Music was written in his destiny and the notes, from being a great passion, also became his job. Marco Baroni, singer-songwriter born in Sassuolo in 1983, released his first single at just 16 years old and has never stopped since then. A life, his, rich in melodies, memories, words, written and sung, of reference figures, from his father to his first producer, to great artists and singer friends.
A refined and intimate singer-songwriter, now on his third album ‘Public Places’, who has never been afraid to face his fragilities through songs, as well as celebrate joys. From the stage of Sanremo to that of the recently reopened Teatro Carani in Sassuolo, the story of a man who lives on music and emotions among scores.
Marco, how did you approach the musical world?
“My passion has ‘distant’ roots: it was passed on to me from an early age by my father Eliseo, who always listened to the great Italian singer-songwriters such as Pierangelo Bertoli, Ivano Fossati, Fabrizio De Andre’, Giorgio Gaber, Ivan Graziani, Claudio Lolli, Francesco Guccini, Francesco De Gregori. I was 4/5 years old: instead of toys I asked for audio cassettes and records. My walkman was inseparable: I walked to school with headphones in my ears to listen to music and my biggest worry was. of always having batteries charged! I have the memory of being a child who didn’t even get to the counter of the ‘Peecker Sound’ record shop in Sassuolo, owned by the Boni family, and I was so happy.”
A very early start…
“At the age of 5/6 I started studying with teacher Norma Veronesi, at 11 I wrote my first pieces, they were little nursery rhymes, I still have them. I was very fascinated by the idea of having fun playing and singing. A feeling inherited from dad: he played the trumpet and the guitar and I remember the picnics on the grass, with him playing with friends. Then there were my studies at the Conservatory of Reggio Emilia, which unfortunately I never completed. I believe that intonation was a natural consequence of my great passion for notes. Growing up I had crazy loves for the records of Samuele Bersani, Lucio Dalla, Ivano Fossati, Luca Carboni, Daniele Silvestri and Gianluca Grignani arrived later.”
The author Alberto Bertoni: what role did he have in his life? “I owe him everything I did. He was my first artistic producer. I was 13 years old when I met him: during a village live show, in Piazza Garibaldi, together with other singers and artists from Sassuolo, I was the only one who , in addition to a cover, he sang his own piece. He approached my father, complimenting me and from there I began to frequent his studio. We spent years together, he taught me to write, to give meaning to words It also introduced me to the discography that counted at the time, hundreds of trips to Milan and Rome up to Sanremo”.
At just 16 years old he released his first album…
“It was 1999, with Mario Ragni’s MBO, the single ‘Un’habit’ was released. The following years were difficult, dark; I started working in the record shop I went to as a child, it became my second home and the owners my second family. And in the meantime, I wrote many songs…”.
How did you get to the Sanremo Festival?
“It was 2007, Pippo Baudo chose me for the Youth category with ‘The image I have of you’ with which I reached the final. At the time I was doing two jobs to pursue my dream: shop assistant and also ecological operator After my participation in the Festival things have changed, I always go around promoting the songs, without ever abandoning live, I am a full-time musician, I feed on music, I write for myself and also for others, collaborations have been born, friendships. In those years I also experienced my first great loss: the death of my father. I dedicate many songs to him.”
What is the difference between writing for yourself and for others? “I wrote songs with Nek, Alberto Bertoli, Alessio Bernabei (ex Dear Jack), Cixi (X Factor 2012), Matteo Camellini (The Voice 2019) and many others. Some records containing songs bearing my signature have achieved certification platinum and gold, as well as national recognition and awards. When I write for myself, my intimate point of view on emotions emerges; when I write for others, I put myself at the service of the word, trying to understand what the artist wants to express, acting as his ‘shoulder’, support. There are no songs that I would have liked to keep for myself, I pursue the two paths of author and singer-songwriter at the same time.”
What connection does he have with Sassuolo? “He gave me Christmas, it all started here. Now I live in Castellarano, which is very close, and I often return to Sassuolo. I recently sang with my friend Nek on the stage of the reopened Carani theater, it was an honor for me, I will always be grateful to him for asking me. And after just two days I returned to that stage with another great friend, Alberto Bertoli.”
Pierangelo Bertoli is among his myths…
“His music has marked me since I was a child, the first concert of my life was his: it was 1991, I was 8 years old and Pierangelo played at the Carani. At that moment I understood that music would be my life”.
And…the ‘Red Woodpecker’?
“In September 2017, Cav. Mario Boni (who died in October 2023, ed.), founder of the famous Formigine nightclub, awarded me with the ‘Picchio Rosso d’oro’, for the song I wrote and dedicated to his club, as he had asked me. A great pride, also because I have frequented the Boni house since I was a child, I worked side by side with his son Rossano (one of my best friends) and his daughter Nicoletta for years as a clerk in their record shop. It’s one of the moments I remember with greatest joy.”
