Gianni Togni: «My new album is also released on cassette as a gadget to give as gifts»

The Roman singer-songwriter Gianni Togni returns with a new album, Edizione extraordinary, out on April 19, after the 2022 live album, il Messaggero interviewed him

«I wanted a strange interview with myself, to answer with a song questions that I never get asked. I wanted to explain what a passion means to me”.

Do you remember the first spark that brought you closer to a score? «My paternal grandmother played the piano and was an opera singer, although not by profession. Then I had an uncle who was a lawyer who was also a great jazz pianist, and another aunt was a painter and sculptor. I started singing as a child, then they gave me a guitar and a piano.”

Is having curiosity the most important thing? «Yes. And age should not be a limit. I’ll be 68 in July. But I listen to music, I read books, and even fanzines, I go to exhibitions, I travel… It’s never enough for me. And then to tell life, stories, first you have to live. We artists are ultimately a bit like thieves of other people’s lives.”

The album is released on vinyl, CD, digital format and cassette! The old tapes? “Yes. For the previous album I had asked the distributor to print 200 cassettes as gadgets to give away. In the US they often do this because kids who start driving at 16 usually start with their parents’ old cars. We sold them in an instant. So this time we’ll do it again. And then they are beautiful to look at.”

In 1988 you dedicated a song to Anna Magnani… «Yes, Nannaré. The author Guido Morra and I managed to summarize the figure of Anna Magnani, smiling and tragic at the same time, to try to tell Rome through an actress who embodies it perfectly. An ironic and cheerful but also sad city And tragic. Rome is wonderful.”

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