Malika Ayane
Malika Ayane

Sometimes, I feel unhappy and I don't hesitate to put a good record into my player.

When I bought Malika Ayane's CD I was feeling that way. Her latest work had just arrived at the music store (which is the reissue of the previous album with the addition of the song presented at Sanremo 2009) and I was immediately captivated.

The girl is a revelation, she has established herself as a mature performer even though she was born in 1984 (a year older than me), but she has the skills and the qualities to stand out in the pop scene. Her grace is the balance, a right blend of simplicity and exquisite touch.

The style of the album is very interesting, an eclectic pop well-structured that Malika's timbre graces, a type of singing that I really like, a peculiarity I have found in few artists.

It's clear that it's a well-cared album, alternating songs sung in Italian with songs sung in English. The festival song "Come foglie" is the most beautiful, written for her by Giuliano Sangiorgi. I would like to dwell on this track, one of the most beautiful in the pop field in recent years. I appreciated this comparison of summer with dissolution, nightmares resurface in the description of reality. It plays with parallels, summer with rain and winter with nostalgia. The underlying poetry is centered on frivolity, a comparison with the most fragile things in nature, like a cherry tree that needs a specific period to bloom. The message is directed towards ourselves, everything around us is lightness, our vision changes perspectives.

The music is a light almost operatic pop with excellent arrangements, the drums enter almost on tiptoe to then become more pronounced towards the end, almost following Malika in her singing. And the track becomes beautiful.

The rest of the album is no less, starting with "True Life" which has the flavor of America in the '60s, moving to "Feeling Better", a carefree and cheerful track. There are also more relaxing moments like the nocturnal "Someday", the duet with Pacifico in "Sospesa" is also good and the dreamy "Il giardino dei salici" is excellent with that imaginative text that takes Malika into new atmospheres from books forgotten on shelves, worthily set to music and framed by the singing of an excellent artist, an enchanting melody with a great voice. "Perfetta" is a pop-rock ballad, the theme of the song is centered on love.

I believe that Malika Ayane is a fresh breath for our pop, with her ability and class.

And above all Malika, with your songs I have delighted, this CD is among my favorite listens, but reflecting well on everything I wonder: if summer is "Come Foglie" which season of existence is the one most akin to feelings?