With understated elegance
For once, Swiss actress Viola von Scarpatetti is not making a name for herself with a new film project, but with music. Her debut album "Fais un pont" offers twelve chansons of the relaxed kind.
Viola von Scarpatetti's artistic streak began to emerge at an early age: She attended a circus school as a child and later studied at the European Film Actor School in Zurich. She has long since established herself with her work in front of the camera - thanks to her leading role in the comedy 20 rules for Sylvie (2014) -, the actress, who grew up in Fribourg and France, now wants to devote herself to another art form, the chanson.
The 34-year-old's debut album, Fais un pont, is all about her own experiences and emotions. It is also fitting that she created the slightly melancholy title song as a teenager - originally as a rap. Today, her music combines folk with Francophone chanson and pop. Consequently, only the concluding Hong Kong with English instead of French lyrics.
What makes the record stand out is its lightness. This also manifests itself in the restrained production, which is not aiming for perfection but for coherence. This succeeds and means that the cicadas chirping during the recordings in the south of France can also be heard on the release. While Laisser danser with seemingly thrown away guitar licks and a short whistled melody and indulges in memories, turns Momo's chanson about Michael Ende's novel character and uses soft accordion sounds and gentle wind passages.
Other tracks such as the elegiac Marin, the playful whirling Voyage dans le désert or the sparsely arranged Je te sens make it clear that Viola von Scarpatetti's material is designed to provide lasting moments of relaxation. She has succeeded in creating twelve sound gems that dispense with pomp and pageantry and instead captivate with charm and restrained elegance.
Viola von Scarpatetti: "Fais un pont" (self-distribution) www.violavonscarpatetti.com
