Maini Sorri
Discover Maini Sorri’s musical journey, emotional songwriting, and diverse influences as she discusses her new gospel single “Belief” and her hopes of touching hearts worldwide through music.
1. Your new single, “Belief,” is a reflective gospel song built around a message of hope. What inspired you to write this song, and what do you hope listeners will take away from it?
When I get a strong feeling that must come out, I go to the pile of poems that lyrics writers have sent me to be composed, and I choose the one that immediately touches my heart the most at that moment, and then the song starts coming to me and the lyrics are formed to a song. When it comes to “Belief”, I found the poem by Gary Cornman, PA. I hope that listeners think that Belief is a beautiful song and that they like my voice, but the most important thing about this song is the gospel message, and that is why I want it to be as widely spread as possible.
2. You have said that you only write songs when you experience a strong feeling that needs to come out. How does this emotional connection influence your songwriting, and do you find it easier to express certain feelings through music than through words alone?
The emotional connection gives me a possibility “receive” the song. It comes to me so the strong feeling leads to a new song. It is a very special feeling, and I don’t want to “destroy” it by telling anyone about it. What I do is that I sit down at my piano and let the song come to me, and then I feel very happy for the new song, and the inner pain that I felt is gone. It happens that I write a song during a walk in the forest.
3. “Belief” marks your second collaboration with New York-based producer Carl Culley, following “Just Say A Word.” How has your creative relationship developed, and what did Carl bring to the sound and atmosphere of this new single?
When I try to find a new producer, I listen to his previous work. I already knew that Carl Culley is very talented. It has been very easy to work with him because he really gets my music and has an open mind for my suggestions. His experience and talent bring a lot of new ideas and instruments to the arrangement, and I get positive surprises already when I hear the first draft.
4. Your musical journey spans gospel, pop, rock, and even rap collaborations, alongside eight albums, three EPs, and numerous singles. What inspires you to explore such different musical styles, and do you feel they all reflect different sides of your personality as an artist?
Partly the style depends on the lyrics. I have also written some children songs and Christmas songs. Singer songwriter songs were my comfort zone, but I didn’t want to be placed in one category, and wanted to record pop and dance. The producer Brian Lanese from Grammy nominated LA band Permanent Ability found me on internet and wanted to produce my next album with co-producer Orlando Mestre. He asked me which style? I chose rock and I’m very happy about it.
To choose gospel was natural for me because I am Christian.
The rapper from Brooklyn, Magneto Dayo found me on twitter and wanted to record with me. I have also a band “Sorriso” with John Baumann from Milan. Yes, I think that the different styles reflect my personality. I want to move on and explode new styles and reach new listeners.
5. You composed music from the age of eight and later studied music formally, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. Looking back at your journey, how has your approach to composing and performing evolved, and what have you learned about yourself as a musician along the way?
I composed piano pieces at the age of 8, they came to me. The process of writing songs is a bit different because there is lyrics involved. To start with I wrote both lyrics and the music, but soon I began to wrote music to verses from Bible or poems by famous poet’s. Of course I learned a lot when I studied music theory and composing, but no one has ever learnt me how to compose, because I knew it from the start, except a famous maestro who told me to keep my songwriting simple.
6. You have described your songs as your children, wanting to give them wings so they can reach people around the world. Now that “Belief” has connected with thousands of viewers, what are your hopes for its future, and what can listeners expect from Maini Sorri next?
I hope that they really like the song, and that the gospel message of the song reaches their hearts. I hope that “Belief” reaches more and more listeners. The listeners can expect more gospel singles in the future, and also other genres. I really hope that my songs get wings and fly around the world and touch people’s hearts.