“Generally people believe that if you don’t go on TV or on the radio you’re dead. They’re very wrong.” Thoughts and words of Luca Dirisiowhich he published on December 19 “Everything is fragile”a song that marks his return after a long period of silence. “At 30 you have certain expectations, at 35 others, while at 47 my goal is solely to continue for as long as possible – he confesses in this interview with Fanpage.it – I don’t have any other goals in mind. With more or less visibility, I’ve always made my music. Those who follow me know it”.
Originally from Vasto, Dirisio, born in 1978, approached music at a very young age: “At high school I was among the liveliest kids and during the performances I found myself doing nothing. Everyone else rehearsed performances, but I didn’t. So I asked a friend for information and discovered that the only possibility left was to join a band of nerds that didn’t have a frontman. I stepped forward and we put together some songs. On the evening of the performance we moved all the teachers, who evidently didn’t expect this gift from me.”
At that point Luca took a liking to it: “I decided to try again and signed up for the Parish summer festival. From there I started moving, little by little. I started talking to the guy who played the guitar, I borrowed it, I practiced. I realized that the idea of being able to sing lyrics written by me stimulated me”.
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The first real band took shape at the University, in Rome: “In a very early phase I made eight-minute songs, without a chorus or structure. The big city made me mature and increase my quality. I began to write with a conscience and entered the business. I started sending the demos to the various record companies, combining everything with the classic apprenticeship. I moved around with my scooter and went looking for clubs that were interested in my music”.
The turning point came in 2004 with “Calm and cold blood”.
I had asked Roberto Angelini, who I knew, who his producer was. He put me in touch with Giuliano Boursier and I sent him about ten songs. He listened to them and confided in me that he had identified 4-5 potential hits which he took to Sony. It all started like this, with a contract with Sony itself and the revelation award of the year at the Festivalbar with ‘Calm and cold blood’, precisely.
A real dream.
The year before we signed up for the MTV Summer Festival. We traveled in the drummer’s car that dad had won through the Melegatti panettone competition. We reached the final, but the car broke down and left us stranded. We called the organizers to warn them that we were stopped 200 kilometers away. Obviously we didn’t perform, but we still managed to win, thanks to the many points we had accumulated previously. When I think about it I feel so much tenderness and affection for that penniless boy who showed up at Boursier in the company of his father.
Did you come along?
Alone I wouldn’t have been credible. Even though I was 25, my face looked 15. So I involved him: ‘Dad, come with me and don’t talk. You just have to listen. I need you as a possible witness.’ Since he was a lawyer he could have been useful to me with suggestions.
The success was overwhelming.
I won against all odds. I already had the album ready with 12 songs, but when you see that they start listening to you, the natural stimulus is to write more. Before no one was waiting for you, but now everyone is waiting for you. The real enjoyment was watching the concert with the audience singing all your songs. You understand that you did something good. People saw themselves in my texts and thanked me. It was the perfect stimulus to pick up the guitar and start over.
Luca Dirisio in 2004
Was it difficult to deal with the fame?
The record companies and those who worked around me were more focused on that. The artist must be free, he must not think about success and to put him in a position to repeat himself you must leave him calm. I was 25 and didn’t enjoy that exploit. The people around me told me what to do, I was a fighting dog with a muzzle and leash.
Soon after came “My Friend Sells Tea” and “Use Me”. Criticism was waiting for you.
Criticism has never interested me, I don’t even understand why it exists. Journalists are welcome to criticize, just as haters on social media are good at opening their mouths. They don’t put themselves in the shoes of the artist who tells his life story with those songs. Regarding ‘My Friend Sells Tea’ I can tell you that the song was actually dedicated to a lady who lived near me, on the same landing, next door. The rest of the text was just a decoy!
Did you feel squeezed?
Absolutely yes. My best musical phase, in my opinion, is precisely the one I’m facing now. I live without the worry of knowing how the new single will go. Furthermore, I have my new manager and producer, Piero Garone, by my side. Just having met, feeling a certain synergy with him and feeling good together is fantastic. He is ten years younger than me and was able to give me directions without imposing anything on me. Maturity also gives you the ability to listen more. I am very satisfied.
In 2005 you arrived at Sanremo for the first time, but only as a guest.
At that time I was unbridled. I attended the duet evening and it was like a trip. I sang with my friend Paolo Meneguzzi and it was really beautiful.
A year later you returned, this time competing with “Sparirò”.
I screwed up a bit on the communication front. I was impatient with certain people and journalists who interviewed me and always asked me the same questions. They made you believe they were interested in the singer, but then they put together articles in ‘Novella 2000’ style. They only highlighted my exuberance and this bothered me a lot. I wasn’t happy that week, the only moment of enjoyment was when I found myself on stage, surrounded by an extraordinary orchestra. I was pleased to sing a song that I had dedicated to an important person.
They eliminated you on the third night.
