On December 10, the new album by the talented Chiara Raggi who likes to call herself a ‘female singer-songwriter’ comes out. I interviewed her in Rimini, her city and we talked about the past, present and future and about her splendid  MUSICA DI SETA project.

MdS was born with the aim of creating a place where female singer-songwriters can find a way of working that is respectful of music and people. A home where grow and build your future. This is why Chiara is one of our #MYCLAHTTITUDE Ambassadors.
Enjoy the reading
Claudia Gatti

– Chiara, we have read about you that since a very young age you played at being a singer. Today you are a popular singer-songwriter and you live on your music. Can we say that you made your childhood dreams come true?

Yes, I’m making them and I think I’ll never finish! Our heart is extraordinary: when we desire one thing and we get it… immediately it moves on to another desire and it is an endless cycle! As a child, like many I believe, I played in my parents’ bedroom with a round microphone brush and the dresser mirror was my audience. Then I recorded small invented songs on cassette tape and changed the words to the cartoon theme songs. In short, music was at the center of my life from the beginning and it still is today so I can answer you… yes!

– Tell us what it means to be a woman in your field, what advantages and any disadvantages are there?

Shall we reverse the order? “What disadvantages and what advantages, if any,” seems more realistic to me! In my experience there is a factor that returns as a disease: underestimation. If I have had to callus the musical underestimation that I fight with on-the-ground demonstrations, and yes, it’s tedious every time, I still haven’t gotten used to underestimating as an entrepreneur as a woman. Already in the first months of the life of Musica di Seta I had my battles about it. Kindness is often deviant for colleagues and professionals in the sector who mistake it for weakness or submissiveness, but I do not intend to give it up: it is a problem of education. I find it even sadder when this underestimation comes from other women and, alas, happens more frequently than we can imagine. The reasons can be many and I prefer to look beyond, looking for partnerships with reality and with women with whom it is possible to share a piece of the road in an atmosphere of serenity and construction. Realities like yours!

– Musica di Seta is your fledgling record label that sees you as an entrepreneur, but also a 360-degree project that embraces musical culture, support for women, information magazines. How did you get this idea?

Musica di Seta was born from a personal need: to want to build that house that I have been looking for for many years and that I have not found, as a woman and as a musician, a custom built house. I like to conceive this reality as a brand that is entirely dedicated to the enhancement and discovery of author’s music, with a diverse range of action. And as a brand, I want both in constructive and collaborative dialogue with other realities outside the world of music, which perhaps share our same ideals: a working approach that respects the person and attention to eco-sustainability.

– You have a staff of collaborators that you love widely reciprocated. How important is sharing to you? Do you have criteria in choosing those around you?

Thank you, it’s one of the best things for me. Sharing is important to the extent that it is based on transparency and honesty of purpose and roles. The criteria for the choice are basically two: first of all I seek professionalism and seriousness; secondly, but not least, I try to understand if those in front of me can share and embrace the philosophy, the way of thinking, the ideals of Musica di Seta. This is because we deal daily with a topic that has to do with the soul, creativity, art and the “human factor”, emotional involvement, when positive, is essential. Improve performance.

Chiara in Piazza Cavour in Rimini

– “Mosaico” is your latest single just released prelude to the release of the next album in December. What were you inspired by for the realization?

The loneliness and mistrust we are experiencing. Barricaded behind our screens, too often we lose contact with reality and no longer trust each other. Certainly we live in a society where it is good to be careful but if we were able to regain trust in others, I think we would be happier in abandoning the keyboards we shield ourselves from and we could recover a sense of community that I find missing. What is happening to us does not help but perhaps it can stimulate us to recover a desire for the human, for good, for sharing, in fact. Life is the quintessential mosaic with its climbs, joys, defeats, conquests, unexpected events … everything composes an image that has a beginning and an end, of which we are the protagonists.

Chiara Raggi and Claudia Gatti in the Borgo San Giuliano district of Rimini

– Finally, the inevitable question about fashion: do you know that myclah.com
is a Made in Italy fashion portal. What relationship do you have with fashion and tell us if you have a garment that is never missing from your wardrobe or an outfit you prefer?

This question is beautiful because we often forget that “we have a relationship with fashion” every day. What we choose to wear represents us, it is our identity card at a business appointment or on a stage. But I believe that first of all it is the thermometer that gives us an idea of ​​how we are up to various levels of self-awareness because the first person to see us, in front of a mirror, is us and we are usually quite severe judges.

When I get on the stage (hoping it won’t be too long for the reopening) I choose clothes, accessories, shoes with care and attention: I have to feel beautiful in those clothes that come on stage just like the songs and at the same time must be comfortable to play, use the effects pedals and move without the risk of falling! In my wardrobe there is no shortage of black, long, low-cut dresses … they are my passion!

Chiara with our Open Couture Shopping Sofia and the Francine headband

Special thanks: Veronica Cestari (supervisor for MDS Company) and Mario Olivieri (photographer)

Chiara’s style

Basket

×
Back to Top