Dolche

Dolche
Dolche
Background information
Birth name	Naif Herin
Born	October 28, 1981 (age 42); Aosta, Italy
Occupation(s)	Singer; Songwriter; Activist;
Years active	2002 - present
	Add a Photo
Nationality	Italian
Other names	Christine Herin
Citizenship	Rome
Known for	Music videos
Spouse(s)	Simone Momo Riva, Chiara Soldatini
Parents	Silvano Herin (father); Daniela Cere (mother);
Website	dolche.com

Christine Herin, known as Dolche, previously known as Naif Herin (born on 28 October 1981 in Aosta, Italy), is an Italian-French singer, songwriter, composer, multi instrumentalist and producer.^[1] Dolche is a self-taught musician who gained popularity with her multilingual songs and artsy stage appearances.^[2]

Herin’s stage name Dolche which she adopted in 2018, is derived from the Italian drama film by Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita and is a tribute to the melancholic and reminiscent vision of old Europe. Dolche is known for her unique and exotic stage appearances that comprises flower crowns and cow horns.^[3]

Dolche is best known for her distinctive musical style that incorporates different genres such as folk, art pop, world music, singer-songwriter and classical music. Her music idols include David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Bjork, David Byrne.

She has performed in over 500 concerts across Europe in collaboration with several renowned Grammy recipient artists.^[4]

Early life and Education

Dolche was born in Aosta Valley on 28 October 1981, to Silvano Herin and Daniela Cere. Aosta Valley is a remote area amidst Vignil that is a mountain village located in northern Italy with a sparse population. Dolche began singing and practicing music from a very early age, when she imitated bird songs and participated in parish choir.

As a child, Dolche was passionate about Opera and classical music and was a great admirer of Giacomo Puccini, who is considered a great opera composer in the Italian music scene. Over the years she has researched rare musical instruments used by cultural minorities, as well as world music in general in order to hone her skills which clearly are reflected in her present work.

Career

Dolche’s earliest musical endeavors include the formation of Naif, a band that Dolche launched in 2002. They released a total of 5 albums which won several national awards. The kick start that Dolche got with her band resulted in her pursuing a career as an international artist. After her performance in the Taratatà show on national French TV, Dolche continued her performances in a year-long tour across Europe.

Dolche has shown a promising career in music and has performed over 500 concerts across Europe and Italy.

In 2007, Dolche worked with musicians such as Sonny Thompson and Michael Bland who are known to have worked with Prince, to record a music album with producer Tommy Barbarella. Dolche has also worked with world renowned guitarists like Marc Ribot, Mark Plati, Greg Boyer and Dr. Fink.

In 2017 and 2019, Dolche collaborated with Neal Barnard for his project Carbon Works. This project explored the untapped regions of the musical realm defying categorisation. Dolche was a major part of 3 soundtracks namely - Everything's all right, Song for an angel and Winged victory.

It was by the end of 2018 that Herin adapted a new stage name Dolche before which she was known as Naif Herin. ‘Dolce’ is an Italian word meaning sweet, which is an indication for her voice and musical style. The addition of H is a stand in for her name - Herin, transforming the stage name to Dolche. There are also several derivations of her name Dolche, which in German means daggers.

In 2018, Dolche performed Manjo in the album Chimie Vivante by Féloche. Also in 2020 she sang a cover song of Bambino for Féloche & the Mandolin' Orchestra.

In 2019 Dolche composed, recorded and produced the song “Fatima's Dream” for the official soundtrack (featuring Andrea Bocelli) of the motion picture film Fatima (by Marco Pontecorvo, featuring Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Visnjic, Harvey Keitel, Sônia Braga, Stephanie Gil e Lúcia Moniz).

Dolche has been working on her debut album Exotic Diorama which is scheduled to be released by Crisalide Records in October 2020. This album was recorded between New York, Rome, Beirut and Visby. The title of this album is inspired by dioramas displayed in the National Museum of Natural History, situated in New York. Dolche throughout her life has derived inspiration from her perception of the reality, and similarly the title is a reflection of her adoration for these dioramas.

This album is a compilation of 14 original songs each featuring entirely different musical influences and styles. It reflects the dioramas, three-dimensional reconstruction of a landscape. All the songs hence recorded have been thoroughly researched and produced to bring out a blues, melancholic and intense effect. Dolche composed and arranged all the songs of this album, and plays most of the instruments.

