There’s no musical box that can define Tonina. Her quartet plays both Tonina’s own compositions and reimagined covers of folk songs from four different continents, sung in three different languages—English, Spanish, and Italian. Musically, she’s informed by jazz and R&B as well as flamenco, bolero, and many other centuries-old traditions. We got the chance to talk with Tonina about the importance of folk traditions in her art, expressing herself indifferent languages, and staying away from boxes to be as creative as possible.
Sofar: How did you get into playing music?
Tonina: I started playing symphonic music when I was eight. Creating music with an entire group is the best feeling in the world and I’ve just been addicted to it ever since I was little. Also, I come from a musical family, my father was a drummer and a bassist, my uncle was a drummer, and my other uncle is a guitarist and banjo player. So I always thought a career in music was feasible.
What made you start Tonina?
I decided not to go to a symphonic school to study classical music. [Instead], I went to Berklee and it was different from what I was used to. I started playing in smaller bands, jazz combos and playing in quartets [where] I [was] the only person in my section that I had to rely on. I wanted to apply what I was learning in my ensemble classes to my own music; that was really scary but I had written so much music that I didn’t know where to put it. I was like ‘let me gather a drummer, a trumpet player or a sax player and I’ll play bass and let’s see where this goes.’
You have a lot of influences in your music. How did you find your sound?
When I was little, I used to imitate all of my favorite artists and singers. Nowadays, I’m inspired by ethnomusicology and folk traditions from around the world. Stylistically, [my music is] inspired by many different folk traditions; blues and R&B are folk traditions in the US and flamenco can be considered a form of folk tradition for Romani people in Spain and different types of rhythms from West Africa. I’m mostly inspired by African [music] but then I spent time living in Spain and I love the vocal gymnastics of flamenco singers and that’s really inspiring for me as well.
What is it about these different folk traditions that appeal to you so much?
It’s all very raw sounding. For example, I like to cover a lot of folk songs from Sicily and across the board there is a lot of raw emotion, the vocals are very dry, matter of fact, and the songwriting is very confessional. I love how authentic, raw, and organic it is and I want to translate that to my music.
What are the challenges of singing in different languages
I mainly just did it to reach as many people as I can with the languages I speak. I want to be intentional in the songs that I choose in Spanish and in English. I don’t really write in Italian anymore because I can’t really speak it anymore like I did in the past. I also like to bring some awareness to the music, like Rosa Balistreri. She’s an artist I covered in my albums and she’s an icon from Sicily.
How do you find the balance of expressing yourself and shining a spotlight to other cultures?
I like to mix them up. In my last project, I have a straight up cover of Hector Lavoe but then [another] track is a song I wrote that then [incorporates] a Sicilian folk song. I don’t want to be just a cover artist but I like to do my own arrangements of the songs. I think it’s a fun challenge to rearrange them and see where they fit.
Do cover songs help you find your own voice?
I think it’s like a call to my ancestors that came through the Caribbean or Sicily or Texas who were slaves. It’s very important to me to pay homage because I’m always doing music history research and I’m fascinated by what I find and how we’re all really connected musically in North America, South America, and Africa, and so I kinda want to challenge myself to create things inspired by that.
What do you think playing your music in many different cities has contributed to your musical formation?
I would say that traveling and reading are the two things that inspire me the most. Honestly, I’m the happiest when I’m in a new country or a new place and I’m just exploring, it awakens my creative side. When I’m in the same place I get bored so I need a sense of adventure to create. That’s why it’s hard for me to stay in the same place for an extended period of time. That’s why touring is so great because I get exposed to different styles of music. Flamenco is all over Spain but there’s a lot of different genres in Catalonia. I learn about all these things and stray away from my preconceived notions of what I think it’s the music of the place. It inspires the hell out of me to create.
Do you find that challenging yourself constantly is a rewarding experience?
Totally! Throughout my whole music career I think I have been in definite boxes, like when I was playing symphonic music or jazz or in a classic rock ensemble or in a Latin music ensemble; I want to stray away from that and bring everything into me that I like about all of that [music]. Because I think when I narrow myself down, my creativity gets narrowed down so I can’t really expand or reach my full potential.
Words by Marcos Hassan
Photo credit: Tonina, photo by Jessica Page
