Five Fun Facts with Sabine and the Red Lotus
Imagine a scenario whereby Ennio Morricone produced 'OK Computer'; Amy Winehouse and Shirley Bassey relieved Thom Yorke of his microphone duties; for some reason, Nick Cave was also in the back of the studio hanging out… Well, now snap back to reality, and the brilliance of what I just described is what we have with the new single by Sabine and The Red Lotus.
"Broken", the New Jersey-based artist's latest offering, covers all of these references and much more. With just one strum of the guitar and a beautifully delivered opening lyric, Francesca Vannucci's vocals immediately throw us onto the silver screen, or perhaps one of the very scenes Morricone himself could have been scoring. Given its cinematic sensibilities, it is no surprise "Broken" comes with an equally captivating music video. Watch this below.
Vannucci's impeccable vocal goes on to detail distant memories and repeated mistakes from the beautifully scenic opening. Still, as the groove drops and the synths soar, Vannucci does not look back. It is always a joy to listen to someone so comfortable in their artistry as Francesca is here. She rewards us with a contrastingly euphoric and dramatic chorus (maybe this is where Shirley Bassey threw her hat into the ring? In our alternate reality, of course). Here, in our Five Fun Facts feature, she details her development as a vocalist, her classical training, finding her voice, as well as her roots in both Europe and New Jersey.
My dad is a scientist, and I am very much not, but I've developed a passion for astronomy. Space is a truly mind-blowing topic to delve into, and it has actually served as the inspiration behind several songs. I am a full-on eclipse chaser now. See you in Texas - 2024!
I am spectacularly bad at math.
I am a trained opera singer. I started singing at age eight and studied classical music for over twenty years. It's an incredible discipline. I knew in my late teens that I would never be a pro, but I still loved being able to sing that way. I started singing jazz in college, and that was a whole different kind of thing. I had to unlearn all of the vocal techniques I had developed, and it turned into a sort of quest to find my "real voice". The deconstruction process was interesting because even when you are a very natural singer, you develop your own kind of technique. And technique can vary immensely. What makes a good sound isn't always good for you. What is amazing about the voice is that no two instruments are the same, so every singer has to develop a unique style. My relationship with my voice has been a long and sometimes a difficult one for me. Singing can be very tied up in emotion, and emotion can then have extreme effects on the instrument. I've always been a serious singer, but it took me a long time to focus that effort, but I have always loved the feeling of making vibrations.
My dad is from Rome, and that half of my family is still there, so I grew up bi-lingual as a first-generation American, very much tied to the old country. On my mom's side, I'm third-generation New Jersey, half Irish and half Sicilian. A classic Jersey combo. And I grew up on the Jersey Shore. So I kind of consider myself a 'Super Italian'. Caesar meets Tony Soprano. With a dash of Irish for that extra Catholic flavor.
I'm older than I feel.
- Francesca Vannucci (Sabine and The Red Lotus)
Written by George Barnett