NZIRIA - SYYSMA
The opening notes of “Trema,” the first track on ‘SYYSMA’, the second album by Italian artist Nziria, immediately constrict our airways. The mind falls silent, while the melancholic, nostalgic melody—a feeling that remains at the forefront throughout the album—completely numbs us. Emotional gabber. Or, as Nziria calls it, Hard Neomelodic: a hybrid sonic space that combines Neapolitan neomelodic music and hardcore gabber with vulnerability and club culture. Born in Ravenna but recently relocated to Naples, Nziria embraces their Neapolitan and queer identity. Neomelodic is a regional genre in which violence was glorified, particularly during the 1970s. Nziria references various local characters and turns of phrase. Their lyrics draw on words by the femminiello Ciretta Cascina—the trans activist and founder of Associazione Trans Napoli (ATN)—and Loredana Rossi, while references to the Spanish philosopher Paul B. Preciado also surface in the lyrics. Contemporary club culture wrapped in Italian sweetness, as on “XI” and the debut single “Angelico,” which positively drips with nostalgia. In the collaboration with Iceboy Violet, too, we recognise the sonic palette Nziria is reaching for: grand pop fused with hard-hitting club and bass bangers. This is the sound of a bleak metropolis built on volcanic ground, gently flooded by the Mediterranean. Intimacy and raw power. An album in which the grime of the region seeps through, while the romantic soul of the Italian mainland is held in a firm grip. Closing track “IVTB” brings tears to the eyes. Once again, having a good cry on the dancefloor—letting everything go through dance.