Matteo Bocelli: 'I Never Felt Pressure from My Dad to Be Like Him'

The Italian musician and son of operatic tenor and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bocelli was recently in India to work with singers Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar

- DAVID BRITTO

RECENTLY, ITALIAN ARTIST Matteo Bocelli was in India to work with singers Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar on some fresh music. Bocelli, who is the son of legendary Italian operatic tenor and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bocelli, caught up with us to discuss his new music, his relationship with his father, future plans and more. Read excerpts:

What's your earliest memory of music?

Wow, that's a tough question. Growing up the house was always full of music, and even now it's rare that there isn't someone on the piano or singing or playing old records. I remember being really excited to take piano lessons for the first time when I was around six. I guess I wanted to play like my dad.

Being the son of Andrea Bocelli, as an artist does that come with any sort of pressure, or is it more of a case of “I'm my own person and artist doing what I love"?

Of course, there is pressure - there's the pressure that I put on myself to be successful, there's the pressure I feel about how my work will be judged by the world. But I never felt pressure from my dad to be like him, or even to pursue a career in music. He was happy for me to choose my own path and it's a very happy accident that we've been able to work together.