He thought of her without hesitation, as one of the narrative voices (the others are Alma Jodorowsky, Monica Guerritore, as well as that of Michele Riondino) of his Pino, documentary on the dazzling parable of the Apulian artist, winner of Italiana doc at the 38 Turin Film Festival, produced by the Puglia Region, the Pino Pascali Foundation and the Apulia Film Commission. The director – historical collaborator of Luca Guadagnino -, his fan (I was struck by the debut), did not expect that Suzanne Vega would demonstrate absolute expertise in the pronunciation of Italian names. I have a special relationship with your country – laughs the singer-songwriter from Santa Monica, a New Yorker by adoption -, the first country I toured, even before signing a record deal. My manager made me sign it on the taxi to the airport. Destination Milan for a tour in the north, Bergamo, Modena, organized by a promoter, Adelmo Quadrio. I was with my boyfriend of the time, of Italian origins, we went to his family in Genoa. Fantastic, food, people, lifestyle, continuous discovery. Now thanks to Walter, I discovered Pino Pascali. His art, his vision. Extraordinary. I really liked the way Fasano worked on the materials, each frame precious.
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Not the first time celebrating an artist, he wrote a song for Picasso.
The Man who Played God. I am familiar with art, I live in the midst of it, I also have artist friends in Italy. My brother a painter, my sister an artist, I made sculptures myself as a girl. I’ve been a dancer, singer, songwriter, I write poetry. I see no limits in creativity, I love all forms of expression.
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He loves collaborations with other artists, Joe Jackson, Dangerous Mind, David Lynch, for example. It happens often, why?
The world of songwriters is very lonely. It’s you with your guitar, your thoughts. But the energy comes to me from working with others, the exchange stimulates me. Opening new doors to worlds I don’t know.
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One of the most important doors of his life was opened by Lou Reed. How did it go?
I saw him play live when I was 19, I went there by chance, I wasn’t a cool girl who went to rock ‘n roll clubs. I just knew Walk on the Wild Side, and that concert was a shock: he pretended to inject drugs, he went crazy, he threw cigarettes at the audience. I liked folk music, nobody did that. It was fascinating. After the show I bought Berlin, a door to a new conception of music. So, I told myself, it means that we all have the freedom to say what we want, even sad, ugly and violent things. And five years later I wrote Wound, which in a sense a twin song of Berlin. Then we met and became friends.
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What is your relationship with Luka?
I still love her a lot, I respect her. I sing it with all my heart and enthusiasm every time. And I keep getting emails from people telling me they just discovered it and it means a lot to them. There was no talk of child abuse then. I hate songs that have a message but one Master of War by Bob Dylan, perfect mix of message and art. Luka came naturally to me, I didn’t look for her.
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He released a new album, An Evening of New York Songs and stories.
We recorded it at the Carlyle here in New York, a special place in the city. We were supposed to start a tour in May, in Europe, with already sold out dates. Hope to be able to come soon. Music has always united people. This pandemic has overwhelmed us but I am optimistic, we will find time to get back together.
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15 December 2020 (modified December 15, 2020 | 20:45)
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