Interview with Daniele Lucchini, Author of the Book “Dolores O'riordan & the Cranberries

Interview with Daniele Lucchini march 2021

Interview with Daniele Lucchini, author of the book “Dolores O'Riordan & The Cranberries. Parole di una star riluttante – testi commentati " Arcana Edizioni, 2021

Thanking him for his courtesy and willingness to chat with us, we would like to get to know the writer Daniele Lucchini better and above all to know how and when he approached the music of the Cranberries and what impressed him so much that he even wrote a book.

First of all, a warm greeting and heartfelt thanks to Paolo and Loredana and to the Cranberries Italia community for inviting me to this conversation. I listened to The Cranberries for the first time in 1991 on a cassette passed to me by a college classmate who had just returned from a semester in Ireland; knowing a little of my sympathies, she only told me that it was a rock group and that the singer was a girl of my age, a bit “sui generis” and undoubtedly very Irish. Despite the quality of the audio and my still somewhat approximate knowledge of English at the time, I was immediately very impressed by the voice, the way it was used and the "universality" of the lyrics; at least for the words I could understand. As for the book, it's not so much about the Cranberries as it is about Dolores and her writing. And it is, to my knowledge, the first monograph about her.

When was the idea of writing this book born and what was its path of realization?

From a practical point of view, the idea was born last year and the credit for giving me the start is undoubtedly from the publisher; but in all likelihood the thing had been working under the radar for a few weeks after Dolores' death. Although I have never been what you would call a fan, from the first months of 2018 I began to become aware of how much I had instead internalized and that voice I encountered during my studies had unconsciously resounded within me for almost thirty years; perhaps precisely because of how and when I met her. So a little at a time I developed the desire to get to know the girl in that tape better and the most appropriate way I could do it was to "interrogate" her lyrics, listen to what she said with humble attention and without ideas preconceived notions. Then, when I started writing the book last year, I gave myself two rules in particular: let Dolores speak as much as possible and write fluently without conveying the impression of a mere reference text. For the first point I have consulted an enormous quantity of articles and above all interviews; I wanted to hear and understand what Dolores had to say about her lyrics, because it was the only way to not disrespect her or the readers. For the second point I used the albums as if they were the chapters of a narrative, in order to give continuity to the text and to make it pleasant even as a reading in itself. I hope I have achieved both goals. Interview with Daniele Lucchini march 2021

The title of the book speaks of Dolores as a "reluctant star" ... a reluctance towards what or towards whom?

Reluctance to stardom, or rather the consequences of stardom. It is no secret that Dolores has always struggled very hard to accept and manage the stress deriving from her own media and public overexposure. Not all stars have the instinct of histrionics, if I may say so. There are stars who become such in spite of themselves, who become so as a consequence of expressing their artistic talent, but who would have preferred to be able to express themselves without the spotlight always on them. It seems to me that Dolores mostly belonged to this type.

During the writing of the book, did you have the opportunity to interact with the other members of the band or to talk to someone close to Dolores?

I must say that before starting work I took it into consideration for a moment, but then I immediately put the idea aside. As I said above, I didn't want to write a biography of Dolores, but I wanted to find her voice; if you pass me the expression, I wanted to converse directly with her and get to her gaze on her things. Here, this approach to Dolores' gaze could almost be considered the main theme of the book. And what could make it interesting even to those who don't know her much as a singer, precisely because she invites them to look for the person much more than her character. As a scholar of literature and as an author myself, I am aware that writing is a process in many ways self-centered, lonely, even one that requires isolation. The act of writing, apart from rare cases of programmatic collaboration with several hands, is not shared with anyone. In this book I was interested in meeting the poet Dolores, because she defined herself as such at least throughout the nineties, and I thought that even in her case (as for every poet) I could not draw from anyone, however close in everyday life or professional, more than she and her lyrics say about her. Certainly different things would be to want to talk about the musician or, precisely, about her biography; if one day I had to consider doing it, in that case I would not be able to do without trying to compare myself with those who have frequented her more assiduously. And maybe at that point your community would certainly be a useful bridge, on which I would trust to be able to count, to reach at least some of those people.

Are there one or more links that unite the songs of the various albums? Or does each record, each period have its own characteristics?

If we consider that Dolores' artistic career lasted almost thirty years, we can undoubtedly identify different periods in terms of inspiration, sensitivity or context. However, if we think that both in the songs with the Cranberries and in the solo ones Dolores almost Interview with Daniele Lucchini march 2021

always speaks only of herself, it is equally true that some themes return with a certain frequency throughout the entire span of her production: for example her own fragility, concern for childhood, motherhood, family ties. In the book I have tried to account for the constants and discontinuities; and I am convinced that having treated the individual albums as chapters of an organic narrative can help readers to follow Dolores' evolutions with a certain coherence.

