Publicity Campaign: Lara Villani - ‘Dolce Escape’
Lara Villani's new single 'Dolce Escape' transports you into an Italian summer filled with love, lust and passion - a sweet escape.
The track is Lara’s first single, showcasing Italian lyrics, reflecting Lara’s Italian heritage and the language she grew up around. For her, including Italian lyrics is less about novelty and more about identity, family, and the way culture shows up in everyday life.
Raised in a big, close Italian household in Australia, Lara describes family as the centre of everything, loud rooms, shared meals, music on in the background, and relatives always nearby. That sense of togetherness is part of the emotional backbone of 'Dolce Escape'.
While her earlier releases have offered small nods to her background, 'Dolce Escape' is a clearer step toward bringing her heritage into the foreground. Lara says the connection she feels between herself and her music has never been stronger, and that seeing her family connect with this release has been especially meaningful.
That family connection is also visible in the artwork and visuals for the release, with Lara’s grandparents featuring in the cover art and the wider visual world. She says their reaction to hearing the bilingual track was unforgettable, and that bringing them into the project helped capture something honest about where the song comes from.
“It made me feel at home with the cover art, having both sets of grandparents there on the day. We wanted to capture the essence of something that was raw Italian and deeply rooted in family. As much as this song is a love song, the connection to Italian lyrics and to Italy is through my grandparents and it was really important to me to have them a part of this. Although trying to coordinate with crazy Italian grandparents was a challenge. It was so much fun. We took the images in the backyard of my Nonna’s a place that is my second home, where my family gathers for weekly meals, where we make our own sauce annually, our own salami, it’s a place that holds so many memories and familiarity. It really helped me connect with my childhood, my Italian heritage and my culture.”
Creatively, the single also marks a shift in confidence. Lara began making music at a young age, and says her songwriting has grown through collaboration, finding the right creative environments, and working with producers and engineers who help her bring out her best ideas. 'Dolce Escape' is the most exciting song she feels she has written so far.
Later this year, Lara will travel to Southern Italy for a songwriting camp, as she continues to explore bilingual writing.
Lara will also celebrate the release of ‘Dolce Escape’ with a Listening party held at Italian jewellery boutique Bella Luck Charms in Carlton on 25 July.
