The ABCDT tour restarted in late January and continues with the scheduling of new dates through April, including special concerts in Milan and Turin, the first cities that supported the rise of Levante.
If you still do not know this artist, I advise you to go and see her live to appreciate her grit, her professionalism and her talent.
If like me you’ve loved Levante for long time, I don’t have to tell you anything, I’m sure you already have a ticket in hand.
See you under the stage, to take care of us.
February 25 – Narni (TR) – Municipal Theatre Manini
February 26 – Bari – Demodè
February 27 – Sulmona – Soul Kitcken
March 11 – Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata (TE) – DEJAVU
March 12 – Chiaravalle (AN) – Teatro Valle
March 13 – Milan – Alcatraz
March 31 – Cap 10100 – Torino
April 1 – Cap 10100 – Torino
April 24 – Genova – Supernova Festival
