Italian dancer, singer and actress Valentina Ottoboni renamed herself Sejo – after Sjø, the Norwegian word for sea. A dancer since she was 5 years old, she realized she wanted to be a singer at the age of 11. “After a dance show in a theater, I remember a lot of people [telling me] how emotional I made them feel through my performance. I felt fulfilled, and I understood what art really stood for. I wanted to move and entertain people for the rest of my life.”

Her debut single, “Too Young” is a worldly and sophisticated pop take of feel-good choruses and remix-ready beats. She talks to Myspace about the creation of the video, and her 2017 resolutions.

Hometown and homebase: Cremona, Italy

What is your song "Too Young" about?

"Too Young" is a song that talks about how you live your strongest emotions and desires towards other people and how you face situations at my age. Sometimes emotions can be so strong that a single night can seem an eternity and you actually feel like living forever with someone, even though reality will be quite different. In short, it’s a piece that deals with emotions and their power. It was written, arranged and produced by my team of producers together with me to convey, through the music, strong emotions and at the same time lightness. 

What inspired the video?

The idea was to create a magic atmosphere, exotic, danceable and energetic, but also imbued with a wide range of musical contaminations, a real melting pot of diverse cultures in a borderless world. For these very reasons New York is the perfect set for the video, no other city could have embodied this cultural mix and its unique outcome. A whole day spent wandering aimlessly, dancing whenever and wherever I wanted to, free and mindless, was the perfect choice to express what we had in mind.

Were you involved in the creation of the video at all?

Yes, after performing the song, I suggested creating a video that conveys spontaneity and lightheartedness. In the video I really live the streets of New York, dancing and singing while I face the camera, to make the viewer feel more involved.

Shooting the video was awesome! I took a liking to the director and his assistant. All the shooting was actually performed live. The screenplay and the choreography were deliberately sketched to leave space for improvisation. It was an amusing and challenging experience. Three crazy guys running around New York! We laughed a lot, between the heat, fatigue and the unexpected.

How did you know you wanted to be a musician?

Music has always been part of my life. I’ve been dancing since I was a kid and this made me approach many musical genres, mainly thanks to modern dance. When I was 16 I had a crush on a guitarist from my city and he introduced me to prog, rock and metal. I watched his band rehearsing and composing new songs. From that moment on, the world of music captured me and I wanted to be a part of it.

Who are your musical inspirations?

James Blake, Bon Iver and Lana del Rey.

What's your songwriting process?

Sometimes the first thing I write are lyrics, then I write music and sometimes I write music first and lyrics after.

How do you describe your music to people who haven't heard it before?

If I had to describe ‘Too Young’ to someone who hasn’t listened to it yet, I would say that it is a song in which electronica and pop, and East and West, meet. A song that makes your mind and your body move!

If you were a hashtag, what would you be?

#sejotooyoung obviously!

What are your 2017 resolutions?

I would like to take my music around the world as much as possible and create a nice bond with my audience and make it dream and enjoy itself. This is what I will focus on during this year!

For more profiles on up-and-coming artists, visit our Artist of the Day page.