There is a star - Natalia is winning Italy! - Blog - Fiore
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    There is a star - Natalia is winning Italy!

    There are projects that simply can’t be ignored. So when we were given the opportunity to help promote There is a star, an album recorded by Natalia Moskal and inspired by Sophia Loren, Fiore muse, we didn’t hesitate for a moment. Great music and a fierce temperament with an element of coquetry embody the very strength of femininity – I would like to introduce Natalia – singer, translator, traveller, a woman living life to the fullest!

    Natalia_Moskal_portrait

    A Polish woman in Italy. A Polish woman who conquers Italian radio and wins the listener's hearts. Natalia, how did it all start and what about your journey up to this point? 

    First, let me say that I really hope to develop my artistic activity further because I still feel unsatisfied! But I’m very happy that the Italian media have warmly welcomed my single and album. “Mambo Italiano” is broadcast by over 40 radio stations all over Italy, and my Italian agency keeps sending me new interviews all the time :) It’s very exciting. The truth is my musical journey has been very long and winding. I’ve been active for a decade now, with many attempts, disappointments, rejection emails or no responses at all. This industry is very difficult and it’s hard to find real support. I’ve learnt that you can rely on yourself and your family, rather than contacts from the industry that you managed to make by some miracle. If you want to do something effectively, you must do it alone, but I’m sure this applies to the majority of industries and tasks. I began singing in school contests, as a teenager I wrote my first songs and I used to run away from school to record them. My high school teachers didn’t like me because I devoted more time to my passions than their lessons, but it all ended well and I was admitted to my dream major, English Studies. 

    So do you feel that you have earned this international success on your own or did a team of people work for it? Who supports you on an everyday basis?

    I certainly didn’t do it all alone, but I have no record company, agency, PR specialists, hairdressers, agents or other people :) I get jobs on my own, directly, but I’m really supported by my family, and that’s the most valuable thing. I wouldn’t be able to achieve anything without it. My music is published by my company, Fame Art, and we also publish books. Unfortunately, I have to undertake the kind of duties that are usually performed by the people who work for artists. That’s why my time for creative work is limited, so with all the promotional and PR activities, distribution and coordination taking up so much of my time there’s not much space for creativity in my head, so I devote too little time to music itself, which I regret.

    You divide your life between Poland and Italy, how and where do you spend more time?

    I think I spend a little more time in Italy, but it depends on what’s happening at any given moment. When we were recording the album, I spent an entire month in Poland. I travel a lot, but since the pandemic broke out, I limit it a lot. I spent the whole lockdown in my family home near Lublin, and without many flights nowadays, it’s harder to travel.

    You’re a woman of many talents, and when I listen to your album I get the feeling that you’re multilingual?

    Thank you very much. I majored in English Studies and wrote my M.A. thesis on literary translation, but I spent my senior year in Milan, which is how I learnt Italian. I also studied French before that. Languages have always been my passion, and I’m happy that I can hone my linguistic skills at least a little bit. On There is a star I sing in English, Italian, Neapolitan (a separate language in Italy), French and... Greek. But I don’t speak Greek! I had to learn this song phonetically, I mean “S’agapo”. I also translate literature, and at Fame Art we publish foreign books, so languages are close to my heart!

    Talents and skills are one thing, but let’s talk about working with your body. You use your femininity in a bold, but also intimate and tasteful way. When I watched the video to “Mambo Italiano”, it was hard to keep my eyes off you. How do you feel as an object of desire?

    I’m very pleased to hear that, thank you for your words! Actually, my dream has always been to record a music video that includes choreography and dancing, even though I’m not a dancer and I’ve only had one ballet class in my life. I sometimes go to Zumba classes :) But I love dancing and I’d really like to have at least one concert with dancers! I’m aware that the dance in “Mambo” isn’t complicated or professional, but I was helped a lot by a choreographer, Sonia Egner. I don’t know whether I’m an object of desire, but on the set I felt somewhat... liberated for the first time. Like any other woman, I have a lot of insecurities, I have visible curves, cellulite, I’m not a size 0 and I’ve always been ashamed of that. Finally (also thanks to the outfits prepared by Kata Haratym and, without a doubt, the excellent Fiore stockings and tights!), I stopped being ashamed, instead I simply felt pretty and “enough”. For me, it was a breakthrough and a body positive message. I think women should never be ashamed of how they look, as perfect bodies don’t exist. It’s time for self-acceptance :)

    Natalia_Moskal

    What is femininity for you? What gives you strength?

    For me, femininity is self-confidence and authenticity. It doesn’t have anything to do with how you look. A woman is feminine and beautiful when she feels that way. What gives me strength are kind words, friendliness and empathy. I also find motivation in the biographies of other women, inspiring figures who did something unique in their lives, and that’s what gives me strength to act and also inspires me.

    To be a woman means to...

    ...love yourself, love others, be kind, but also be assertive, sure of your own decisions and aware of your own value, not to be afraid to say “no”, not to slow down and not to stop for anything or anybody until you find exactly what you want. The latter I learnt from Blair Waldorf. 

    And what do you do to relax?

    I like to read, it helps me to clear my head. I also often watch films that are not demanding, which simply keep my head off things: what helps me the most is disconnecting from the Internet, going off IG or FB, which drains my energy the most, after a while all screens make me nervous. I strongly dislike social media, but unfortunately you don’t exist without them in artistic professions.

    What’s your favourite pasta?

    I’d like to say tagliatelle al tartufo, which is pasta with truffles, because it’s so sophisticated :) But the truth is I like spaghetti with tomatoes and real Italian carbonara the most. But I like truffles too! You just have to like truffles :)

    Natalia_Moskal_pasta

    To your fans, you quote Sophia Loren “I’d rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0”, which is the manifestation of Italian style and la dolce vita in its purest form. And what about body positivity, tolerance and women’s rights in today’s Italy? How is patriarchy and chauvinism doing in that country?

    I don’t really know, I think that Italian women are not in such a stalemate as Polish women. Of course, Italy is a very religious country, but its northern part has moved forward. The world is still struggling to accept naturalness and different body types, and the whole world has not overcome patriarchy yet. But Italian magazines are increasingly willing to promote naturalness and diversity, and it’s not only about gender but also sexual orientation and skin colour... Italy may be a little bit more liberal, such as when it comes to abortion rights, and more tolerant (at least in the north). When it comes to chauvinism, it’s alive and well, while in the south men still whistle or honk at women. But many women in Italy hold senior positions in companies, including multinational ones. However, there are still few women in politics... So it’s all interrelated.

    Natalia_woman_rights

    And how do the events in our country and the situation of women look from a distance?

    The media are keen to describe this situation and mainly to criticise it. The Italian partners of Polish women living in Italy protested outside the Polish consulate in Milan. My friends don’t understand it fully and can’t imagine a similar thing taking place in their country, and I think the majority of them are sad that Polish women have to go through all of this.

    There is a star, a star has already been born, so what’s next? Do you plan to relax at the beginning of the new year or do you already have new ideas and projects?

    The real star, to whom I pay tribute on my album, was born on 20 September 1934 :) Sophia Loren is the star behind the title of the album, I sang her songs and was inspired by her films. And as for me, in 2021 I plan to publish 8 new books in my publishing company (one translated by me) and I’d like to record an album with my original songs. I’d also like to play concerts with an orchestra and perform songs from There is a star. They would sound so beautiful live... I can’t wait until concerts are back and we’re able to enjoy music together once again!

     

    And that’s what we’d like to wish you (and ourselves). Have a great time, not only brim full of passion and satisfaction, but also the simplest pleasures!

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