I was nervous due to external causes and didn’t pay attention to the competition. I was forced to be a VIP, to dress in a certain way. They distorted my nature and for this reason I didn’t feel well. I had to stay calm. In any case, ‘Sparirò’ hit the radio charts first and we sold a lot of copies. It is not by triumphing in Sanremo that you win in life.
Is the Festival a closed chapter?
No. But I would like to explain one thing: Sanremo doesn’t work exactly as it is told. It’s not like you send the song and they call you back. At the time they contacted me asking if I had the song ready. It goes like this. The artistic director goes to talk to the record companies, goes to the radio and then chooses the cast. There’s no point in sending the piece, you never know who will listen to it. If they want to see me again at the Festival, there will always be a piece for Sanremo.
In 2011 you participated in “The Island of the Famous”. You already know what I want to ask you.
I imagine you’re referring to ‘L’Isola degli sfidati’, a song I released in 2006. That song wasn’t about ‘L’Isola’. I was talking about ourselves, that we are victims of a system and that we live as if we were in a reality show, always controlled, always under someone’s orders. To find a right metaphor I proposed ‘The Island of Losers’, where in the end an asshole wins. In life the biggest asshole always wins, even if you struggle to study. We are always conditioned and manipulated by those who think they can overwhelm us.
A fragment of The Island of the Famous
During the program they threw that song in your face.
Simona (Ventura, ed.) tried to make fun of me and when I tried to explain she gave the floor to others.
It was predictable that this would happen.
I didn’t speak badly of the program, I repeat. I used a metaphor and used video as a vehicle. I had nothing against Ventura, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone. I accepted because I was going through a stressful time. I said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m going.’ But I was hoping to do ‘The Island’ in Robinson Crusoe style.
Instead?
There were young ladies who sunbathed all the time and who only became alert when the camera passed by. On the contrary, I actually positioned myself on the rock to fish. I have always been spontaneous and I was irritated when I realized that there were people who knew very well how to behave when the spotlight was on. Anyway, I would do it all again. You go hungry, but you’re in a cool place and I love being outdoors.
Honestly, neither “Big Brother” nor “The Island” have ever relaunched careers.
In fact, I didn’t go there for that. The relaunch could perhaps have been the reason for the other competitors. I wanted to enjoy wild life and I didn’t imagine that there were people busy chatting constantly. I have always been myself, others have not. Not to mention that the place is small. Even though you are on an island, you always have to respect space limitations. You don’t have the whole place at your disposal, you have to move to places that can be reached by the cameras. It’s a kind of open-air GF house with no comforts.
The fee also influenced…
I was paid well, but that wasn’t the real reason I went. Simona proposed it to me, I had lunch at her house, I thought about it for a week and I took the plunge. Many advised me against leaving, but I did everything. If there were any mistakes, it was my fault. If I did ‘The Island’ again today, I would go back there with greater awareness, behaving differently.
How much did physical appearance influence your entire journey?
I have never focused on beauty. Beauty is music, it’s seeing fans singing your song, it’s the freedom to write what you want. I don’t judge based on aesthetics. We are born one way and we all become old. The important thing is not to lose wisdom and the desire to grow in the desire to do good things.
Has television ever looked for you again?
Yes. If they contacted me to perform my single, I would go. But I have a certain aversion to TV. ‘The Island’, for example, was designed in my brain in a certain way and unfortunately it became something else.
What are you looking at?
I appreciate ‘Report’ and Gialappa’s. I don’t like series. I’m bored being on the sofa, I prefer going to the cinema.
Let’s get back to the bomb. The present is called “Everything is fragile”. What will happen next?
I would like to go out with more singles, get them out calmly, without pressure. I worked hard for a year and a half and produced a lot of material. I waited for the right moment, I thought this was the best.
Have you marked a break with the past?
No, but music is one of the artistic elements that most needs evolution. The world changes and music changes too. We must never overturn ourselves, but it is right to draw from the present and from the new generations. I hope I succeeded. I’m different from the very first Luca Dirisio, the only thing that binds us is the hand, which has always composed music and words.
Your previous work even dates back to before the pandemic.
‘Bouganville’ was released in November 2019, two months before covid broke out. It was a great disappointment, the work was literally burned by the cancellation of the tour. Music no longer pays with the sale of records, today things have changed and the only solution is live shows. For two years the artists and operators in the sector were forgotten. We worked in fits and starts.
Can we consider “Bouganville” a ghost album?
Not quite ghost. I kept the hard core, the fans bought it immediately. But I didn’t have the chance to convey it to those who didn’t know me. It was terrible.
What does Luca Dirisio dream of now?
I want to get up and make a change. The last few years have been the worst of my life, various things have happened that I don’t want to explain in detail. I separated from my wife, I changed production and now I have a new team. I had to do it, otherwise I would have sunk. And this single is proof of the effort made.
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