BIMM Introducing: Ilaria Triggiani

Words: Gery Hristova

You may have stopped in your tracks after hearing this artist singing a cappella around the BIMM campus. Now it’s time to meet Italian singer-songwriter Ilaria Trigginai, as she tells us, “Don’t be afraid of letting people really see you as an artist.’

Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into music?

My name is Ilaria, and I am an Italian singer-songwriter. I have always been in love with music ever since I can remember. What got me into music is my family. My parents were artists and they used to spend days painting, dancing and singing. I have lovely memories of my father and Iplaying the guitar and singing together the songs of The Beatles. I have memories of my mother and I, singing and dancing to classical music. When they understood I was deeply in love with music, they made me take musical courses, and that’s when my life changed.

Over a year ago, you released the song ‘As Do Birds’, could you tell us more about the single and the story behind it? Where did you get your inspiration from?

‘As Do Birds’ is a song I wrote three or four years ago. I was at school, attending a class of Italian literature. I wasn’t really interested in it, so I would spend most of the time looking out of the window, thinking. I would stare at the trees and birds flying around on a cloudy day, reflecting on my life and objectives. I was struggling a lot to understand what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do after ending high school. ‘As Do Birds’ talks about how sometimes life can be difficult because there will always be the ‘rain’ to push us down to the ground, and the wind to clip our wings. However, we are strong, and we must go on ‘as do birds’.

Speaking of inspiration, what do you do when you are not inspired?

Inspiration is something complex. There have been many times where I didn’t feel inspired, mostly because of lockdown. When I feel the lack of it, I generally start studying other people’s songs. I research new musical techniques, I work on covers, and I listen to new music. It is a way to relax my mind and learn something new from other artists. It helped me a lot in the previouslockdown, and my mind felt calmer and freer.

What is the hardest thing that you’ve had to face as an upcoming musician?

I think the hardest thing as an uprising musician is that it is difficult to get attention from people. We are musicians, and we make music because we want to be heard. As an upcoming artist, it is tough to manage yourself in the music business. I’m lucky to be at BIMM because they help you understand the basics of the music industry. They stay by your side, and they support you to make you succeed.

We are currently in lockdown again, but from an artist perspective, what are you most excited about?

At the moment, what makes me happy in lockdown is producing and learning more aboutmixing. I’ve always been focused on writing or singing; for this reason, I’ve never studied how to use a DAW program. I’m having a lot of fun experimenting with sounds, improving the production of my songs. Even though Covid-19 is making music, and many other arts, suffer a lot, I think we, the artists, have the power to share the beauty of life thanks to our music; so, we must continue to be hopeful and to believe in what we do and write.

Is there any musician you would like to collaborate with in the future?

My biggest dream is to collaborate with the independent-alternative artist Aurora. I love her, her style, and her music. She is so inspiring for me, and her songs are pure madness! The way they have been produced is incredible. I would love to learn a lot from her as an artist and person.

Should we expect new music from you in 2021?

I hope so. I am writing down new stuff, and I’m working with a new producer, who is teaching me a lot. Hopefully, I will be more productive: publishing more of my songs and improving my social media communication. I think this will be a good year, but you know, we will see how it goes.

Finally, what advice would you give to your younger self and every BIMM student who has just started to study here or is planning to apply for one of the institutes?

The advice I would give to my younger self would be to enjoy the journey! Don’t be afraid of letting people really see you as an artist. Stop comparing yourself to others because we are all unique and remember that you chose this Uni because music is your safe place. Therefore, have a good time, make music, learn from others and be kind to each other. It is a new experience for everyone, and it will be one of the best adventures of your life, so make it memorable and have fun.

You can listen to Ilaria’s song ‘As Do Birds’ here: