Joan Thiele
Joanita

Riding the wave. As it should be.

Before Sanremo, few people knew Joan Thiele, to be clear, I was among the first who had heard her name because of her win at the David di Donatello in 2023 for the most original song, but seeing that it was made with Elodie, I kind of snubbed it, not much interest, also because it was the soundtrack of a movie. Then I think I listened to "Atti," but it didn't leave a mark, otherwise, I would remember it clearly.

However, when she was announced for Sanremo, it sparked my curiosity, and the song was by far the best in the competition, despite the 20th place (Along with Lucio Corsi, the only two that could be called songs).

Logically, after the festival, she released "Joanita," the third album of her discography (second, considering that "Atti" is a compilation).

I was pleasantly surprised:

At first listen, I felt curiosity, something "intrigued me." By the second listen, I was convinced, I liked it. The subsequent listens were done to satisfy the thirst, to enjoy it without too much paranoid and tedious analysis, to listen to beautiful music.

She has a definitely recognizable style, identified in a somewhat Western soul, the same Sanremo song, "Eco," embraced the Morricone-style guitar; this style remains, it's her signature and sometimes it stands out, sometimes it stays in the background serving as an underlying vibration to everything else, but you know it's there.

Essentially, it's a journey into a world of soundtracks, with Rap and Urban influences (which I personally appreciate slightly less), but especially R'n'B with endless reinterpretations and hybridizations, especially in an ethereal vintage key.

I don't love making comparisons or looking for similarities with other artists, but I feel like throwing out a big one that should be taken with a grain of salt: in many songs, such as "Acqua Blu," it recalls the atmospheres of Amy. Of course, the percussion in the aforementioned track helps a lot, but if I had to imagine Amy, in 2025, in Italy (and therefore with all the influences that Italian music brings with it), I would imagine her exactly this way.

(A note on "Acqua Blu": fantastic the way the singing echoes the effect of rarefied and heavy air of a hot summer, it fully conveys the atmosphere it describes, exceptional).

Even "Eco" combines various influences, as mentioned above, the initial guitar is very Morricone-like, the rest is a collection of things peacefully recognizable as traditional, part of our Italian musical culture but revisited in a modern key, updated to what music is today, while still remaining quality instrumental music. "Eco" then plays it smart because it includes a very dirty guitar, even if excessively brief, which immediately captivates me.

Another track that struck me is "Joanita," which is actually a 57-second "Interlude" all in upbeat, percussion following a rhythm and vocals following a different cadence, disarming but fascinating.

I don't want to go track by track, but the general atmosphere of the album is full and extremely engaging. It's like a cashmere scarf that in the cold and frost of a foggy January in Milan wraps you up to your nose and keeps you warm against the Siberian wind. This metaphor is to say that I will talk about three more tracks (briefly) that struck me particularly, because they are like little imaginary heaters inside the scarf.

The first is "Veleno," combining Jazz and Rap in a Lana Del Ray-like atmosphere (always immersed in the Italian context, etc., etc.).

It's an example of the ethereal and vintage melodies I mentioned earlier, despite alternating the lightness of the air with the concreteness of skyscrapers in the more Rap parts (note the guitar in the background).

The second is instead "XX L.A." A premise, not on the first listen... in the first part, something still doesn't convince me, but the chorus reminds me of something summery, deeply Italian, and melancholic, I don't know, imagine a summer from the early 2000s, the return trip from vacation watching the mountain hairpin bends of Liguria while filming the landscape with an old 240p camcorder, all shaky from the car's movements. Everything melancholic pleases me.

Finally... ladies and gentlemen... a fantastically singer-songwriter touch, but that picks up the sweet magic of Brazilian music... "L'invisibile," how do I describe it to you, it's the tightest point of the scarf, where you reach the warmth of your mother's embrace, the cuddles of serenity. Guitar and vocals can never be beaten, without too many embellishments...

(Other songs are interesting, "Dea," for example, or "Volto di donna," again in the Lana style. But at this point, it's up to you to discover them, I've given the coordinates).

Well done Joan, if this is the path, a new love can blossom.