When Montreal Rocks catches up with Cinzia (minus The Eclipse) over Zoom from her Toronto home, she’s clearly beginning her day in an upbeat mood. “Life’s going great. It’s sunny in Toronto, so that’s nice.”
She may well have good reason to be feeling so positive. Cinzia and the Eclipse have a fantastic new EP about to drop, as well as a run of exciting shows, including one at Petit Campus on March 21.
The record, Springland, further exemplifies her prowess as a songwriter, deftly navigating between invigorating energy and heartfelt emotion with effortless allure. Drawing inspiration from heartbreak, nostalgia, and the complexities of the human experience, Cinzia demonstrates her ability to craft songs that resonate deeply.
Her distinctive blend of pop and organic folk undergoes a renaissance, unveiling deeper layers of complexity that continue to captivate and enchant her audience. With her iconic vocal tone and whimsical phrasing, she cements her position as an artist to keep an eye on. Springland marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, carrying forward all the charm and allure that have become synonymous with Cinzia’s musical journey.
The EP actually comes out the official first week of spring. Is that deliberate, or is it a coincidence?
No, that was very much coincidence. It is deliberate that it’s called Springland because I wrote it while living in Ville-Émard on a street called Springland.
The last time Montreal Rocks spoke to you was May 2020. How have things changed in the last four years for you and the band?
Well, I’m no longer blonde. My hair was so burnt. It was like bleached blonde. The band has evolved so much and I’ve changed as a person so much since then. I mean, I moved to Toronto, quit the full-time job so I can pursue this purely, like all the time, essentially. And there’s just the music is very different too. There’s a sense of, I think I’ve found a lot of myself in the past four years, especially thanks to the pandemic, because you were forced to have all this time by yourself. And it was great, but having that time to really centralize yourself and be like, “Okay, what am I doing? Who am I as a person? Who do I want to be as a person?” And then the extra layer to that as a musician is what kind of music am I putting out? What am I working towards? What are my long-term ideas with Cinzia and the Eclipse and what we’re doing musically? What’s the impact that you want to create? There were a lot of questions circling around then, which is why this album is really exciting because it’s purely what I’ve wanted to make in the past four years.
Have the songs changed much over that time, since you initially wrote them?
Oh, yeah. I feel so bad because we had, I think, like 15 versions of one song because there were like little tweaks that kept changing. I’m pretty indecisive as a person sometimes, especially when it comes to what I’m doing musically. I sort of compare it to when you’re tuning a guitar and when it’s perfectly in tune, there’s like a little feeling that you get in the centre of your chest. And if I don’t get that when the song is finished, I’m like, it’s not finished. Like, there’s more; there’s more fine-tuning to be done. So we had so many versions of each of these songs. Some were more pop and then some were brought into a sort of rock state or punk rock until the six songs that we chose really represented the folk side of Cinzia, because then I’ve been dying to get out.
I’ve heard the EP. There are surprises in these songs. It feels like you’re going in one direction, then it shifts. I would never normally ask this question but your sound incorporates influences from everywhere. How would you describe it?
I always say it’s a mix between Florence and the Machine and Julia Michaels, like their baby. It has pop elements, but I also love Florence’s sound and was inspired by Folklore, the Taylor Swift album. So, folk-pop that’s really guitar-driven and lyric-driven.
There are six songs on the record. Is there a theme or style that links them?
The whole theme of this album was really outgrowing things, having these growth spurt moments, and just genuinely connecting with yourself in the most uncomfortable ways possible. Because it’s so cliche, but that’s that’s what growth is right? The uncomfortable spots that we put ourselves in and once we step out of the box. So that’s sort of the theme of the album. Definitely growing out of things, being uncomfortable, but in the best way possible to get to a genuine you.
Your songs tend to be quite personal. How do you balance keeping a private life and sharing in your music?
I definitely do have a private life. I think there are topics that I keep to myself, but I’m trying to be more open about all of them. Like, I’m a really big advocate for body positivity and just being…
Her voice trails off.
Oh, wow. I have trouble talking about personal issues one-on-one clearly, as I’m trying to tell you what I talk about. But for some reason, it’s much easier in the song. So I feel like that’s actually where that line sort of crosses for me, because anything that I want to keep personal and very close to my heart, I have a very hard time talking about it. Like I was just about to tell you how I talk about a lot of self-love and a lot of eating disorders or body dysmorphia. And that’s found in my songs more as themes of love and heartbreak, but can be really, if we get to the core of it, that’s what a lot of them are about.
But I think that that line of separation for me just sits in the conversation because within a song, I feel like I can control the conversation and control the story because I’m telling you about it in my own words through metaphors or through similes. And I’m like, oh, I’m talking about small things like that instead of a direct one-on-one where I’m like, oh, this is happening, and this is exactly what happened this, this, this. Like, that’s tough for me. So that allows me to keep certain things private.
What do you think you’ve learned about yourself throughout your career so far?
I’m not as stubborn as I thought I was. I thought I was very stuck in my ways and very like, this is what we’re doing and that’s it and just my way or the highway. And I realized with creating through people and taking in different opinions that actually weighs on me a lot, which I think is part of the reason why it took so long to sort of find my sound and not in a bad way. But I needed to test things out and take in people’s opinions and try different things to know what I wanted.
And know who I am as a person. So it was nice to know that I wasn’t as stuck in my ways as I thought I was.
Yeah, you have a clear vision now of what you want to do?
Yeah, yeah, it’s a clearer vision. And I think I’m able to take in people’s opinions without totally reframing my own, but just taking them in and adding colours to what I see Cinzia and the Eclipse to be and what I want it to be.
Watch the full interview below:
Cinzia & the Eclipse play Petit Campus on March 21. TICKETS HERE
Springland is released March 22.
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