The album features the works of Grammy recipient Audio Engineer Al Schmitt, member of Capitol Studios, producer Tobias Fröberg from Sweden, audio engineer Jad Rahbani member of Rahbani Studios, Grammy recipient Mixing Engineer Noah Georgeson from Los Angeles, Grammy recipient Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar from New York.

Dolche

In 2017, Dolche began working on the album Exotic Diorama (official release October 2020).^[5]

Musical style

Dolche’s musical style has been defined as “alternative and eclectic” for the "blending of different genres," such as folk pop, art pop, alternative rock, lilith pop, classical and world music.

Dolche uses a broad variety of instruments she arranges and plays herself or with the support of a Roli Block keyboard. In addition to playing the guitar, she also plays the bass, the piano, percussions and the organ. Her music often includes strings, brass, woodwinds, polyphonic choirs and a range of unusual and rare instruments, such as the vibraphonette, duduk, lute, and the kazoo.

Dolche sings in various languages, primarily English, French and Italian. In many of her lyrics she mixes and alternates between different languages.

Voice

Dolche has a light soprano voice and her studies include several years of classical bel canto. Her delicate phrasing skills enable her to transition from one genre to another. A folk music lover, Dolche often mixes vocal cultures and traditions of Northern Europe with the songs and traditional lamentations of the South and Arabic sounds.

Influences

As a child, Dolche fell in love with Opera and classical music, with a predilection for Giacomo Puccini. Over the years she has researched rare musical instruments used by cultural minorities, as well as world music in general. Dolche is a great admirer of David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Bjork and David Byrne.^[6]

Discography

Singles

Psycho Killer – Release June 26, 2019 (Talking Heads cover)
Canzone d’Amore – Release August 3, 2019^[7]
Supernova – Release October 8, 2019
Roma – Release April 17, 2020^[8]^[9]
Big Man – Release June 6, 2020^[10]
Criminal Love – Release July 10, 2020^[11]
Breath In – Release August 21, 2020
Sunday Mood – Scheduled Release September 25, 2020
Universal Gloria– Scheduled Release November 20, 2020

Albums

Exotic Diorama is scheduled for official release on October 23, 2020 from Crisalide Records, This album was conceived and recorded between New York, Rome, Beirut and Visby.

Credits for Exotic Diorama

Kassamany – Lute – Lebanon
Adam Ben Ezra – Double bass (Acoustic) – Israel
Adriano Leo – Graphic designer – Italy
Al Schmitt – Engineer, Audio Engineer, Mixing – USA
Beata Bojda – Artist/Designer – Poland
Chiara Soldatini – Manager, Creative Officer and Art Director – Italy
Christine Herin, Dolche - Composer and Producer, Vocals, Guitar (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Piano, Organ, Drum Machines, Vibraphonette, Chorus, Main Personnel, Melody and Rhythm Arrangements, Strings and Horns Arrangements, Roli arrangements, Primary Artist - Italy
Emily Lazar – Mastering – USA
Gadi Seri Levi – Drums, Percussions – Israel
Georgy Minasov, Jr. – Duduk – Armenia
Hovannes K – Mentor, Audio Production – Lebanon
Ikka Mirabelli – Colourist - Italy
Ivon Wolak – Photographer – Poland
Jad Rahbani – Audio Engineer – Lebanon
Joel Kant – Drums – Sweden
Johan Lindstrom – Steel guitar – Sweden
Noah Georgeson – Mixing – USA
Raymond Nassif – Violin – Lebanon
Stefano and Maribel Buono Lopera – Creativity accelerators – Italy
Steve Genewick – Audio Engineer – USA
Tim Manthey – Collage Artwork – USA
Tobias Fröberg – Producer, Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Organ – Sweden

Personal Life

Herin was married to musician/producer Simone Momo Riva, with whom she launched the band Naif and founded the recording studio and record label, TDE Studio Productionz.

In 2017, Herin married Chiara Soldatini who is an Italian Photographer in New York. Soldatini soon became Dolche’s manager and creative director of her indie label Crisalide Records.

Dolche has always been upfront about her relationships with both men and women. She is an advocate for the rights of both human beings and animals, and an LGBTQ + activist.