Discover Gingerly: Malihini’s power of suggestion
For fans of Anna Calvi, Arcade Fire, and Joan as a Police Woman.
Very few couples are able to share both their life and work without losing focus, because it’s difficult to find a proper balance between a sentimental relationship and business. It needs two strong personalities, with an independent and passionate nature. And that’s exactly how Malihini, the music duo I’m introducing today, came together. Two musicians with a great deal of experience met, got to know each other better, and then, after an initial rejection, decided to reinforce their complicity by creating something together. They are Giampaolo Speziale, former frontman of the well-known band About Wayne, and Federica Caiozzo, aka the sweet and graceful songwriter and actress Thony. For the release of their debut album, Hopefully, Again, I had the opportunity to interview them and ask them how they’ve succeeded in finding that proper balance between work and feelings.
As per usual, press play and listen gingerly, before reading further.
Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano.
Why did you choose this name, which means “newcomers” in Hawaiian?
Giampaolo: Actually, that’s not the only meaning. We intended it more as “foreigners” or “passengers”. We have this painting of French prayers at home, with a so-called traveller’s and pilgrim’s prayer. We decided to translate the word “pilgrim” in a foreign language that could be seen as universal. And that’s how the Hawaiian translation came up, because “malihini” pronunciation is the same in different languages. A Japanese and an Italian would say it in the same way. But there’s no significant meaning behind it, it’s just that it sounds great and it’s important to us.
When and how did you get to know each other?
Giampaolo: We got to know each other over time, but our first meeting was completely random. It happened late at night, Federica was walking in a suburban street in Rome, while I was driving. I offered her a ride and a few months later we became better acquainted.
When did you realise you’d be able to connect on a creative level?
Thony: A year later. At first, we didn’t want to play together. Everyone knows you cannot work together if you are in a relationship! And I had already tried it out with a few of my exes, so I knew it was impossible. But then we went on a trip together, where we saw a lot of bands that seemed very happy to just have fun while playing together. They had an amazing complicity, or at least it seemed so, and looking at them we decided to give it a try and see what would have happened. What happened is that we wrote a lot of things in just a few days, so we decided to take it further without any plan or expectations.
So you didn’t set limits or rules of some sort?
No, we just agreed to do it differently. That’s why we send our demo outside of Italy, because none of us had done it before. And that’s why we did a bunch of gigs through Europe, just like those bands we had seen on our trip.
Where are you currently living?
We came back in Rome last year. We were missing the sun, but now we want to move again, we don’t know where yet. We just want to head North.
Is it hard to work with your significant other? How many times have you fallen out?
Thony: So many times!
Giampaolo: Yes, we always have our ups and downs, super highs and some really low lows. Many arguments, but also a lot of happy moments.
Thony: I tend to avoid taking the blame, so when things are going great it’s because of me, when it’s the opposite it’s always Giampaolo’s fault. Always.
How did you write the lyrics?
Thony: Some of them came up with a game. Usually, we sing random things when we are playing, so we decided to play our improv back and write down what we personally thought about that, and what those random words meant to each one of us. And then we put it all together.
Giampaolo: For other song lyrics it wasn’t that spontaneous. We thought it through.
Which is the song that better describes your relationship?
Thony: It depends. It’s more like reading a kid’ secret diary. Sometimes I wrote things against him or against myself, other times I just framed moments of happiness and what I had in mind in that particular situation.
Giampaolo: This album is like a summary of our relationship, because when you are with someone, it’s impossible to feel just a single emotion. You feel so many different emotions, and if you add them together you get a greater sense of it all. So you have to listen through the whole record in order to really understand our story.
Where have you recorded it?
Giampaolo: Upon the Welsh hills. It was an amazing experience, maybe a little unearthly. We voluntarily decided to stray far from everything.
- How did you join the Memphis Industries’ roster?
Giampaolo: We send our demo to a bunch of independent labels outside of Italy, and we chose Memphis among those who replied because they were really enthusiastic about our project.
Thony: They work with great passion, and it’s nice to have that kind of support.
Now that your album is out, what are your plans?
We just want to play it live as much as possible, inside and outside of Italy.
Is there a place in particular in which you’d like to play?
Giampaolo: Germany has always given us a warm welcome, so we’ll play a lot there. We’ve been to France many times, but haven’t actually played there, and we’d like to go to Japan, the US, China, Australia… everywhere!
Thony: There are so many places we haven’t seen, so we want to use this project to travel around the world. Perhaps, that’s the best thing about this job. Playing for a different audience and getting to know different people depending on where you are performing.
Could you recommend three other emerging artists you reckon worthy of being listened gingerly?
They’re not that fresh, but we’d say Amen Dunes, Aldous Harding e MITSKI (Thony: even if I didn’t like her last album as much as the previous one).
