Francesca Guccione is a Sicilian composer, violinist, sound designer and singer. With her music she tries to explore the chemistry between sound and image, taking her inspiration from the beautiful landscapes and colors of her homeland and from all the places she visited during her many travels. His musical compositions create connections between sound-worlds, in which orchestral instruments and voices mingle with synth and sophisticated audio samples. Her creativity is dreamlike, poetic, a doorway to inner worlds.
FACTS
1. I love to observe what surrounds me with new eyes.
2. I nurture my imagination with great care
3. Each person is a gateway to a different and unique solar system. We should remember it more often
QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
The world around me; I have always had a very thin string that ties my sense of hearing and my sense of sight, I have always observed the world around me and it has always been a source of inspiration. I think it is an expression of respect and love for the places I visit. For example, regarding my latest album Muqatea, the beauty of my homeland was certainly one of the most important inspiration: small stone streets, the dry-stone walls that delimit the countryside, the smell of sunburned fields and the various shades of blue of the sea, which is an element very close to me. Our planet is a very beautiful place and therefore stimulates my imagination :)
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started studying the violin and singing when I was just a child, passionately exploring different musical genres. Growing up, during my teenage years, I started to spend so much time watching movies at the cinema and on TV; I spent many hours inside my bedroom, listening soundtrack from all over the world. I have always been a very curious and creative person.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
This is definitely not an easy question because I listen to a lot of music so it’s very hard to make a decision. :) Here are some titles:
– Fordlandia, Jóhann Jóhansson
– The Blue Notebooks, Max Richter
– Works, Giovanni Sollima
– Biophilia, Björk
– Heligoland, Massive Attack
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
The lights of Alexanderplatz during a February night three years ago. I had just spent the day at Berlinale with a friend, since we were both pursuing a master’s degree on film music and I still remember the charm of that moment, in front of that beautiful cityscape. Truly a fantastic memory
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
This is a really hard question, because there are so many places of my hometown, Modica, that I truly love. My hometown is in the south of Sicily and every season takes on a different light, you can just go down any alley to discover something new from an architectural point of view. Perhaps the place with which I have a deeper connection is the rock church of San Nicolò Inferiore, a very old place, carved into the rock and which features some extraordinary frescoes. I am particularly connected to this place both because the rock is a dominant element of the landscape and therefore very familiar, both because visiting it is a sort of time travel.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
I would be really sad :) I am a very creative person and so I would find another way to express myself, maybe poetry or painting. But I also have an explorer’s spirit, so maybe I would be somewhere in the world carrying out archaeological excavations.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
A record in a flea market with some traditional Indian music for violin.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
At the moment I am collaborating with some colleagues of the conservatory of Rovigo; I studied composition for music applied to images there, it’s a beautiful and creative reality. I feel very blessed to have encountered this magical place during my journey. With my colleagues Antonio Ministeri and Giorgio Bertinelli, with whom I have collaborated and am still collaborating, we have the same sensitivity and desire to create and it’s a really wonderful thing. I’m also collaborating with many artists from all over the world that I have met through my label, Whales Records by Julien Marchal. Furthermore, I would love to collaborate with some filmmakers who needs music deeply connected to his film; I am fascinated by the psychological and emotional impact of sound on the viewer. I am open to collaborations with other art forms. Right now, I’m in an experimental period (like always).
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
I have many memories related to different concerts and each of them with very special people. Perhaps, among many stories and suggestive places, my memory runs to a concert with a band from Palermo many years ago. The band was called Aes Dana and its founder, Giuseppe Leopizzi, has died. I always remember the moments shared with him with great affection.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Very important. For me technology is a means of expressing creativity; just like my violins, piano or vocal cords, every technological instrument like daw, microphones, digital or analog synth and samplers fit perfectly into the making of my music and my sound experimentation.
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
I have a younger sister, Alessandra; I may not be always present due to various musical commitments, but she is my first supporter. We share the same passion for movies and TV series.
Photo © Salvo Dipasquale
francescaguccione.bandcamp.com
