Sem e Stènn
Their 80’s-inspired look is super colourful and their synthesised pop music has a twist of glitter. All of this is expressed with a totally unfiltered attitude and self-celebration at its finest. Salvatore Puglisi and Stefano Ramero met online in 2007. Then in Milan, while attending a music course at NABA, they fell in love and merged into the duo we know today as Sem e Stènn. The two artists told us their story, and the meaning of exposing themselves as they truly are. Since the beginning of their musical career Salvatore and Stefano have been LGBTQ+ activists, and they’re now an iconic duo for the community.
You’re both, by now, icons of unfiltered self-expression, has it always been so easy and natural for you?
Nobody can ever have it easy in a patriarchal society like ours. As for us, we showed our natural selves, without too much reasoning. We simply brought our world to the public, because that's the moral duty of every artist.
We have a lot of fun changing things up, like hair colour, and we like to discover and collaborate with young designers. […] we only have performance clothes: sometimes, going to the supermarket becomes a show.
Beside singers, many people see you as symbols of freedom because of your activism for the LGBTQ+ rights. What does Pride mean to you?
P is for progress, R for revolution, I for identity, D for diversity, and E for extra. We're glad to be recognised as a symbol of freedom. Being among the first ones to expose ourselves has meant a lot to us.
We're in the middle of the most colourful month of the year: what Pride-related events (online and offline) are you taking part in to celebrate universal love?
We had the pleasure to present our song “18 anni” in a Milano Pride live on Twitch. It was nice to perform for many friends from the community.
The news and social media are flooded with initiatives that promote all forms of equality, from anti-racism to LGBTQ+ inclusivity. How do you feel about this movement?
The more people participate in that, the better: it’s fundamental to eliminate the discrimination against all kinds of minorities. There should be no room for controversy on this regard, but at the same time we all have to work hard, in order to ensure that what we share on social networks also gets implemented in real life.
How are you living this refresh period? What are your post-quarantine resolutions?
Unfortunately, our industry still needs a bit longer before we can talk about an actual restart. We're taking this time to complete our new album, which we can't wait to sing live, in front of many people.
What's the song you can't stop listening to right now? Do you have your own queer anthem that you listen to on a loop?
“Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, as it’s been played on repeat, and also the entire Doja Cat album. The queer hymn par excellence is “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera.
Your latest single “18 anni” was just released, what's the message behind this song? What would you give to be able to return to that age?
We think this is a country for old people and wanted to talk about the discomfort of our generation, that's forced to deal with precariousness. We'd like to go back to being 18 years old, in order to stop thinking about it for a moment.
Your music is irreverent and provocative, what inspires your lyrics?
We tell every side of us. So much stuff happens in our everyday life, that it isn't hard to find something to say at all.
What’s an accessory you can't live without?
Our moon-shaped earrings.
Some fans call you iconic for your music, but above all for your style. How would you define your look? What's your relationship with fashion, and how important is it to fully express yourself in the world of music?
We have a lot of fun changing things up, like hair colour, and we like to discover and collaborate with young designers. We worked with Salvatore Vignola for the video of “Ho pianto in discoteca”, for example. By the way, we laugh to death with our stylist and best friend Mirella Viale Marchino, thinking about a thousand crazy things. We humbly let others say that we're iconic, let's just say we agree...
Are performance dressing and everyday dressing so different? What one do you prefer?
Let's just say we only have performance clothes: sometimes, going to the supermarket becomes a show.
In fashion, we're going through a much more fluid phase, leading us to explore a style that doesn't give gender definitions, as it’s open to any kind of personal expression. What's genderless fashion for you?
In the world we'd like to live in, genderless fashion is what you can find in stores that don’t separate into male and female sections.
Who are your style icons and why?
Cody Fern, Harry Styles and Christina Aguilera in the 2000’s. Each one of them has broken the rules.
Provoking with music or fashion? Which one do you think is the most effective?
What if we do both at the same time?
What's the biggest dream you hope to achieve in 10 years from now?
Owning a villa in Beverly Hills, with five Grammys on the piano and three adopted children.
P is for progress, R for revolution, I for identity, D for diversity, and E for extra. We're glad to be recognised as a symbol of freedom. Being among the first ones to expose ourselves has meant a lot to us.