'SIVE' is a lovingly crafted collection of heartfelt songs by Michele Ducci, focusing primarily on piano and Michele's soft, soulful vocals.
Michele Ducci was the 'M' in the electro-pop duo 'M+A', who released two albums on Monotreme Records, the second of which, 'These Days', earned the band a place in The Guardian's 'best new bands of 2014' list and saw them win the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition and perform live on the Pyramid Stage, as well as at the Venice Biennale.
The duo then formed a new project, Santii, which involved several Hip Hop artists including Rejjie Snow, Mick Jenkins and Music Producer Supah Mario (Drake, Young Thug), releasing two EPs on Italian label Sugar Records before going their separate ways due to artistic differences.
A short stint in another band led Michele to realise that he wanted to make music on his own, away from external commercial or career pressures. Says Michele, "I went back to the house where I was born and where I first started playing. After the pandemic I had practically no instruments anymore except a guitar with three strings and a pianola. I needed to make a record that I had never been able to make and that I had always dreamed of making. Something very essential: with the piano and the voice." A set of demos emerged, which he sent to Monotreme Records, with whom he had enjoyed working in the past.
The album, 'SIVE' was recorded in Forli, Italy, at L'amor Mio Non Muore studios. According to Michele, "I forced myself not to use the computer: the whole album is recorded in analogue, without editing, played and sung all together. In these times of hyper 'montage' I needed to go back to something that was just as it was played."
'SIVE' encompasses a range of styles, from the dreamy singer/songwriter tones of 'Feelings', 'Here You Are', and 'Nonesome' to the uptempo pop of 'You Lay the Path', RnB-infused 'Just Because' and percussive Beat poetry of 'Hic'. Album opener, 'River', is a poignant ballad that winds along like its title, opening with the quiet intimacy of hushed vocals and piano and detailing the time he desired to leave the music world behind: "They call my name but I'm a river".
Regarding the album title, Michele says, "'Sive' is a Latin word that comes from a phrase by the philosopher Spinoza: 'Deus Sive Natura'. I spent a lot of time conversing with a great Italian philosopher and friend of mine Rocco Ronchi and this word imposed itself on me. I was not so interested in either God or Nature, but that sudden wandering, that transition, that becoming landscape, signalled by the term 'sive' which means 'that is,' almost 'namely'. It's a bit like when in a watercolour, or looking at the clouds or the stain in a wall, we notice a face and say 'Here it is'! 'Here it is again.'!"
The cover art is a watercolour by Michele and his partner Letizia, who also sings backing vocals on several of the tracks.
The album is available on CD that comes in a colour printed card slip card sleeve.
