PHOTOGRAPHY Hidhir Badaruddin
For his debut single, Italian musician Simone Casarotti has returned to his roots. Despite moving to London to pursue his music career, the multi-instrumentalist was inspired to shoot the music video for his song ‘Magic Boy’ in his rural hometown outside of Venice. The song is an impressive first release, showcasing Simone’s eclectic creative vision, multi-instrumentalist skills and production prowess.
‘Magic Boy’s upbeat, Roxy Music-meets-Italo Disco aura is infectious, and describes Simone’s experience falling in love with a boy in the calm of everyday life through his intimate and honest point of view. The aforementioned boy is his partner, Getty Images Award-winning and BRICKS #12 The Age Issue cover star photographer, Hidhir Badaruddin, who makes his directorial debut with the ‘Magic Boy’ music video.
“The reception for ‘Magic Boy’ has been great and I’m so happy,” Simone gushes. He’s still reeling from the video premiere and acoustic performance from the night before. “I think it’s the best introduction I could have, for people to understand my point of view as a queer songwriter. It is possibly the first song I produced which I was really happy with… god knows I worked on these guitars à la Roxy Music for ages, so it only made sense to release it first.”
The duo made their joint debut together at Soho House’s screening room on Friday 24th November, surrounded by friends and family. Still smiling, he says, “It was an incredible night… the love in the room was real and I think everyone there really got to feel the passion Hidhir and I put into the project.”
The couple spent the remainder of their weekend celebrating their success at home with their two cats, Fiore and Pandan. “I think everyone expected that we’d be out partying away, but to me, this is what a perfect weekend is. It’s funny because ‘Magic Boy’ is all about enjoying downtime with your loved one, and we did just that,” Simone explains.
But unlike the relaxed release, Simone’s plans for his budding artistry are just getting started. “2024 is where things get serious,” he teases, noting that live shows are his next focus. “It’s so amazing to see people respond to your music live. I played a small acoustic set at the screening and it felt great to hear what everyone thought. After ‘Magic Boy’ there will be more introspective bops but also songs that peek into the wider world and experiences, such as dating and growing up which are themes I think about a lot and have quite a bit to say on.”
Below, Simone shares how his childhood hometown, Call Me By Your Name, and swiping right on Tinder inspired his debut single, ‘Magic Boy’.
Swiping right
The song is an ode to queer intimacy and love, dedicated to Simone’s partner Hidhir. Simone explains, “I wrote this song to celebrate queer love and what an amazing and lucky thing it is to find a supportive person, someone who can make your day better by just sitting next to you. That’s my Magic Boy.”
Simone and Hidhir’s love story began in an unlikely place – on Tinder. In early 2019, Simone swiped across Hidhir’s profile. “Hidhir loves telling this story – I ‘superliked’ him on Tinder and he thought I did it by mistake. I didn’t, I just wanted to shoot my shot and know quickly if he liked me back or not… I can be impatient sometimes,” he admits.
The pair fast became inseparable, aided by moving in together during the dreaded pandemic. Even still, the duo kept their work and home lives separated for years, instead supporting one another from the sidelines of their individual pursuits. “I think there’s always a risk in blending the two,” Simone warns. “Thankfully our communication skills have always been great and he has helped me learn so much about myself and look at myself differently through his eyes.”
But it was only after Simone’s initial director dropped out of the project last minute that their Italian getaway was rerouted to a two-day music video shoot with Hidhir at the helm. Following a chance encounter with cinematographer Cathy Ye – who agreed to join the couple on their location shoot – Hidhir ended up embarking on his directorial debut. Simone says, “It was an all-queer set so we created a loving and safe space, we all pushed each other creatively in different ways, within the limitations of budget and time that we had.”
“I have definitely been guilty of stressing Hidhir out a bit too much,” he adds. “Being the detail-orientated person he is, every element was reviewed multiple times. I know he was exhausted after putting together this video and campaign with me, but it was all worth it.
Queer Utopia
Simone recounts that his childhood growing up in a rural town outside of Venice was complicated. Having been embedded in the local, traditional Christian culture, Simone didn’t express his queer identity externally until he left Italy for London. Returning to his childhood hometown for the video shoot, the musician reimagines the area as a safe space to share the queer love song.
One scene in particular stood out to Simone during the video shoot, filming dancer Pietro Braghetto vogueing on the beach. “I had the impression that people from my area in Italy are still a bit uncomfortable about queer people, and for sure, I thought they wouldn’t understand what vogueing is. I was a bit apprehensive about the reaction of the locals – it’s a bit scary cause I’ve never exposed myself like that back home,” Simone recalls of their unexpected reaction. “But everyone on the beach gave him a standing ovation. I really did not expect that! Seeing this great reaction made me hopeful for young queer kids in Italy that things are changing and that we are more seen.”
Classic Italian cinema
The ‘Magic Boy’ video’s cinematography pays homage to classic Italian films like Roman Holiday, Scandal in Sorrento and the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty, along with more contemporary titles, including Stranizza D’Amuri Luca Guadagnino’s cult 2017 film, Call Me By Your Name. The film, starring heart-throb Timothee Chalamet as the titular queer teen, was a cultural reset for gay Italians everywhere. On the night of Simone’s video premiere, the film was celebrating its 6th anniversary since its release.
Holiday postcards
When I first mention the video’s styling, Simone laughs. “There was no stylist, we were styling it all,” he shares. In ‘Magic Boy’, Simone can be seen sporting many Italian-inspired looks, from Murano-inspired printed shirt to ‘Italia’ logo tees. One shot includes a ringer top that reads ‘Bellisimo’ which Simone designed himself for the shoot: “Someone mentioned how every scene of the music video looked like a postcard from Italy, and I loved that.”
However, Simone also wanted to represent his new home and reference how it has evolved his style. “We mixed that with styling inspired by the fashion in London and the things we picked up on the way, such as my Martine Rose shirt, paired with a Heaven by Marc Jacobs necklace, and my dear Adidas x Wales Bonner shoes,” he says.
Working on the inside
Before launching his music career, Simone worked in music publicity and management and says that the experience had been “incredibly formative”. “I really wanted to be part of the process to understand how the industry works,” he explains. “I remember joining a Zoom meeting with the head of Geffen Records who was praising this new signee and saying how excited he was to have him on the roster after all he’d accomplished. I remember thinking, ‘That should be me you’re talking about.’ I knew then that I couldn’t spend my time working as a publicist.”
He continues, “In the meantime, I studied what successful artists do that most don’t – plan in advance, know your story and how to talk about it, and most of all, ask yourself why people would care. It also gave me a massive appreciation for journalism. When I left PR, I said, ‘You need to put in the work and do what you really came to the UK to do.’ So I made a plan and 6 months on, here we are!”
Listen to Simone Casarotti’s debut single ‘Magic Boy’ on Spotify and Apple Music now.