In “Ready To Love,” Italian singer-songwriter Martina Andrea Migliore turns personal wounds into a soaring Pop-Rock declaration of self-love and liberation. Electro Wow spoke with her about the vulnerability, creative partnerships, and bold visuals powering her most intimate release yet.
1. The emotional weight of “Ready To Love” is undeniable. What was happening in your world that inspired you to put those specific feelings into words?
When we started working on “Ready To Love,” the music came first, together with these three words. There was this melancholic, powerful, obsessive refrain that awakened something very deep and moving in me, something unresolved.
Something that desperately needed healing. So I went home from the studio and started digging: what was this unresolved thing crying to come out? I started looking for words, and years of feelings swept under the carpet came pouring out.
I looked at the terrible relationship I had with my own desire, the very thing that was supposed to guide me, yet when it came to love, it always seemed to lead me in the wrong direction. I felt wrong for having desires.
So this song became a love song to myself, a love song to Love. It became a song of surrender, of liberation.
2. When you’re writing about heavy emotions, is there a conscious decision to keep it raw, or do you have to actively fight off the pressure to sugarcoat things for a Pop audience?
When I put words down, the first necessity is that they work together and with the music. They have to somehow create a self-sufficient world that expresses something real, maybe a bit dreamlike at times, but always strongly connected to emotions.
If I can’t feel emotion when I read them or say them out loud, I change them. I never really go too extreme either; it’s rare that I read something I wrote and think, “This is too much.” On the contrary, it happens more often that I look at the lyrics and think, “Okay, I can go deeper.”
3. How did working with Marco Evans shape the final sound? Did he push you in directions you weren’t expecting?
Marco Evans was essential in creating the sound you hear in “Ready To Love.” He can channel your inner world and beautifully bring it into reality.
He was the one who sensed the “Rock” side of me and guided me in that direction. When we first started working together, I identified myself as “pure Pop.”
He is also my vocal coach, and I think that played a huge role in the final outcome, because he knows my voice and its potential very well, and encouraged me to be bold when, at the beginning, I didn’t really dare to.
4. Sometimes the best parts of a song aren’t planned. Was there a moment of pure improvisation that completely changed the direction of this track?
I would love to have some juicy anecdote to answer this question, but no, in this specific song, there weren’t any major improvisations. We had a very clear mood and concept in mind, and we followed it through.
There were other times when I went completely lyrical for no specific reason, or when we drastically changed the arrangements at the very end. But that’s another story.
5. Have you always sung with that level of theatrical passion, or did it take time to unlock that side of your voice?
Always been theatrical. My mother used to shout from the other room, asking me to please be quieter. My neighbours definitely know something about it.
But it did take time to gain all the colours my voice has today, to learn precision, to learn how to reach maximum power without hurting myself, and to build endurance. And with that, you can become a lot more theatrical.
6. Do you have any special remedies or routines to keep your voice healthy?
Not really. I’m kinda lazy when it comes to healthy routines. Sometimes, after a long concert, I do some vocal fry breathing exercises to set my vocal cords back into place if I feel like I’m losing my lower range — soprano problems.
But I do exercise my voice a lot. I think I sing almost every day: while I’m cooking, walking in the streets, driving, or washing the dishes.
7. You have a music video coming with Stefano Taccucci. What can you tell us about the visual world you’re building around “Ready To Love”?
For “Ready To Love,” we wanted something powerful, iconic, and editorial, something that recalled the visual world of the ’80s. We had performers like Tina Turner and Kim Wilde in mind. And it had to tell a story of darkness and light.
This song is all about recognizing your demons and opening a breach toward the light. It had to feel like an awakening, a rebirth. A journey from inner struggle to compassion for ourselves. It had to show both strength and vulnerability.
This video was a real team effort, and it filled my heart with gratitude. Together with Stefano Taccucci and Marco Evans, we worked on creating the right atmosphere through the setting and lighting.
Carla Curione took care of the incredible makeup, while stylist Pamela de Assis created some truly iconic outfits. Erika Grapes, my publicist, was precious too, guiding me through the whole process.
We created a world that felt like it came straight out of the movies and music videos I used to watch wide-eyed as a child. A world where I felt at home, and where I could truly say what I had to say.
8. What do you hope this song provides for someone who is going through a similar situation, whether it is comfort, a release, or maybe just a good cry?
I hope it can provide a sense of release. That’s what I feel when I sing it. And I hope it can leave people with a sense of tenderness and care. Something like: “You can cry, let it go. I’m here with you.”
9. If you had to choose one forever, live performance or the writing process. Which one wins? Why?
This is an IMPOSSIBLE question. A very hard one. I would be very sad if I could not write. And actually, for me, it’s impossible not to write. I’ve been writing since I was a child. In my “day job,” I basically work as a copywriter, among other things.
But I think I would end up miserable if I could not perform in front of an audience because there is something incredibly powerful and magical about it, something very vulnerable and intimate, something that fills me with an undeniable sense of purpose.
10. Is there a specific market outside of Italy that you feel your sound could really connect with?
I honestly don’t have enough data to answer this question precisely, but I have noticed particularly strong responses from South America, especially Brazil, over the past few years. Maybe I should finally pay a visit.
CONNECT WITH MARTINA ANDREA MIGLIORE
Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
