Ilaria Graziano & Francesco Forni

ITALY | 2021 PARTICIPANT

While the duo of Ilaria Graziano & Francesco Forni are from Naples, Italy, their music is a very cosmopolitan mix of folk, blues, and la dolce vita, reflecting a musical world view that is broad and open. Each had individually successful careers of their own, composing, recording, performing and touring – but found inspiration and compatibilità working as a duo, recording two albums together to date.

Singing in their native Italian, along with English, French and Spanish, their performances are fascinating travelogues that take listeners across Mexico and Texas, into the American heartland of blues and folk, and beyond into Argentinean Tango, Central European cabaret, and Neapolitan song. The duo also travels through time, with references to tradition living alongside contemporary styles, while maintaining a magical balance between a lightness of musical textures and expressive depth. Their sound has been described as “fresh, vital, intelligent” – atypical to the Italian context.

Through all this variety, the duo’s repertoire is tied together by the exchange between the soft and warm sound of Francesco’s guitar, and Ilaria’s evocative and hypnotic voice.