The song Euterpe is the first single from the collaboration of singer-songwriter Claire Marante and Franco Tartaglia’s music project Tact. The track was written (lyrics and music) by Claire Marante with co-composition and music arrangement by Franco Tartaglia. Claire and Franco both play classical guitar on the track, with Claire also on voice, drums by Carl Matthew Camilleri and bass by Charles Cassar. The track also features guest musicians Jonathan Camilleri playing the sazi and Gilmour Peplow on cello. I spoke to Franco Tartaglia about this new collaboration and the way forward for Tact.
How do you describe this new single?
The track blends different genres and influences. Listeners have described it as belonging to the genre of ‘art-folk’ or ‘alternative-folk’. It has a wistful and melancholic quality which is in keeping with the theme of the song.
The track is called Euterpe – can you elaborate on the meaning and the theme behind it?
Euterpe is the ancient Greek muse of lyric poetry and music. The song is a call to the muse to inspire the artist during a period of artistic drought. It speaks about the longing to create and the anxieties of the artist.
How did the collaboration between Claire Marante and Tact come about? How have things worked out?
We have known each other since our sixth form years and have previously collaborated musically in other bands and projects. We have always had a good chemistry musically. We had to pause our collaboration for several years when Claire moved to Scotland to further her studies. However, on her return to Malta we both expressed a desire to collaborate musically again and that is how this started out.
Is this the start of a more long-term collaboration?
Yes our intention is for this to be a long-term collaboration. We already have other songs in the pipeline. The music genre emerging from this collaboration is different from the style of Brushworks, the album released by Tact in 2015 supported by Malta Arts Fund (Arts Council Malta). Brushworks is an album featuring instrumental music with influences ranging from Classical, Bossa Nova and Soundtrack music. Tact will, in fact, continue with similar work to that on Brushworks, but will also be collaborating with Claire Marante on other material.
What is next for Claire Marante and Tact?
More songs will be coming up and the journey will be accompanied by live performances.