Birthh Navigates Her Twenties And Remembers Her Italian Roots in Third LP ‘Moonlanded’
Photo by Allegra Toran
On September 8, Brooklyn-based pop artist Birthh released her third album Moonlanded. In this release, the Italian-born musician shares the past three years of her life as she has navigated through love, self-discovery and the specific complex emotions that one only experiences in their young adult years.
Growing up, Birthh’s dad introduced her to music of all genres — everything from Bob Dylan to the soundtrack of “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Since she was very small, Birthh says she’s been “absorbing music with intention.” Now, taking inspiration from all forms of music, Birthh says that her songwriting is somewhat of a melting pot of influences. Her music combines bedroom pop with Italian musicians from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Gino Paoli, Mina and Ornella Vanoni.
“When I was listening to those songs, I was just like, I want my music to feel like this [but] in a different way because it's a different generation,” Birthh says. “We have different problems; we have different soundscapes as well. But I want my music to feel this warm, and I think that was a big part of a lot of choices that I made on the album.”
Birthh loves the way that music was recorded back in the 1960s and 1970s. Enjoying the nostalgia that comes with these songs, she compares the music to a big hug. Music used to be recorded all on tape, and songs with orchestral pieces or string instruments were all played by an actual orchestra. While this adds more elements to a song, it’s also a lot more expensive than producing music today. Birthh says she recorded about 90% of Moonlanded on a laptop in her Brooklyn apartment. Whether the music is made today or over 50 years ago, there are advantages and disadvantages to different periods when it comes to recording music.
“Honestly, those songs are timeless. I think there are certain songs that they did, that … They're part of my culture,” Birthh says, “but when I show them to my friends from here who've never been to Italy, who do not speak Italian, who haven't really experienced that type of warmth before, the reaction is always like, ‘Wow, I didn't know music could sound like this.’”
Following the release of Moonlanded, Birthh is still pushing the boundaries of her art. She’s starting to write music in Italian, experimenting with the differences in storytelling that come with a foreign language. While recording the album, Birthh had cameras in the studio and filmed the entire production process from start to finish. She’s now working on a documentary about the making of the album and is hoping it will elevate how fans will connect with the music.
Moonlanded, Birthh
Her previous album, Whoa, released in March 2020. Birthh rarely listens to her music after it’s released, but she recently looked back on Whoa after releasing Moonlanded and noticed how the two albums are so intertwined. Both are glimpses into her adulthood as she moved to Brooklyn and began her new life away from Tuscany.
“I think [Whoa is] a very unresolved album by nature. I think I was extremely unresolved,” Birthh says. “I didn't know what I was going to be and what I was going to do. I didn't know what choices I was going to make, and I think it was feeling the weight of having to make certain choices and figuring out if I wanted to really put all my eggs in one basket with the music, or so it was maybe safer to try to do something else … Whoa asks the questions; I think Moonlanded answers the questions.”
March of 2020 was also when Birthh moved from Tuscany to Brooklyn to be with her partner. This is where the making of Moonlanded began. After leaving her home country, this change affected not only her music but also her entire identity. While living in Italy, a country more conservative and less accepting of queer people than the States, Birthh always felt out of place. It wasn’t until she left Italy that she understood how Italian she truly was.
“I didn't really know that the things that I loved about Italian culture were actually exclusive to Italian culture. So when I came here, missing Italy was actually one of my biggest shocks,” she says. “Right after high school, I started touring, and I never really looked back once… I'd be bummed to be home.”
Since living in New York, Birthh says she’s seen so many different cultures, and the creative energy is abundant. However, many aspects of New York remind her of the many things about Italy she loves and misses. “Italian culture, as beautiful as it is, is also extremely closed-minded on so many different levels. Being here has opened my mind up so much,” she says. “On one side, I feel like the way that I experience life, my values, the things that matter to me, [have] shifted radically. On the other side, it's realizing that my roots really matter to me and that they make me who I am in so many ways….For the longest time, I didn't realize who I was or what I was … As corny as it sounds, I think moving here made me find myself and also find Italy in myself.”
Birthh has things she does that help her maintain her Italian roots. The big one is cooking, of course. While her dad is a musician, her mother runs several restaurants and as a result, Birthh spent most of her childhood in the kitchen, but she most likely had a guitar in her hand. She says she also remembers her Italian heritage through her music and lack of comping in her vocals.
Comping refers to how vocals are recorded in a song. Typically, a singer will record the vocals of a song multiple times, and then the best pieces of each take will all be put together for the final recording of the song. Back in the day, however, singers would record the song all in one take. Birthh prefers the latter method of recording, as she uses her U 67 microphone from 1963, giving her songs a signature warmth. “It's obviously a very accessible way of making music and vocals and tracking vocals because I can mix it so that you don't have to be this super skilled vocalists to record a song that sounds great at the same time,” Birthh says. “I think there's something really special about sharing a real moment in time with the audience and also sharing the journey of a feeling without cutting through it.”
On Moonlanded, Birthh creates raw and dreamy beats unique in their crooning Italian influences. “Jello”, a single from the album as well as its accompanying music video, is a love song that tells the story of Birthh and her relationship with her partner, Storm Higgins, who was the video’s art director, makeup artist and stylist. It was important for Birthh to share their love story with the world because Storm was such a central part of her life.
“A sweet queer love story was really important for me and comes down to representation as well,” Birthh says. “Queer people in Italy aren't having a good time right now….So it was important for me to show queer love without suffering… Just a sweet love story, because that's what it was for us. Obviously, there was a lot of suffering, [but] I think we have a lot of pieces of media that shows suffering of LGBTQ+ people.”
Birthh’s third album captures this beautiful love story as well as the emotions and life changes that she’s faced in the last three years. She says she hopes people can find comfort and understanding from listening to Moonlanded.
“I have a lot of feelings, a lot of different complex, intense, diverse feelings, and they're all part of my life and part of my journey,” she says, “and hopefully that will make [listeners] feel more accepting of their own diversity of feelings.”
Moonlanded, Birthh’s third studio album, is out now. ♦