Inspired #0045 Birthh
Introducing herself to a global audience with her atmospheric indie electronic single, ‘Chlorine’, and with new music from her second album on the horizon, we took the chance to speak to Florence-born singer, songwriter and producer Birthh (Alice Bisi) about the things that inspire her.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
Growing up I used to listen to a lot of Italian music from the 60s, to this day Gino Paoli is still one of my biggest musical inspirations; I also listen to a lot of hip hop and r’n’b, I think Noname is an incredible lyricist and she’s definitely someone I look up to a lot, the third name that comes to mind is Arca, I don’t listen to his music often but the way he plays with textures and spatiality in songs really resonates with the way I perceive music, he’s never bidimensional and that is something I try to achieve in my songs as well.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
There are plenty of films that inspire me, I adore the French New Wave and the way it completely changed how films were made, just like in Godard films I love playing with editing and with the way the listener is involved in a song, hopefully someday I’ll find a way to deliver an auditory version of Jean-Paul Belmondo looking straight into the camera to talk to the audience in Breathless.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
New York has my heart, I met so many lovely humans who showed me life from a totally different perspective, there’s also this frantic, creative energy flowing constantly everywhere, it can be a little draining sometimes but it feeds my soul in beautiful ways.
How would you like to inspire people?
There’s something really dark going on in the world right now, sometimes it kinda feels like those good vs evil scenarios in movies: corporates keep ignoring our planet’s need for radical change, discrimination and hatred are spreading to the point where we’re so desensitised by the horrible things that are happening that nothing really shocks us anymore. Yet, if you think about it, statistically the chances of existing are extremely low compared to not existing at all, we are truly lucky to be born, to be humans who experience music, sunsets, blue skies, warm hugs, and if there’s one thing that's gonna save us from all this negativity is the beauty within and around us. I always try to bring a little bit of that light through my songs, to remind people that no matter how dark life gets you can always find Orion’s Belt somewhere in the sky if you look up at night, that’s honestly my only goal as a songwriter.
Interview by Karla Harris