Brazilian singer-songwriter Nanná Millano has created an impactful wake up call with the release of her new single “Wild Fire”. In lieu of the recent LA fires and ongoing devastation of the Amazon Rainforest in her home country, Millano’s “Wild Fire” brings attention to the impact humans are having on the environment and calls for change. She takes it a step further by partnering her music video with IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) to support Amazon Rainforest awareness and protection efforts. To learn more about Nanná Millano and her latest single, read on.

Where are you based?
Today I am based in Paris, and I come from São Paulo, Brazil.

What inspired you to start making music?
Being alive. I think music and being alive are kind of the same thing. Everything around us and in nature has a sound and we can listen to the symphony if we pay attention. My first memories are from singing. As Nietzsche said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

How would you describe your music style? Are there any artists in particular that inspire you?
I would say it is singer-songwriter, and I think that means that it doesn't fall under a specific genre, it is a blend of influences through my own lenses. Many artists inspire me. Caetano Veloso is a big inspiration, and other singer-songwriters from the world like Björk, Natalia Lafourcade, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Fiona Apple, and Paul Simon are big ones, among other different inspirations from different genres.

Congratulations on your newest single “Wild Fire”! Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired the song? Why was it important to you to create a song with such a powerful message?
Thank you. To me, a song is almost always an expression of a deep feeling and my way to process and put it out, which brings a deep release and can save me. I was really afraid and furious here. Sometimes it is almost unbearable to process how humankind is conducting its own destiny. I don't think we are making good collective choices. We need to change so many things. I guess I was urging to that. Asking for change.

Your new single is a wake-up call that brings attention to the environment and the kind of negative impact humans are creating on it. What do you hope listeners end up taking away from this song?
I did the song for myself. What I mean is, I do this, I make music, as a way to give meaning and help me walk my walk. I do think, though, that I share with many the fear, the nightmares, the revolt... And I think that not everybody, with all we have to deal with in life, can always express it. This is why sometimes a song can be helpful to someone, it helps us feel something we couldn't express or share or put into words. It makes us get more in contact with our feelings and feel less lonely. I hope for a change in our politics and structures and behaviour. If my music resonates with someone's heart, that makes me happy that this tiny miracle happened.

Most of your songs are sung in Portuguese. What made you choose to sing “Wild Fire” in English?
Oh, good question. I don’t choose, the songs come in the language they come, mostly in Portuguese, that is my mother tongue, sometimes in English because I lived and studied in the US, and now that I started to speak French, I wrote a couple of new songs here too. It is an intuitive, and not rational, process for me. With “Wild Fire” I believe it was also because at the moment I was watching the news of the Los Angeles wildfires, while Trump was getting back to the Presidency, with his denial of climate change. It was kind of a horror show, with terrifyingly real Hollywoodian special effects.

The music video for this new single, “Wild Fire”, contains a lot of symbolism and references. Can you tell us about what inspired the visuals for the video and some possible references we should look out for?
My inspiration for the video was David Lynch. He contributed so much to Hollywood in the best possible way, he was a true artist who generously inspired creativity. I was shocked to see the news that he passed away from complications from the wildfire that hit his home in Los Angeles. So I wanted to pay my own homage to someone that contributed and helped me strengthen my artistic sensibility. I am thankful for what I've learned from him. The main reference for the clip was the Twin Peaks universe, the firepit scene with the woman in red… Laura Palmer… and the symbolisms that come from dreams or nightmares.

We love that the ‘Wild Fire” music video supports IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute)! Why did you choose to partner with them?
There are good institutes doing important work to protect the Amazon, and I hope we can get more and more support to protect the environment and the people that take care of it, protect it every day in their lives, especially in the Amazon, because we cannot survive on this planet without it. IPAM is a scientific research institute that is always working to collect data to bring information and awareness. So they are fighting disinformation and denial. That's why I chose to support their work at this moment.

Being Brazilian and having seen first-hand the negative effect humans are having on the Amazon Rainforest and also witnessing, alongside the rest of the world, the fires in LA, what are your thoughts on how we as a collective should move forward in order to combat more devastations like these?
I think by this time we already have a good idea of the changes we need to make. I think what is lacking is courage and some sort of revolution. Because we have to change the system, we won't survive with capitalism as it is. We have to change many things, but it has to be in a collective form, otherwise it will be too slow, as it has been for 50 years. We need to change the way we eat, the way we consume, the way we build cities, the power sources, many, many things… we know that. Now we have to do it. I think changing will be difficult, but much less difficult than the consequences of the imbalance we are causing in the climate. We cannot predict what can happen if we continue like this, I think it would be super scary. But to me, it all has to do with “cosmophobia” - a word I learned from Nego Bispo - and how we are disconnected from nature, without even recognizing ourselves as nature. I think the revolution is a return to our essence and a reencounter with our unity with nature and appreciation of it. I think this is a male game of power, where we will all lose. I guess we should give a chance for women to guide us for a change and see what happens, that would be great (and only fair at this point!).

You are also a big advocate for female representation in the arts and created the docuseries “O Álbum das Mulheres Incríveis” (“The Album of Incredible Women”). Can you tell us a little bit about this docuseries and what inspired you to create it?
When I made the series in 2017/2018, I really had little references of female role models from my school and university years. So again, I did it first for myself. It was my way to research and collect these inspirations. In the research, I read that Amelia Earhart had her own collection of newspaper articles about great women, so I decided to do it in a “scrapbook” form, that's why it is an “album”. It was so good to do that together with the female crew and to share it with many women. I still get comments that make me so happy that we could share this and feel a bit stronger and more informed.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of Nanná Millano

What is some advice you would give to young girls looking to pursue a career in the arts?
Trust what you like, trust what interests you. Follow your own path and desires radically, and always search for your soul and depth along the way, because that will keep you alive and strong. Also, don't think of it as a career, it's your craft, or something else more exciting that suits you that is less goal oriented and more of a way of living and breathing or just passing time. It's art, have fun!

Are there any upcoming projects you’re working on that we should look out for?
I’m excited to sing, at my next concert here in Paris, a Portuguese version I wrote of the classic French song “Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours” (“I Wish You Love”). The concert will take place on Wednesday, July 9th, at the jazz club Sunset-Sunside.

Also, I’ll be releasing a new original song very soon, with a very special feature. It’s called Vaporoso.

It’s been a rough few years, and we expect at least four more. How have you been staying positive?
Meditation, laughter, love, yoga, nourishing food, and music. I think the key is to understand that in life we have no control, while doing our best.

What is your motto in life?
It changes through the moons. Right now it is: “The only thing I can do is follow my own path.”

To learn more about Nanná Millano, please check out the links below:
https://nannamillano.com/
Spotify: Nanná Millano
YouTube: Nanná Millano
Instagram: @nannamillano

Nanná Millano's Musical Environmental Wake Up Call