A political album, full of anger but also hope for the future. Today, like never before, Marco Mengoni is showcased on the new album “Prism”, the last chapter of the earth after the trilogy “Land” AND “Fur”. A year on the crest of the wave for the singer-songwriter who, after the victory in Sanremo Music Festival 2023 with “two vitaminse” placed fourth in the Eurovision Song Contest, winning the Marcel Bezençon Composer Award, the award given to the best composition by all the authors of the competing songs. Now the output of “Prism”, boosted by the single (we can bet it will be among the hits this summer) “Passa Musica” a duet with Elodie.
The song, which is sure to be among the hits this summer, was written by Paolo Antonacci, Davide Petrella, Davide Simonetta and Stefano Tognini (Zef) and produced by EDD, Simonetta and Zef. “I shared with elodias many thoughts – explained Mengoni -. Among which the fear and anxiety of doing this work that sometimes assails us. So it’s always the music that pushes us to keep going.” Other collaborations include Hernia in “Flowers of Pride”: “I immediately fell in love with this piece”, while heson It’s in “Leave Me Behind”. An unprecedented collaboration with the young Roman singer-songwriter who also signs the song with his rap and R&B sound. Among the most intense songs on the album “Incenso”, “In Tempo” and “Due Nuvole”.
The tour will begin on June 17. Marco in sold-out stadiums for the dates of Bari, Bologna and Milan. The other stages are Bibione, Padua, Salerno and Turin. Live grand finale on July 15 at Circus Maximus. In autumn the first tour in the great European spaces.
How would you summarize this record?
There is a lot of angry Marco. Angry for not being able to say no, for not taking care of himself, angry because he would like a different world with people who connect with mine.
The most “political” song on the album is “The Wretched of the Earth.” Why do you talk about “black hole that can swallow a whole man”?
It is inspired by a psychiatric anthropology essay and contains ideas and messages and words about the society in which I live, surely there is the history that we have lived and that someone has studied, while another has not studied.
Where does the need to take a position come from?
I explain my point of view on many topics, including illegal recruitment (mentioned in the text, educate) which is a plague that afflicts not only Italy, but also other countries in the world. This theme, like so many others, has as its guiding thread the rights, freedoms and evolution of our society. The inalienable right of man is freedom, to feel free to express his thoughts.
How do you see the current situation?
There is still much to be done and that is why the fears of the past are spilling over into the present and I am the first to fear, especially for some issues that are being faced in our country. It is no coincidence that in this song he uses a phrase from Mandela “Our march towards freedom is irreversible, we must not allow fear to stand in our way”. A march for freedom, a battle of free men and women that is never enough, especially when it seems to me that we are taking steps backwards. There are so many voices screaming and screaming in this song, there is hope that women can truly be free with their bodies and that everyone can feel like they are themselves.
Don’t you notice any changes?
Not because for thirteen years on my stages and on my records I still tell how I feel that the human aspect of society is slipping away, since we live in such a fast-paced state of mind that we don’t dwell much on the most important issues.
Why did you decide to wave the LGBTQ+ flag on the Eurovision stage?
I made this decision before going on stage. This is a flag that is a symbol of inclusion towards the minorities that make up our society, which then as a whole are not minorities. If Europe seems a bit ahead on many issues, we are still a bit behind. We are freer than yesterday but it is not enough. Going on stage with that flag I wanted to send a message that many think like me, we are united by music but also by individual freedom
What was the feedback?
I must say that for this message I finally received negative reviews, very few, but there were. Better to annoy if this allows you to move consciences. I understand that there may be people who think differently from me, but let’s try not to fall into absolutism of thought. For the reality that I live, criticizing the rainbow flag for me is anachronistic, out of time. In any case, if what I think is not good, it is better to change people than to change one’s life.
Where do these consciences come from?
I try not to detach myself from reality, I get together with people even far from my world, who don’t believe that I am a god of musical Olympus, who is not the one with a multitude of assistants. I try to live in the society that clashes with the world I live in.
You’re in the media mixer from the Materia trilogy to the European tour. aren’t you tired?
If I stop it’s worse. I am in a cauldron of emotions and I know it very well, which is why I talk about it with my therapist, also to try to get through this moment in which I am experiencing so many emotions. This is beautiful work, but it takes a lot out of you. Private life, for example.
What do you mean?
When I get home I don’t want to see anyone. I know it sounds absurd, but I need it to go offline. After all these commitments I would like to start traveling again. For me, traveling is fundamental to writing and ideas. After Eurovision I understood that I am a citizen of the world and I would like to live for a while in a place other than Italy.
Live in anonymity?
Not to immerse myself in a completely different society. I lived in Florida, in New York, in Madrid… Then I always returned to Milan, which is the city where I live. I couldn’t even be away that much because otherwise who cares for the plants (laughs, ed). It is not enough to water them, I talk to the plants, I caress them.
