TWO bedrooms and kitchen. A steep staircase that makes you breathe out of breath when you drag your suitcase up. Noemi is too enthusiastic to complain about the lack of an elevator. As soon as she emerged from the West Kensignton subway, with her sister Arianna who joined her from Rome, she climbs noisy and cheerful up to the second floor. The redhead of X Factor, moral winner of the 2009 edition, commutes between London and Milan, where she is engaged as a coach (with Carrà, Pelù and Cocciante) in the new talent The Voice of Italy. “I needed fresh air, new energy. Italy is beautiful, but musically lethargic. I wanted to meet people, make plans, and so we left. At first it was very difficult to find a home, finally here we are”, he explodes, while he fixes the luggage of the guest and greets Gabriele (Greco), the companion (and bassist) with whom he shares the London bohème.
They moved in four months ago, and they already feel at home. She has just held a showcase in South Kensington on the roof that was once the legendary BiBa boutique: six of her songs, one by British pop star Ellie Goulding and I heard it through the grapevine, to reaffirm her love for black music. He is in contact with The Snare, a cooperative of ska-jazz musicians which also includes the Italian Salvo Nostrato.
“We have a great time”, he says, “we do a lot of jam sessions, at Troy Bar, at Open Mic, at Ronnie Scott’s, which has now become an Italian colony. Mario Biondi played there for a week, sold out every night. I hope that nobody takes it badly but the next record I would like to do in London “. It is not a good time for Italy, in every sense, and the sluggishness that is fighting in the capital in terms of live music has pushed the pop passionate to flee. Is the music business also a victim of big babies? “We are cowards, terrified of novelty, lazy in the face of change, we prefer to remain in the comfort zone of the known”, he protests. “I’m not complaining, I had the opportunity to sing beautiful pieces, signed by excellent authors like Vasco Rossi, I duet with Fiorella Mannoia, I participated in the Sanremo Festival, but I would like to return from England (will I return?) With an album from very modern sounds that is the mirror of me, of my generation and of what music is today. I listened to Laura Mvula’s cd and I was fascinated by the production as well as by the voice; the song entitled She, where electronics mixes to African choirs, it’s crazy. You are one of those characters who manage to combine root music with modern and radio sounds with extreme freedom. I hope to have the strength to propose such a project, taking risks, because my career it practically started yesterday. I would like to get to where Lorenzo Jovanotti arrived, an experimenter, someone who loves to dare and can afford it. He made sparks in New York. Could it be time for the Italians? “.
Thirty-one years old, from Rome, Veronica Scopelliti aka Noemi, a passion for singing and a passion for cinema, is not the type of vocalist that takes place in the recording studio. For someone who aspires to become our local Etta James, live activity is essential. But in the capital the scene is asphyxiated and businessmen are afraid to take risks, even with someone like her who has sold 450,000 copies in three years. “Lately when I contacted the owner of a club he said to me, how many people are you able to bring? Do you understand? Musicians in London make a living from their profession, but here they are almost all unemployed. For me it is even more difficult. They think I had luck only thanks to X Factor. But what choices did I have? What else does the TV offer? I am not the one of a passage in playback and go, miming the song mortifies me. Here I can live on music, I am fascinated and amazed by people what I meet, from the passion they put into their work. Italy is in a phase of panic that freezes everything, even creativity. Mind you, I didn’t come with the idea of depopulating abroad and playing at the Royal Albert Hall , but only to question myself. I met a young jazz singer, Marta Capponi, who told me: “My certainties were wavering, I came to London in search of confirmation.” This is exactly my attitude, my escape is a challenge, here the level is altis mum, first-rate singers perform in clubs, I thought they didn’t even take me into consideration. Instead it happened, and it’s a great satisfaction. I knocked on doors, like any beginner, and word of mouth was terrific. The exchange with musicians and authors is continuous, profitable. I met a young dubstep producer, Silkie, who has already offered me some arrangements. It’s nice to feel appreciated. ”
Italy is not that far away. The compatriots recognize her, stop her, ask her for an autograph, are amazed to find her on the subway like any other. They are students or families on vacation, but also young people on the run, tired of being part of that embarrassing thirty-nine percent of the unemployed. A stone’s throw from home is Coffee 4U which makes an excellent cappuccino in half-liter cups, with lots of foam. Finally, there is the contingent of Italian musicians, small but fierce. “I met a guitarist, Antonio Forcione, who has lived here since the seventies. They call him the Jimi Hendrix of acoustics. He told me that he had no job prospects in Rome. In London he won a street musicians competition; started it all, he recorded seventeen albums. Here meritocracy pays, we can’t go on without the nudge. Even in our work. You see, every era has its gaps and for music it is not a fantastic moment, but an artist has always and in any case his challenges to overcome – today as in the golden years of discography. The first for me was the X Factor, then the ghettoization of the talent show, finally the effort to get out of it. I began by performing covers of soul and rhythm ‘n’blues. The talent helped me to understand that I can sing with the same strength also in Italian “.
The doorbell rings, it is the lady from the real estate agency who has come with a purchase proposal. Gabriele welcomes her, who is preparing to go out for a jam session at Ronnie Scott’s. “My London life? A reassuring routine”, concludes Noemi. “I wake up, I take the dog down, I meet with authors, I record auditions, I meet producers. I try to sing every night, and if I can’t, I rush to find a place for the next evening. This is a country that makes you dream . What artist are you if you stop dreaming? “. What if it fails? “I still have the cinema card!”.