Mr.Rain, spontaneity and courage: “Now I leave room for fragility”

He had entered the studio for simple fun. He had closed the door behind him, looking for the sensations what he felt when he wrote the first texts. Straight away, giving priority to the spontaneity. But Mr.Rain – to the registry office Mattia Balardi – never would have thought that in just three days he would be able to knock down an entire track list. «I started from sessions with musicians, then I wrote, sketched, downloaded instrumentals and closed the project. I looked like a factory», Reveals the rapper from Brescia, 12 platinum discs and 6 gold discs, while presenting Fragilehis new album, out of Friday 18 March for Warner Music. “In reality Chrysalis And Snow on Mars I had already written the others eight songs however they were born in that very short interval of time ».

Just a year away from Petrichor. Hungry for music?
«I wanted to tell a side of me that I had always kept safe: ten episodes of a single story, the different facets of my frailties. It was like stepping out of the comfort zone: those tracks are more or less as I wrote them on the spot, from the chest. Sincere to the maximum ».

So sincere that in the title track he admits “I’m fragile, it’s not easy”. Do you think that in this era there is still room to talk about being fragile?
“I think it is necessary to do this if you want to live in peace with yourself. Unfortunately today we tend to wear armor, it is a common cliché. With this record I understood that with frailties you have to learn to live together, adapt. Of course, talking about one’s fears is tiring, but it is a path that leads to serenity, it can become a strength ».

Is there a verse in the album that you are most fond of, which represents the project?
I really like the image in the song Atlantis, of the stalactite and stalagmite that are close together without ever touching. And they wait for the sun, knowing they will die, only to melt and be able to meet. The soul of the record, however, I think is contained in Chrysalisin the phrase “we will be free as a cloud, which has learned to live with vertigo” ».

Staying up Chrysalis, a very special title. Where was it born?
“Actually he was born writing one of the first verses:“ A chrysalis calls the last day the end of the world, what a beautiful beginning there was in that end ”, so it remained. I liked it if it wasn’t a common word, then it calls for change ».

Here, in these more than ten years of career, in what do you feel most changed?
«To tell the truth, the perception I have of myself now is the same as I had on my first album: what I write my lyrics always refers to situations that I have lived and continue to live. I don’t wear masks: maybe before I was more stubborn, now I think a little more ».

In the album there is a new collaboration with Annalisa, four years later One tomorrow.
“I’ve been thinking of giving it a sequel for some time. I wanted to make an album without a feat., But in the end I felt the need to involve her because that song fit perfectly with the project. So I wrote to her, she immediately said yes: we went to the studio in May and it came out spontaneously. Like two friends who find each other, they chat and a song comes out. We are in tune even outside the music ».

Speaking of collaborations, he went up on the Ariston stage together with Hu and Highsnob on the evening of the covers. What memory do you take away from the Festival?
«I was in Sanremo very little, but it seemed like a long time: it’s like a parallel world. Interviews in bursts, things happen over and over, you never stop. I admit that I was not tense, on the contrary: I remained quite calm. Then the atmosphere in the theater is truly magical ».

I suppose he intends to return as soon as possible, perhaps as a competitor.
«In my life I usually set goals, and competing in Sanremo is one of them. I’ve tried this three times already, with Meteorites, Chernobyl flowers and – precisely – Chrysalis: but when I put something in my head, at the cost of trying two hundred times, I commit myself until I reach it ».

In the album the concept of a couple often comes out: “You are born alone, you die in two,” he says. Do you really believe it?
«Absolutely yes, also because I believe that love always has to do with it, without it there would be no life. I believe that every person has at least one deep, invisible bond that attracts you to something. I start from these bonds to tell episodes in which I felt fragile: every now and then I speak of a friend, of my family, not always of my girlfriend ».

Which, however, is very present in his texts. In reality, however, little or nothing is known about his private life.
“I’m very private and there are some people I prefer to keep safe. People to whom I care a lot, for whom I would give my life and therefore I believe it is right to protect from public exposure that they have not chosen ».

A line that will keep even with the risk of ending up in an absurd gossip bubble, as it happened a year ago?
“Of course, the people who are close to me know the truth, who I am and what I do. I don’t need to declare it at all, I prefer it that way. “

In closing, I wanted to ask you what is your idea of ​​the Italian rap scene?
«I was a huge fan of hip hop in general, more international but also Italian: I have always listened to Fibra and the Dogo, Marracash for me is among the best pens. But today I don’t see myself there anymore: I find the themes and instrumentals a bit monotonous, years ago everything had its own precise identity. That’s why I moved away ».

Changes, in fact.

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