Claudia Is On the Sofa | Interview | “In the end, I always find my way back to my sofa”
‘Not My Song’ is the latest single by Claudia Is On The Sofa, a project by the Italian songwriter released at the end of 2022 on Riff Records (Italy) and Solaris Empire (Berlin).
It’s the second of the two singles based around the mutual concept: “What I am not and what I don’t want to be.” The song was composed by Claudia Ferretti and produced by Alessandro “Asso” Stefana (who collaborates with PJ Harvey and Vinicio Capossela among others).
Claudia Is On the Sofa wielding her guitar, Emmylou Ribs, sings about the lives of people on the street, the roar and the silence. She sings of the beauty of nature and the stories of people. As a composer and songwriter, she sings and composes music for films and documentaries, one of which was presented at the Cannes Festival. She collaborates with painters and artists such as Angelo Bordiga and Stefano Ogliari Badessi and she creates sonification of astrophysical data concerning galaxies with scientists and sound artists in SoniCosmos. In the end she always returns to her sofa, that subtle wind that always brings her home.
“Claudia Is On The Sofa is my intimate music project”
What triggered the creation of your project? Was there a certain moment when you knew you wanted to make songs under this moniker?
Claudia Ferretti: My first band was a Beatles cover band. I was twelve years old. So I fell in love with live music. Then I started writing my own songs to tell stories about me and about the people I encountered on the streets and in bars. One day I saw a boy all alone at the bar thinking and talking about his girlfriend and their troubles. I went home, I sat down on my sofa and I wrote ‘Tonight,’ the first song I composed for a new personal journey. That was the start.
Claudia Is On The Sofa is my intimate music project, it is the place where I do what I want. No restrictions, no giving in—just myself.
I never stop working with and for other musical projects. I like to say that I’m a sound storyteller. I collaborate with musicians, artists, painters and video makers. I study soundscapes, I’m a field recorder, a sound artist and I realise sound walks. With the help of an astronomer, a scientist, and a sound artist, I created a dataset called SoniCosmos that sonifies galaxies. The evolution of humans will be characterized by cooperation and sharing.
In the end, I always find my way back to my sofa: that subtle wind that always brings me home. Claudia Is On The Sofa is how I channel my creativity. It is the constant place in my life.
I love the moniker you’re using… it sounds like you’re often on the sofa creating new material or am I completely wrong here?
The sofa is a comfortable place where people use to do things they like.
You can just stay and relax on your sofa, or you could eat, listen to music, watch a movie, read a book, sleep or play, jump, make love or have a glass of wine.
You can stay alone by yourself and have some time for yourself, or you can sit with your friends, your family, or your pet.
You can write on your sofa, play, or compose music.
I am frequently away from home. On stage I’m with people; field recording I’m connected with people; at the Daw I’m connected with my brain and on the sofa I’m connected with myself. The sofa is the place where I can stop and collect my ideas, let go and write.
I chose the name “Claudia Is On The Sofa” because the sofa is a place where I can create a warm connection with everyone who hears my music, musicians who play with me, and people who are with me, such as you.
Would you like to sit on my sofa?
Last April we premiered a fantastic number called ‘The Match,’ it’s a song based around recognizing who you are … Would you like to elaborate? Do you feel that we often don’t know who we are?
Thank you very much! My new songs have made me very happy and satisfied. They are exactly what I was looking for. They both talk about the concept “I’m not.” Life happens and we always change. Sometimes you need to look at what you are, maybe just to be aware of yourself. ‘The Match’ is the encounter and the clash between what I want and what I can be, between what I wish and what happens. This movement is not always simple, because sometimes you don’t know exactly where you are going. Anyway you have to make decisions. You need to choose what you would like to be, you need to know what you love and what makes you feel good, but it could be difficult. So I believe that a really good thought is to understand what you don’t want to be, more than what you are. I know that I don’t want to be an asshole, that I don’t want to depend on a partner, I don’t want to lose my music, even if all of this could be difficult.
‘The Match’ is the moment when I ask myself: “are you sure you want to carry on and get serious?” So I sing: “I am not a goddess, not even a Star and I know how to hit myself and how to kiss myself.”
“The story of a woman who won’t play by anyone’s rules”
But let’s jump to your latest single, what’s ‘Not My Song’ about?
This is the story of a woman who won’t play by anyone’s rules.
This song is dedicated to everyone who declares: “I don’t mind about what people want me to be. I’m what I am and that’s all.” “Would you like me to be a good wife? No, I’m not. What’s the problem?”
I sing: “I am not a love song, I am not a wife and not even a mother. I’m not what you want me to be. But I’m sure that I’m not the worst at all.”
‘Not My Song’ is the ballad of the silences, of the unspoken words and facts never acted that create what we are.
Even when you are not a great manager, a good musician, a mother, a sad or happy person, you are not the worst… there is always something worse.
I’m a woman without a husband or children, which is unusual in my country. But that’s just me. That is exactly what happened in my life. Maybe I chose it, maybe I did not. However, here I am. And I don’t think I’m the worst.
So it’s basically a continuation of ‘The Match’… with the same concept?
‘The Match’ says: “I’m not afraid about myself because I know what I don’t want to be and what I cannot be in this moment”.
‘Not My Song’ says: “Please, don’t judge me. I won’t be what other people want me to be. I’m not perfect, I know, but I’m what I want and what I can be”.
Are you planning to release an album?
I have a dream. I have songs for a new album, and I’m currently performing them live during my concerts to get a better connection with them. Some musicians used to perform their songs live before recording in order to test and gain experience with them. So do I. I’d like to record some songs in a secret location on the mountains, in nature, where I enjoy spending time.
“‘The Match’ and ‘Not My Song’ are the outcome of a journey that I went on while conducting research”
Would you like to tell us how you typically approach songwriting?
My approach to songwriting evolves along with me.
‘The Match’ and ‘Not My Song’ are the outcome of a journey that I went on while conducting research. I retired to a secluded location in winter, where I listened to the sounds of my inner and outside worlds while being cradled solely by clouds that burst between the mountains.
I felt the need to develop some of my ideas. There were some songs, music, words, that were fighting inside me to come out of me. So I made the decision to take some time, and I traveled to the mountains. I love mountains, I love seeing clouds making circles crashing in the woods. So I spent some alone time in the Alps. It was winter.
There was just me, my guitar, the fire, my recorder and nature. It was just me and my music. And it was fantastic! All of the songs and lyrics that were exploding inside me came out in a matter of days.
But this was just the start. I always work deeply and cut, change and refine my songs: just a few things are essential and they are enough to be understood.
Then I asked Alessandro “Asso” Stefana (who collaborates with PJ Harvey and Vinicio Capossela among others) to produce my songs and work with me to keep this music simple and not overproduced. And he succeeded. He captured and enhanced the essence of the song by recording each instrument live and paying close attention to the sound and the atmosphere in which to immerse the listener.
What are some future plans for 2023?
I had a great year in 2022, and I played several great gigs around Europe. I especially enjoyed my performances at Liverpool Sound City with cellist Daniela Savoldi, a fantastic artist and performer. I intend to tour throughout Europe in 2023, just like I did last year.
I have plans for my research on sounds too, my sound art works (field recording soundscapes and soundwalks). In my concerts I mix soundscapes (created using field recording sounds) and my songs. And I want to work more in this direction. It will be a small but powerful concert that will transport people to distant worlds of warm sounds and silence, as dreamy and real as the soundscapes and music. I deeply believe in the power of imagination!
My galaxy’s sonification work SoniCosmos has become a sound-light installation too so my team is working to release it all over the world (with appreciation by Unoosa, Springer and others). And so many people are asking me for soundwalks too. In the future I will go on exploring soundscapes to describe the world by sounds, because I am deeply convinced that the attention towards perception increases the possibility of meeting the beauty of the world, thus recognizing it, spreading it, and protecting it.
At the same time, I need to retreat alone to a secret location to reconnect with my music and create.
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Sonia Raineri
Claudia Is On the Sofa Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
Riff Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram
Solaris Empire Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
‘The Match’ by Claudia Is On the Sofa
