Giuseppe Cucè, a singer-songwriter from Sicily, has given us an album that feels like a foreign film.
You might not understand every word, but you feel the emotional weight in every scene. The album, titled “21 Grammi”, is a direct reference to the fabled weight of the soul, a concept explored by Dr. Duncan MacDougall in the early 20th century.
It’s a heavy theme, and Cucè approaches it with a delicate touch, crafting a listening experience that is both intimate and expansive.
The record opens with “È tutto così vero” (“It’s all so true”), a track that immediately sets a contemplative tone. Soft piano and swelling strings create a bed for Cucè’s earnest vocals. It feels like a confession, a quiet admission that pulls you into the album’s world.
This is for a solitary walk at dusk. It reminds one of the quiet intensity of a Tarkovsky film, where the silence speaks as loudly as the dialogue.
From there, we move into “Ventuno” (“Twenty-one”), the album’s conceptual centrepiece. The instrumentation is light, almost ethereal, with a gentle rhythm that feels like a resting heartbeat.
The song seems to float, exploring themes of transformation and the rediscovery of self. It’s a beautiful piece of music that captures the album’s central idea with grace. You can almost feel the 21 grams of the soul taking flight.
Cucè’s strength as a songwriter lies in his ability to create a mood. He is a painter of sound, using a palette of analogy and orchestral textures to create his compositions. The production is warm and organic, with a focus on real instruments.
The Hammond organ, the strings, the piano – they all breathe with a life of their own. This is music that has been touched by human hands.
“Dimmi cosa vuoi” (“Tell me what you want”) offers a slight shift in energy. The tempo picks up, and a gentle groove emerges, blending Italian pop sensibilities with a soft rock feel.
The song is a conversation about vulnerability and desire, a quiet plea for honesty. It’s a moment of directness in an album that often favors introspection. It’s the kind of song you might hear in a small, smoky bar in Rome, a place where secrets are shared over glasses of red wine.
The album is a cohesive work, meant to be experienced as a whole. Each track flows into the next, creating a continuous emotional arc. “Fragile equilibrio” (“Fragile balance”) is a stripped-down acoustic number that captures the delicate tension between order and chaos.
“La mia dea” (“My Goddess”) is a serene and spiritual devotion to love and inspiration. “Cuore d’inverno” (“Heart of Winter”) is a melancholic and minimalist piece that portrays a sense of solitude and resilience. The album is a journey through the different chambers of the heart.
One of the most cinematic moments on the record is “Una notte infinita” (“An endless night”). The song unfolds like a slow-burning film scene, with a dreamy and atmospheric arrangement.
Cucè’s voice is raw and full of emotion, and the chorus soars with a beautiful sense of release. It’s a song about time, loss, and desire, and it captures the feeling of being suspended in a moment that feels both eternal and fleeting.

It’s the kind of song that makes you want to drive through a sleeping city with the windows down.
The album closes with “Di estate non si muore” (“In summer one does not die”), a bittersweet and nostalgic track. The warm guitar tones and reflective vocals create a sense of timelessness, a feeling of eternal summer.
It’s a hopeful and poignant ending to the album, a reminder that even in moments of loss, there is still beauty to be found.
“21 Grammi” is a work of quiet confidence and emotional honesty. Giuseppe Cucè has created a beautiful and moving record that rewards patient listening.
It’s an album that reminds us that the most profound things in life are often the most weightless.
What does a soul weigh? Perhaps it weighs the same as a song. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the song itself.


