Zucchero – Sugar Fornaciari

Who is Black Cat?
It could be me: it’s a black album due to its many soul and blues origins, but overall because it’s free like a cat when it comes to you only when it wants to be patted. The world premiere will be live in Verona.
Why such a choice?
Diversity. Because the Arena has perfect acoustics, and you can really feel the audience close to you, because during the last tour I did seven dates, which were very important to me. Knowing that from then on I would be traveling the around the world, I felt the need to start from a reassuring place, to be able to take a real break.
Streets of Surrender (S.O.S) was written by Bono: how did this come about?
Actually it started in Turin, I was there last year for the U2 concert. I wanted to say hi to my friends, but the moment I got in the dressing room, Bono asked me to close the concert with him by doing a duet. Nothing had been prepared, the concert goers didn’t see me and I spent two hours in the dressing room preparing the song. When the concert was over he asked me how he could repay the favour and I gave him a piece of music without lyrics. Months had passed, and I had thought he had forgotten. But I received a phone
call, two days after the Paris attacks. He happened to be there for a live performance with the rest of the group, but obviously the concert had to be cancelled for obvious rea-the inspiration and from the same place he sent out a demo where he was singing to my music.
During your last tour you were having one of your fellow artists on about (Vasco, ed) his excessive presence on social network. His discretion has always been undisputed.

But does it pay in the end?
I always carry out my job by doing my best, as I have always done. Trying to get as close as possible to being the pure musician. I don’t approve of flattery, I don’t change my persona to facilitate communication or to amplify it. You’ll never hear me say something
like ‘Thank you for existing’, this doesn’t mean The song Voci launched the album abroad, while Partisan Reggiano, was the first single to be released in Italy.
Why the two choices?
I didn’t want Voci in the album, like the time I didn’t want to put Per colpa di chi or Senza una donna. As far as I was concerned, the album was finished, everybody knows that, then they made me change my mind due to a kind of chemistry, of which I often don’t understand, because there’s too much going on.
What does Zucchero consider as cool? What never runs out of fashion for you?
Freedom. Disregard the top charts, don’t make an album in accordance with what the radio is playing on air. This is exactly what I tried to do with this album. In one of the songs Violate in pace: