Artists: popmuzik

Charts by Giorgio Tuma and A Girl Called Eddy

by Gianfranco Marmoro

You know very well that what counts is the first impact an album gives you — that's how you know if there's a real connection, if something subliminal has clicked inside you... that first time, after tearing off the cellophane with my teeth, I slipped the CD into the car stereo and listened to it while driving through the Roman countryside with a pile of stones in my stomach. I don't think I've ever felt a more cathartic sense of anguish than that. The record is gorgeous. Its songs float on a celestial, psychedelic pop, driven by a constant electronic undertow that sails through a cosmos full of stars, between Nick Drake, Sondre Lerche e Sufjan Stevens. The dark breath-holding of the Radiohead seek out the luminous, sophisticated breath of Todd Rundgren.

With these words Giampiero Vigorito on the pages of OndaRock described “This Life Denied Me Your Love”, an album released on Elefant Records in 2016 by the musician from Lecce, Giorgio Tuma, a work of absolute standing in the contemporary landscape of the most cultured, refined pop music, one that often finds its way back into my listening, especially after having the good fortune to hear Giorgio Tuma live, with the wonderful Laetitia Sadier in tow, confirming his enormous artistic stature. While waiting for a new album, I exchanged a few words online with the musician, and the conversation eventually turned to his listening habits and favorite records of the past year — Giorgio Tuma's choices and reflections proved rich with interesting insights, and this is the brief account of it.

It was a tough year for live music and record sales, yet staying shut in at home had a silver lining: pretty much all of us had more time to devote to listening to current releases. Which records struck you in a good way?

Unfortunately I don't listen to as much new music as I used to, partly, I think, due to the natural weariness that comes with age. I've anchored myself to the classics, which I take in regularly: Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and a few others.

When it comes to new music, this year brought a handful of albums explored in depth and plenty of songs sampled like sweets from an assorted tray (if I had to pick just three, I'd go for the marzipan miniature that is "Lost With You" by Patrick Watson, the lady-finger biscuit "Dusk" by Alice Phoebe Lou, and that caramel delight "Cookie Chips" by Rejjie Snow). In any case, this year too I have my five favourite albums plus one extra:

1. James Blake – Before Ep

Inspired, refined, perfect, with an extraordinary sensitivity and depth of vision in the way he relates to our times. Boundless class, a divine voice, a dream of an artist.

2. Loving – If I Am Only My Thoughts

I'll never tire of listening to dreamy pop tunes, streaked with sweet melancholy and featuring crystalline guitars descended from the Byrds and by Simon and Garfunkel, who did so much to build an American myth that remains a myth. Can something fresh and exciting still be written in 2020 within the folk-psych-pop realm? The answer, affirmative, comes from Canada and goes by the name of Loving.

3. Birthh – Whoa

I'm in love with Birthh, with her joyful melodies, with the simplicity with which she manages to outline her own deeply personal inner world, one that speaks the same musical language as young African-American artists today, and does so with total credibility. A record I've listened to an awful lot.

4. Emile Mosseri – Kajillionaire

Discovered thanks to my friend Valentina, it's the soundtrack to the new Miranda July film, which I haven't seen and don't think I will, because reliable grapevine sources say it's a bit of a dud. The music Emile Mosseri composed for the film, however, is superb. His was an ambitious task: bringing together two seemingly distant sonic worlds, that of Ennio Morricone and that of Michael Andrews, and making them interact with uncommon skill. Sublime harmonies in the Italian tradition, celestial voices that make it easy to let your imagination take flight, and a cover sung by Angel Olsen ("Mr. Lonely") that is pure enchantment.

5. Moses Sumney – Græ

I saw him live at Locus Fest in Locorotondo a couple of years ago and was left speechless; it was in that exact moment that I became fully convinced of my decision to quit music for good (haha). Frightening talent, on record too.

Extra:

Andrea Laszlo De Simone – Immensità

An album released at the end of 2019 but one I only got round to a few months later. I can't leave it off this short list because it's been a constant presence in my life; during this ill-fated year it lifted my spirits more than once, the way only Music can. A real feat pulled off by this promising young man from Turin: bringing together Mimmo Modugno and Sufjan Stevens to thunderous applause. And those string arrangements are pure joy for the ears.

Thank you for these valuable recommendations, and in the meantime I'll say goodbye again while we at OndaRock eagerly await your return to the studio

It's been a pleasure chatting. A hug, and thanks again.

***

After the conversation with Giorgio Tuma, I wanted to bring in a pop artist who's kept much of our editorial team up at night, namely Erin Moran, better known as A Girl Called Eddy, the author of the album "Been Around", which took 17th place in OndaRock's staff year-end chart and No. 1 in that of our editor, Claudio Fabretti, and which, by a curious coincidence, was released by the same label as Giorgio Tuma's album, namely Elefant.

It wasn't easy, but in the end Erin Moran agreed to share the five albums she loved most from the past year, and this is simply a list with no commentary, which I hope will offer our readers some further food for thought.

My album of the year is without a doubt "Flaming Lips – American Head", my favorite song is "My Religion is You"; the Norwegian band Boy Pablo, led by musician of Chilean origin Nicolás Pablo Rivera Muñoz, took up a large part of my listening time with the song "Hey Girl" and the album "Rest Up". Rufus Wainwright's "Unfollow The Rules" and the Mini Trees debut "Slip Away/Steady Me Split" - I loved both of them madly, in their entirety. And finally, I can't fail to mention the children's album "I Love Rainy Days" by Daniel Tashian, an artist who is meanwhile working on a duo project with Burt Bacharach.

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26/11/2025

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Gianfranco Marmoro, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition