Songs to dream. If you are ready to let your imagination go, Credendoti montagna by NicolasZullo is the right record for you, to be released on CD and digitally on March 18th, 2022 for Ibexhouse with the artistic supervision of Alessandro Fiori, led by the title track, a surreal fairytale chosen as first single
The ten songs of Credendoti montagna were composed by Zullo, selected from many ideas born between the end of 2019 and 2020 and then collected into a record. The common thread that holds them together is the will to investigate the dream dimension of the human being and its inestimable value. Each song is conceived as a secret that seeks (and never finds fully) a pretext to be revealed.
There are eyes that look like nests, hearts crushed under stones, a man who dies from the explosion of a firecracker, a mother who was once a countryside, the right of rainwater sold for a little to a feeble fire. In short, there is the typical disorientation of dreams. The lyrics, imaginative and far from the alleged objectivity of the chronicle, try to verbalize the profound truths to which we access in some mysterious way through dreams, without the presumption of being able to translate them.
Nicolas Zullo (guitar, voice and lyrics) is an Italian songwriter from Viareggio (Lucca), born in 1992, who passed from his philosophy studies to the adventure of musical production. After a few demos and various live experiences, Zullo dedicated himself to the realization of his first official solo album, following the feelings of each song with extreme naturalness.
The arrangements have been elaborated in communion with the creativity of the musicians Mirko Bianchini (bass), Edoardo Dinelli (drums) and Umberto Ciccarelli (piano and keyboards). During the quarantine imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Zullo came into contact with the Italian well known musician Alessandro Fiori (synths, violins and choirs), with the help of whom he recorded Credendoti montagna during March 2021 at the Cotton Factory in Forlì-Cesena, with the technical support of Emanuele Cotone Para and the master of Stefano Amerigo Santoni (Sycamore Age).
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
I started my project as a normal continuation of my attitude to life when I was a boy. I play music only because I really enjoy making it, as if it were a game. I’m nowhere right now and I’m not going nowhere. Music helps me to understand my feelings.
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
I think that a song, or a piece of art, should communicate what the artist cannot refrain from expressing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s serious or cheerful, concrete or abstract, what really matter to me it’s the urgency to express that specific thing in that specific song.
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
My top 3 artists last year… I don’t know, I’m sorry but I can’t answer this question. I don’t want to. I love a lot of artists all over the world and everyone is important to me. I don’t like making charts.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
When I feel uninspired, I simply not do anything. I wait. I sure don’t force myself to make music. I have no strategies to get out of a dark moment except to live life with people who help me find joy.
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
My 2022 projects and goals are to be able to keep produce music. Nothing but this, which is what I prefer: to write and to record new songs, keep learning about music, keep discovering music on my guitar.
Favorite movie or TV show?
I don’t have a favorite movie but I watch a lot of them.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
My latest release is the first single from my first LP, Credendoti montagna. It’s the song that gives title to the whole new album which will be released in March. This song is about the desire for trust between people.
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
I don’t know for sure and I’m nobody to find a proper solution, but certainly something needs to be done because in my opinion nowadays only those who do something similar to what people are used to listen to manage to establish themselves as an artist, without taking any risks. So, I would suggest giving more space to those who do different things than the mainstream, those who try to break the mold. To be different means to be useful.
Can you outline your creative process?
Yes, it’s really simple. I take my guitar and start playing, then I let the words come out of my mouth: if I like them, I save them and start working around them, otherwise I’ll try another day!
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
My style is influenced by everything I like and it is rarely about music. People or what they say have often more influence on me than an album that I like. Obviously there are also some artists thanks to whose influence I created my own imagery but I prefer not to talk about this!
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
I don’t have a real career at the moment, but I am proud of the first time I played in front of an audience. There must have been about 30 people, but I was very scared anyway. By the end of that performance, I had absolutely become another person.
What do you think an artist should sing about nowadays?
I think nowadays and always an artist should sing only what she or he likes.
Do you have any regrets?
No, I don’t have them right now. But I have a lot of aspirations for my music and I think I will play for a long time so I will definitely have some one day.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now?
Be far-sighted, do not rush, listen to your friends.
