As a child, they called him “the professor”. «A nickname given to me by Mauro Malavasi, a historical producer who frequented the same artistic salons in Bologna as my father… It seems that I have always spoken of love and that I have said sensible things in relation to my age». Emotions today Paolo Antonacci, son of Biagio and nephew of Gianni Morandi, born in 1995, pours them into songs. He is one of the most sought-after authors today, his handwriting is worth platinum. In other words, the watchwords of the last two summers, Mille and La dolce vita, are his. Among the artists with whom he has collaborated are Annalisa, Alessandra Amoroso, Irama, Nek, Eros Ramazzotti…
Art son with the aggravating circumstance, also nephew of…
«I’m afraid of being an anecdote, I don’t want to be reduced to an oddity because it would detract from my work. Instead, I want to leave my mark with music and art. This Sanremo was psychomagic for me, it made me make peace with my surname, with the sorrow of being son and grandson of. Now I live from this job, I can buy a house».
Judging by the way Sanremo went… Two of the five songs in the final were by him…
“These two songs are the devil and holy water. Tananai Tango has class; Made in Italy by Rosa Chemical is crazy. The first conversations about long-distance love and when the idea of the video with the Ukrainian couple separated by the war came up, I understood how universally translatable it is. Tana risked being accused of taking advantage of a tragedy, but with his attitude he managed to avoid it. Rosa, on the other hand, risked being massacred by the controversies, but he too was good at explaining the meaning of his piece, which musically still has an Italian matrix, like Cecchetto’s Gioca Jouer. It is a topos of my writing, there is always a strongly quoting component of Italian music, which we then supplement with modern sounds».
What was it like hearing Grandfather Gianni pronounce his name among the authors in Sanremo?
«It moved me a bit… You also have to consider that in stories like mine, parents/grandparents also have worries. We play it ourselves, we know that this career is like a rollercoaster, that everything is fleeting, but they also know it. And let’s say that in Italy the stories of the children of … often had less than brilliant destinies and that many valid people fell victim to the cliché».
With these results, the heartbreak goes away. NO?
“When I saw the songs in the finale, I thought of my mother when I left science high school at 16 to go on tour with dad. I remember dinners full of silence and tension… Then I finished school and also got my Abitur, but…».
Did he train to work as a porter?
“No, it was an escape. I was in third grade and had three subjects below mid-year. I was in the phase where you think your opponents run in the family, and on top of that, in the pre-Instagram era, famous people lived in mythologies and everyone felt entitled to ask you questions. Well, then I would have wished for a different surname. With that escape, peace began: I understood his work, his absence… And when Tananai posted a t-shirt with Biagio’s face for their duet, it came full circle.”
“THE GIRLS? MAYBE I WAS SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THEY THINKING OF MY FATHER AND THIS DIRECTED ME BACK. BUT IT’S DIFFERENT NOW…”
His writing career?
«I always get angry and say that I don’t owe anyone anything, but in reality I owe everything to Davide Simonetta, with whom I work as a couple, and our manager Stefano Clessi. Davide who is about ten years older than me is like a mother, father, brother, friend… When we work as a couple he is more into the production and the melodies and I into the lyrics and the melodies, it’s like there’s a higher consciousness, a shared brain. Before I met her, around the age of 20, I went through a difficult moment: I had a very strong OCD, I lived in a forest of symbols and I was ashamed like a dog… I ended up in the day clinic for treatment with antidepressants . I was screwed, I had songs, but I was also afraid to expose myself for the usual family stuff. I stopped the treatments and the doctor feared the rebound effect: “He’ll end up zapping on the couch,” he said. Six months later I met her, changed treatment and recovered ».
A future as a songwriter?
“I’d like to tell myself sooner or later, but I don’t want to rush anything. In my opinion, Leo Gassmann or my thirteen-year-old uncle Pietro (son of Gianni Morandi, he’s a rapper) had the courage to go for it. As a writer you live multiple lives, you are an actor playing different characters in each film. The risk is depersonalizing the taste and so there will come a time when I will do something more intimate and lonely, but pop, as Dargen D’Amico says, is a beautiful thing to do together”» .
What music did he grow up with?
«Mum passed on to me the Roman school of Silvestri, Gazzè, Tiromancino, Fabi, Otto Ohm, Sinigallia. I got Milanese like Fortis or classics like De André from my father. For my own business I discovered Alberto Camerini and if the dancing puppet were by Battiato it would have a completely different meaning. Listening to Eminem’s Eight Mile got me into rap. Then dad played me a song where Inoki was insulting him and I thought there was someone who said what he wanted and even sent my dad away…: My moment of rebellion was multiplied. Recently I discovered Morricone and went back to the Italian 60’s and I think it shows in my songs.”
Were you the author for Biagio and Gianni and for your brother Giovanni?
“He’s released a few rap tracks, he’s also been an actor recently, but he’s thrown himself into radio and is a spokesperson for Zeta. Finally someone who does something that no one in the family has ever done…».
But wasn’t it an advantage to be Biagio’s son, at least with the girls?
“Maybe, but because they were thinking of dad. That made me suffer. Now they take a closer look at me because I’m Paolo».
And outside of music?
“My fiancee gets mad and says I’m just thinking about it… She’s right about the practice, I’m clumsy at 70 percent of tasks that are easy for others, I even forget to put the groceries in the fridge…” .
He speaks like someone who has read a lot…
«And instead I am not the king of readers, on the contrary, I am the last in court, or maybe even one outside the palace. I am the mirror of a generation that has lost the ability to concentrate. I compensate by watching a lot of documentaries, and when I get excited about something, I try to know everything about it.”
The latest passion?
“The house. For years I felt lonely staying there and I was always outside. Recently, not because of Covid, I’m experiencing a lifestyle revolution, I love spending more time there and I’m ‘monkey “with objects. I have cinema memorabilia like the original posters of Apocalypse Now and Annie Hall, I have bought Madonnas and crucifixes, designer lamps…”.
The catchphrase of summer 2023?
“I’m mulling it over… probably the ’60s trend is over, but I’m still thinking about it. I want to surprise.”