A Chat with Martina Lupi (19.08.26)
Channelling the raw, ritual power of traditional instruments with contemporary sounds, singer-songwriter Martina Lupi brings old to new with an experimental flair. We speak with Lupi about her solo project, her album, Dannate Salvatrici, collaboration, and much more.
OSR: You recently released your album, Dannate Salvatrici. What can you tell us about the album? Is there a particular concept or backstory?
Lupi: This album actually tells the story of twenty years of personal growth, solo journeys, and moments spent with myself, during which I was trying to process something that could only come to life through a song. The album was born from the need to give voice and form to a personal experience of transformation and spiritual exploration that developed over the course of nearly twenty years. I wrote and kept these pieces for a long time before releasing them.
At the heart of the concept is the figure of the “whole woman” and the ability to transform pain into liberation. The title, Dannate Salvatrici, encapsulates this very duality: the experience of limitation and suffering becoming a means of salvation, awareness, and rebirth. I drew inspiration from the Joan of Arc, who lives within every woman, from depth psychology, from Jungian archetypes that I came to recognize within my own lyrics, and from mythology.
OSR: You collaborated with musicians like Michele Gazuch, Alessandro Gwis and Mattia Lotini on Dannate Salvatrici. What was the experience like, and what did each of them bring to the soundscape?
Lupi: The creative process was a deeply collaborative and human journey. Meeting violinist and composer Michele Gazich was fundamental. He was the one who encouraged me to record the album after listening to my unreleased songs during a car journey back from an important concert we had performed together on the island of Capri.
Then Alessandro Gwis, an exceptional pianist and a valued collaborator of mine for many years, helped me paint entire sonic worlds in perfect harmony, as though we were breathing as one.
Finally, guitarist Mattia Lotini played an equally important role. He created the guitar arrangements and mixed the tracks, bringing out every shade, contrast, and nuance in the music.
OSR: You’ve mentioned that your style on Dannate Salvatrici as “sound of distance”, noting that silence is as significant as the melody. How did this use of silence come across on the album, and how do you use silence as an active musical element?
Lupi: I wanted to arrange the pieces in a way that left plenty of space for breath, improvisation, and acoustic interaction. For me, connecting with silence is essential. On the album, silence is not an absence, but an active musical element that creates a meditative atmosphere, offering the listener a space for pause and contemplation – a place to stop and listen deeply within.
Il suono della distanza (The Sound of Distance) is another live project that I carry forward with pianist Alessandro Gwis. Through original compositions and masterpieces by Italian and international songwriters and composers, my voice and world instruments, together with Alessandro Gwis’s piano and minimalist electronics, the project explores the themes of absence and distance, transforming those feelings into emotion and beauty.
OSR: The album brings together electronic and organic elements such as the piano, but you also use traditional instruments like shamanic drums and the didgeridoo in the tracks. Why did you choose to bind the traditional instruments with more modern-day electronic textures?
Lupi: I would describe my sound as an intimate and evocative fusion of world music, ethno-jazz, and singer-songwriter traditions. I love combining acoustic and traditional instruments rooted in ritual, sacred, and folk traditions, with the central role of the voice and more contemporary musical elements. This combination comes from my desire to bring together acoustic simplicity with an atmosphere that feels suspended, evocative, and archetypal.
On this album, I included only Tuvan overtone singing, a form of shamanic vocal tradition, while in my live performances I also use the didgeridoo, shamanic drum, and a variety of instruments from around the world.
OSR: You previously performed with the band Tupa Ruja, so this is your debut solo album. How did your experience in the band influence you as a solo musician? Also, what are the pros and cons of being in a group as compared to working solo?
Lupi: With Tupa Ruja, I have been pursuing a beautiful path of vocal and instrumental research for many years. It is a world music project that is still very much active today. For my debut solo album, I chose to use my real name, Martina Lupi, in order to maintain a sense of complete honesty and transparency between who I am as a person and my artistic journey.
Playing in a group is incredibly enriching because of the shared creative experience, while working as a solo artist allows me to place my most intimate and personal vision at the centre, without filters.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Lupi: For me, music and singing have never been simply a passion or a way of expressing the ego, but a true path of inner exploration and artistic expression – one to which I have chosen to dedicate my life. I see music as a transformative act: singing creates a space for sharing, listening, and healing, both for myself and for those who listen.
OSR: Which do you find more challenging: melody or lyrics, and why?
Lupi: Rather than choosing between melody and lyrics, the greatest challenge for me is never to be dishonest with myself, either while writing or on stage, and to respect the natural inner timing of each song. Alongside the lyrics and storytelling of the singer-songwriter tradition, I also place great importance on the voice when it is freed from words, treating it as a pure and fully expressive musical instrument in its own right.
OSR: After listening to Dannate Salvatrici in full, what do you hope people take from the album? What do you hope resonates with audiences?
Lupi: My greatest desire is to create, through sound and words, a true “sacred space.” I hope that those who listen to Dannate Salvatrici can surrender to a more instinctive, pre-rational and emotional dimension, finding a protected space in which they can listen deeply to themselves, finally without defences.
OSR: Do you feel this album is a true representation of who you are at the moment, both personally and as a musician?
Lupi: Yes, this album represents me faithfully, both on a personal level and as a musician. My decision to release it under my real name comes precisely from the desire to maintain complete transparency and authenticity, and the album itself embodies the synthesis of twenty years of life, study, and inner growth.
With my group, Tupa Ruja, the more playful, celebratory, and light-hearted side of my personality comes to the surface, and that is equally a true part of who I am. In my solo singer-songwriter project, however, I allow myself to delve more deeply into my emotions, to process them through writing and artistic expression, and to discover more deeply into my emotions, to process them through writing and artistic expression, and to discover more intimate and hidden aspects of myself.
OSR: What can we expect from Martina Lupi in the future?
Lupi: I am already writing my next singer-songwriter album. I am also continuing to perform live with Alessandro Gwis through the projects Il suono della Distanza and Dannate Salvatrici, bringing my music into intimate settings. At the same time, I continue my personal vocal research into the pure voice, as well as my work with Tupa Ruja.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Lupi: My message to you is to never lie to yourselves and to learn patience, respecting your own inner timing without giving in to haste.
Many thanks to Martina Lupi for speaking with us. Find out more about Martina Lupi on her official website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
