Cristina Donà
Nido

Rock for "women" in Italy today?

Certainly, in recent years the ladies of Italian rock (in the broadest sense of the term) are: the surprising Nada, who converted to rock only starting in the '90s, with excellent albums and collaborations with figures such as Cesare Basile, John Parish, Howe Gelb, and Massimo Zamboni; the very talented, but much more songwriter-like, Lalli and the sensual Cristina Donà; a separate discussion deserves, in my opinion, Carmen Consoli, interesting (increasingly less so) but not up to the level of the above-mentioned "rivals".

Cristina Donà made her debut in 1997 with "Tregua", an album produced for Mescal by Manuel Agnelli, and immediately stood out for her seductive and delicate voice, for her songs, which owe much to the rock singer-songwriters from across the Channel and the ocean, halfway between the grit of P.J. Harvey and the sweetness of Suzanne Vega, hard and sensual, direct and moving.

The second album by the singer-songwriter, "Nido", from 1999, is also beautiful, a more intimate and refined album, but no less charismatic and intense, enriched by a special guest in the song "Goccia": Robert Wyatt, a long-time admirer of hers and in contact with the Italian music scene since the tribute offered to him, thanks to C.P.I., by various Italian musicians, including Donà (Wyatt reciprocates with a beautiful version of "Del Mondo" by C.S.I.).

Whimsical atmospheres ("Nido"), sweet, delicate, subtle, and dreamy, but also sunny ("L'ultima giornata di sole") and disorienting dominate the album, difficult to qualify and define but very evocative, refined and brilliant: singer-songwriter music and melody mixed with rock, experimentation, and recklessness, with a touch of ancient that makes it all magical...