Elisa

Biography

Born in 1977 outside of Monfalcone, Italy, singer Elisa Toffoli's first steps into the music world came through the way of dance, but it was singing that captured her heart and brought out her natural talents. Elisa grew up with a love for music spending hours of her childhood singing along with recordings by a wide diversity of artists, such as Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitney Houston, Liza Minnelli, Otis Redding, and Madonna. Later, still not even in her teens, Elisa went from singing with recordings to taking guitar lessons so she could accompany herself and then began writing songs. At 14 she became a member of a blues and rock band called Seven Roads. The "Seven" came from the fact that there were seven members. Elisa graduated from Seven Roads into singing for cover bands to gain more experience and pay. When she was 16, she joined a big band, the Blue Swing Orchestra.

In 1994 Elisa, with the help of a family friend, finished her first demo. That demo made it to Sugar Records. A year later Elisa was in San Francisco, recording her first single for the well-known producer Corrado Rustici. The single carries two tracks, "Inside A Flower" and "So Delicate So Pure." In 1997 Elisa recorded her debut full-length album, Pipes & Flowers, which went double platinum. A number of the tracks were made into music videos, including "A Feast for Me" and "Labyrinth." Some of the reviews the album received compared Elisa's work to that of Alanis Morrisette and groups like Sonic Youth. Elisa was named as one of the best new artists for 1997 by the Italian Music Award Show. She also won the Premio Tenco Award in 1998 for best debut album. In 2000 she completed her sophomore album, Asile's World. Elisa travels and performs with her own band mostly, consisting of guitarist Andrea Rigonat, keyboardist Christina Rigano, drummer Carlo Bonazza, bassist Max Gelsi, and, last but not least, Andrea Fontana as percussionist. ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide