A Chat with Gianni Ferraro (27.05.26)
Raised in Toronto’s iconic Cameron House and shaped by years of performing with his family band Ferraro, Canadian musician Gianni Ferraro has built his artistry on a deep love of songwriting, live performance, and creative authenticity. With the release of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, the first instalment in an ambitious year-long series of monthly singles, Ferraro is embarking on a bold new chapter as a solo artist. We caught up with him to discuss his musical roots, creative process, and the vision behind his latest project.
OSR: You grew up inside Toronto’s legendary Cameron House. How did that environment shape your understanding of music and creativity from an early age?
Gianni Ferraro: Seeing musicians make a living from playing music locally had a major influence on me. It normalized the ‘small time’ and playing music as a viable career. The type of musician that plays at The Cameron House is not doing so to get famous but rather because it is a way of life that they truly enjoy. I have seen several examples of bands playing a weekly residency that lasts over 20 years. That kind of commitment to the craft and joy of performance is very inspiring to me.
OSR: Was there a particular moment when you realised you wanted to pursue music as more than something that surrounded you growing up?
Gianni Ferraro: I started performing music on a stage when I was very young, way before I should have been given access to a stage, if we’re being honest. For a while these performances were all cover songs. After a few years of this, I finally worked up the courage to show my brothers a piece of music I had written myself. They actually (to my surprise) thought it wasn’t half bad and we added it into our set. After that, that’s all I wanted to do. I thought it’d be so cool if the whole set could be made up of original songs. That was the moment music became a goal and something I wanted to pursue.
OSR: Before launching your solo career, you performed extensively with your brothers in the band Ferraro. What lessons from those years still influence your work today?
Gianni Ferraro: I have learned loads of lessons from performing with the band Ferraro over the years. Things like how to continue a performance when the monitors break or how to feel out the crowd’s energy to know what song should be played next, often changing the setlist on the fly. How to do a proper soundcheck as well as how to find the best food in a new town to crush post-soundcheck and pre-gig. All these little things that go into being a band. Also creatively, I have learned so much about how to tell if a song is good enough to pursue or when to ditch an idea, as well as what lyrically will work without getting too cheesy while still saying something simple. This knowledge comes only with time and experience, which I was lucky to have with the band.
OSR: Your new single, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, is the first release in a year-long monthly series. What inspired such an ambitious creative commitment?
Gianni Ferraro: I think it’s a bit of a trick I’m playing on myself to help get the music I am making out into the world. Once I announced that this was the plan, then this is what I have to make happen one way or another. I never really have trouble creating, but I do often get held up before passing the finish line. This idea of this project forces me to exert that last 5% of effort necessary to get a song released, realizing that’s the only way it’ll ever be heard by anyone other than myself and my non-existent cat.
OSR: Can you talk about the songwriting process behind ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’? Where did the song begin?
Gianni Ferraro: Do you remember reading fairy tales as a kid? Would you say you’re still living by the morals they taught us? The idea started with these questions that I was asking myself. I took a trip to my local library to recheck in on some of these fables now as an adult. I came across The Emperor’s New Clothes, which is one I didn’t really remember. The story emphasizes honesty and simple truths and how they hold more value than social approval or maintaining appearances. Some of the lyrics came pretty much directly out of this 1837 folktale written by Hans Christian Andersen. But I still wanted people to dance, so I wrote it to this upbeat, warbled keys-heavy groove.
OSR: The track blends indie-rock, alternative influences, and pop melodies. How would you describe your current sound in your own words?
Gianni Ferraro: I think that’s accurate. Indie-rock with some pop sensibilities. I’ve had people tell me I remind them of Glass Animals, Harry Styles, Cage the Elephant amongst others, but in my own words… I’m just trying to create catchy hooks over danceable beats.
OSR: Working with producer Sam Arion, mixer Justin Meli, and mastering engineer Kristian Montano, what did each collaborator bring to the final version of the song?
Gianni Ferraro: Sam and Kristian are buds of mine I have known for years. It was very natural and fun working with them; they were great at taking my vision and running with it, adding their own creative input along the way. I met Justin during this project through our mutual friend Maia Davies. I was playing some of these songs in their early stages at a bar, just solo to a handful of people, Maia being one of them. She came up to me after I finished and asked what my plan was for these tunes. That’s when she recommended Justin to me, thinking he had the perfect set of skills to add to what the songs already were. Each of these collaborators were an integral part in getting the tunes from my demos to their final formation.
OSR: Every release in the series will include a visual component. How important is visual storytelling to your artistic identity?
Gianni Ferraro: I think the visual aspect of music is hugely impactful to the way someone receives a song. I wanted to add a personal element to the artwork to create more of a world around each release. The art is hand-drawn and then animated with a different image for each individual track. That way each release has its own unique visual to go with the audio. I figured this was a more fun way of doing it than just a single photo of me or something as an album cover for the whole project. Once I got into this idea, I felt very inspired and excited to create the artwork.
OSR: Having shared stages with artists such as Arkells, Big Sugar, Sam Roberts Band, and July Talk, what experiences have had the biggest impact on your growth as a performer?
Gianni Ferraro: Seeing the energy these artists bring to their performances night after night is incredible. You can tell why they are in the position they are in. Also, the way they treat those around them. From their crew, to the venue staff, to us as the opening band, these artists treat everyone with such openness and kindness that it really goes to show that your attitude behind the scenes can be just as important as your public-facing persona in maintaining a long, successful career.
OSR: By the time listeners reach the final release in December 2026, what do you hope they will understand about you as an artist that they may not know today?
Gianni Ferraro: I just hope they enjoyed the time they spent listening. It’s hard in this age to hold someone’s attention, so if they stayed the course with me all the way to December, I’d like to say thank you. I believe music truly lives and breathes in the live setting, so if people are connecting to the songs, keep an eye out for a chance to see them live and breathing on stage!
Many thanks to Gianni Ferraro for speaking with us. Find out more about Gianni Ferraro on his Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify.
