Dolche, is a world-acclaimed Italian-French singer, songwriter, composer and record producer. The choice of this unusual stage name is, in part, a tribute to the melancholic and nostalgic vision of old Europe depicted in the drama film and masterpiece by Federico Fellini “La Dolce Vita”. But the name also cleverly nods to the Italian word “dolce”, meaning sweet, alluding to her musical style. All the allusions and meanings are wonderful and varied, simple yet complex and they mirror her musical output perfectly: an eclectic blend of multiple genres such as folk, chanson française, world music, classical music, funk, electronic and more, making her both consummate and intriguingly indefinable as an artist. She now releases the fourth single of her forthcoming album Exotic Diorama (out Oct 2020) – the energetic yet, in the end, beautifully calming track ‘Breathe In’ released 21st August 2020

The song ‘Breathe In’ was conceived and executed in an artistic and unusual manner: Dolche composed and played the entire song alone inspired by the desire to create ‘impossible’ beats. She spent three days at home glued to her pianino (a small 1800 Italian piano that was originally conceived for children and has 2 octaves less than the regular ones). After she got the fast piano melody right, she started creating sounds for the percussion. She used any and every kind of samples from the infinite sound archive she created over time (even the sound of slamming a wooden baby gate in a beach house!) Then, inspired by a technique famously used by David Bowie to write lyrics to some of his songs, she gathered the beats and randomly matched them until the ‘right’ sound emerged from the crazy and unpredictable assembling. This new song, alternating upbeat synth electro-rhythms with the sound of flutes playing a relaxing Chinese-ish melody, is a wonderfully calming, yet fun, pop trip in Dolche’s experimental musical universe. The song is all about taking in ‘the moment’ and finding peace. In our crazy modern world we sometimes we forget the simplest way to get back in contact with ourselves and find balance: just breathing!

This anime inspired video for ‘Breathe In’ reminds us of this basic principle with simple calming movements and original choreography created with the help of many fans across the world who sent in their own ‘moves’. A professional dancer from NYC then put it all together, and Californian animators at Zozrus Studio translated the moves into anime characters. It is astonishing to remember that this was all produced and realized during full lockdown isolation. Dolche originally envisaged the video concept as if someone was listening to ‘Breathe In’ whilst being stuck in a traffic jam. Her imagination took over: “What if we could just follow a flying bug and get out of our cars to dance together and breathe again? And what if three old wise Chinese ladies dressed in pink working jumpsuits showed us the secret movements to pull it together?” Crisalide Records creatives and the animators brought this crazy and wonderful idea to life. The resulting video is a fun and captivating anime that underscores the need for space, and calm.

An interesting fact about Dolche is that she always hides little secret messages and personal motifs in most of her videos, in the ‘Breathe In’ video there are two: the little rainbow heart her character wears on her jacket's right pocket as a reminder of the LGBTQ rights she strenuously defends, and the other is a character whom Dolche quietly wanted to pay an homage to in her own quiet way. In this sense the video represents both the personal and the universal in a call for peace, love and acceptance.

Dolche’s new album, Exotic Diorama, will be released in October 2020.