Did you have an opinion about the relationship between the lyrics and the personality of the Irish singer?

As far as I have learned, Dolores belongs to the kind of authors who only say their own "particulare", as the back cover of the book says. In other words, she almost always and only talks about herself, her emotions and experiences. Therefore there is a very close relationship between the person and her lyrics, which are almost a mirror of hers. For this reason I felt that the best way to approach her as such was to pass through her words. However, it is ironic that her most commercially successful song, "Zombie", is one of the very few that take their cue from an event outside her direct private experience.

The newspapers and the media in general, especially the English ones, have always highlighted Dolores' physical and psychological problems: how much, in your opinion, has this situation influenced the writing of her songs?

Dolores' relationship with the British media, and partly with the Irish ones, has been quite painful from the start and she has remained so throughout. Evidently the thing has weighed heavily on her on several occasions and in more than one passage her discomfort and her resentment emerge; when it happens she generally tends to defend herself rather than attack her, even if she occasionally gives the impression of wanting to scratch. In the book some hypotheses about the reasons for this attitude of the British press are formulated and let us guess. On the other hand, what can be said here is that her relationship with a large part of the American press and above all with the Italian one has always been diametrically opposed.

How and to what extent has Dolores' way of writing lyrics and singing influenced and will be able to influence music in the future?

As for the way of writing, as we said, Dolores is part of a large and noble group of authors who have made their own self the main theme of their poetry; already the scholastic reminiscences of each one can help to clarify what I mean, even without putting forward any comparative hypothesis, which would certainly be out of place. I don't think therefore that in this sense Dolores can be a peculiar model; however there Interview with Daniele Lucchini march 2021

are some rhetorical devices specific to her, described in the book, which yes in the future could be studied and acquired by some authors. The speech is different as regards the way of singing. Beyond her immense talent (certainly natural, but also cultivated with painstaking patience and perseverance), it is a full-blown and undeniable fact that Dolores has "invented" a new singing style of her own that immediately influenced a large number of singers everywhere in the world. And that she will certainly continue to do so for a long time to come.

In your opinion, in Italy, is there currently any singer who can be approached to Dolores O'Riordan in the way of composing songs?

It must be admitted that, perhaps for personal reasons, I do not know much about the new generation. However, if I am allowed to go back over the years, it seems to me that, at least in the way of singing, two Italian artists of undoubted quality, knowingly or unconsciously influenced by Dolores, were certainly Elisa and Carmen Consoli.

Many fans told us that they found in the words of Dolores' songs a great comfort and a strong help to overcome difficult moments in their life. Can music be considered a valid psychological support, and that of the Cranberries in particular?

Art (and therefore literature, music, figurative arts ...) can certainly be a great comfort, support and propeller for anyone in difficult moments, as well as in everyday life; creativity generally is. Perhaps this is not the scope to start a discussion on the subject, but it is a fact that many times this is the case. At the most, what changes is the type of art or which artist can benevolently influence us depending on the moment, the mood and even more simply on personal tastes; but it happens, it undoubtedly happens. And I understand that many members of the community have this benefit from the music of the Cranberries and Dolores.

Dolores herself has faced very difficult times in her life: child abuse, mental and physical problems, the end of a marriage ... what and how much of all these experiences emerge from her words?

Reading it and talking to it, however far away, with due attention, everything emerges. As we said, Dolores speaks almost only of herself and her songs at the time of her are the most faithful mirror of her soul, including the scars that have marked it. It is extensively covered in the book.

After having analyzed these songs in depth, in your opinion, what does Dolores O'Riordan leave to the next generations of singers? Can a real message aimed at the future be Interview with Daniele Lucchini march 2021

highlighted more than others?

If we talk about the singer, I would say that Dolores was for rock what Maria Callas was for opera; each in their own field so champion that it does not seem plausible for those who arrived or will arrive after not taking them into account. If, on the other hand, we are talking about the poet, I would indicate frankness, the courage to always show herself as she was, without ever trying to disguise or embellish herself. And this could also be an invitation for the next generations of artists.

Of course as a community of Cranberries fans, we are very eager to read this book and just to wrap up our interview, do you have any advice or recommendations on how to approach reading it?

Well, first of all I would ask you to take into account the fact that this book is not a report on Dolores' life and it is not even that mine of information and anecdotes that are often the delight of an artist's fans. Instead, think that it was born as a private path by the author to go and meet the person Dolores, to get closer to her gaze, to converse with her. And think that the same author invites you to walk the same road with him and sit in front of Dolores to listen to her tell herself. If you want to trust and be able to put yourself in this arrangement, I realize that you will really appreciate the book.

And finally ... what is your favorite song about her?

Since Dolores died, the ones I listen to and listen to with greater tenderness are the three unreleased songs of “Something Else”. I guess you can understand why.

A heartfelt thanks to Daniele Lucchini for introducing us to reading his book...