Rising Texas artist Amanda Pascali has released her new album Roses and Basil, which was produced by acclaimed singer-songwriter and fellow Texan Robert Ellis. Exploring the stories and themes in older music that still resonate today, Pascali blends folk/Americana influences with Mediterranean, Balkan, and Latin rhythms, as she delivers powerful tales of the American experience through the eyes of immigrants. She recently spoke about the project on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Pascali will celebrate the album release with a special hometown show in Houston, TX at the historic Anderson Fair on October 10. Find more info here.
| “This album is a conversation between past and present, a way of singing about everything from reckless abandon and unrequited love to the quiet moments of nostalgia that connect me to my parents’ journey to the United States; the Sicilian folklore from 200 years ago, the spaghetti westerns that soundtracked my childhood, and the reality of being a Gen Z woman in America in 2025,” Pascali says. “I’ve always been caught between worlds. This record is about finding your footing in that space, embracing the enduring power of love, and realizing that home is a feeling you can carry with you, no matter where you are. It’s a record for anyone who feels like they live in the in-between, searching for a feeling of home that can’t be found on a map.” On Roses and Basil, Pascali merges the worlds of Sicily and the American South with songs anchored in tradition yet made for the modern day. This is exemplified in her recent singles – “Wake Up, Baby!, a song of unrequited love that reimagines a traditional Sicilian serenata from the woman’s perspective, and “Amuri,” which opens with an ancient Sicilian prose about all-consuming love before erupting into a groovy cumbia rhythm inspired by the Latin sounds of Pascali’s Texas upbringing. As the first-born daughter of immigrants, Pascali feels a responsibility to honor the stories of the women in her family – “Cleopatra,” inspired by her mother, is as a powerful ode to the strength of women who break barriers across borders, and “Sweet 16,” written for her younger sister, begins as an intimate reflection on the unfairness of our world before transforming into a 70s-style rock ballad begging her to “just rewind.” Amanda Pascali is a Fulbright fellow endorsed by the Biden Administration’s State Department and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a current Harrington fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, who pioneered the first comprehensive project to translate and revitalize Sicilian folk songs. Her modern interpretations have captured attention online, with viral videos of her performing “La Mafia E Li Parrini” (The Mafia and the Priests), “Cu Ti Lu Dissi” (Sicilian break-up song) and “Quannu Moru” (The Day That I Die). A first-generation American, Pascali’s mother was born in Cairo, Egypt, and grew up between Paris and New York City. She and Pascali’s father, a refugee from Communist Romania with Italian roots, met and fell in love in Brooklyn. But when their family moved from New York to Texas, Pascali struggled to fit in with her peers. “In the words of poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo, I constantly felt ‘too foreign for here, too foreign for home, and never enough for both,’” she remembers. But picking up a guitar at age 12, and later beginning her work of reinterpreting Sicilian folk music, she created a space for herself, one that has resonated with fans across the world. “This album is for the outcasts, the third-culture kids, the oldest daughters of immigrant families, for those who’ve ever felt that push-and-pull of cultures and identities” she explains. “It’s a collection of songs about girlhood, unrequited love, and the wild beauty of simply existing in the in-between—a reminder that these stories are powerful and deserve to be heard.” Roses and Basil Tracklist 1. Amuri 2. Cleopatra 3. Santa Lucia 4. Roses and Basil 5. Intermezzo 6. Wake Up, Baby! 7. Amara Terra Mia 8. Sweet Sixteen 9. Amuri (acoustic) |
| Photographer Credit: Davide Casciolo |
Discover more from Entertainment World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.