Puppini Sisters to bring swing, jazz and old Hollywood to Alanya

ALANYA

The Puppini Sisters group has been performing together for 20 years.

The Puppini Sisters will take the stage in Alanya on Sept. 17 as part of the 20th International Alanya Jazz Festival, bringing their distinctive blend of swing, jazz and pop together with glamorous costumes and a stage aesthetic inspired by the golden years of jazz and old Hollywood.

The group has been performing together for 20 years, carrying the legacy of The Andrews Sisters into the present while drawing on a broad artistic world that includes music, fashion and cinema.

Ahead of their concert, one of the group’s founding members, Marcella Puppini, spoke about the group’s musical identity, fashion, friendship, memorable performances, artificial intelligence and their expectations for their Alanya show.

Your musical world is shaped not only by music, but also by a strong connection to fashion and cinema. What has influenced the aesthetic identity of The Puppini Sisters the most?

The Puppini Sisters: I have always had a great interest in and passion for singing in harmony. My sister and I used to sing Italian songs together. I also loved groups such as Manhattan Transfer, but I found the clothes of the swing-pop era incredibly attractive. I studied fashion before going to music school and worked with Vivienne Westwood. I think I was influenced by the style and fashion of that era just as much as I was by its music.

The name The Puppini Sisters inevitably brings The Andrews Sisters to mind. How important is their legacy to your music?

The Puppini Sisters: Our first song, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” was one of their songs. It is one of the songs that inspired us the most. The Andrews Sisters inspired not only us, but many famous artists such as Bette Midler. Christina Aguilera also used melodies from the song in “Candyman.”

There is an extraordinary harmony between your three voices. Is there a technical secret behind it, or is there something more?

The Puppini Sisters: Friendship and genuinely loving one another. We need to spend a lot of time together—not only singing, but also laughing, eating, watching films and building that unbreakable bond that has kept us together for 20 years.

Twenty years is a long time for a musical group to stay together. What has been the most important element in keeping this partnership alive?

The Puppini Sisters: We form very close bonds with everyone we work with, and they become part of our family. We are still best friends with our first tour manager, who left us in 2008 to become a rock star. He was a terrible manager — wrong airports, missing accordions, everything that could possibly go wrong — but he always made sure everyone felt comfortable and happy. When you are on tour, that is a huge gift.

Some critics describe your music as “swing-punk.” Do you agree with that description?

Marcella Puppini: They particularly use that description for our live performances, and they are absolutely right. Singers from the swing era tended to perform their songs more calmly; we don’t. We love making jokes on stage, dancing even though we are not dancers and connecting with the audience emotionally. We could certainly describe ourselves as an energetic swing-pop group.

You move between jazz, swing and pop. What continues to excite you about bringing these different styles together?

Marcella Puppini: Personally, I love many different types of music. I love hip hop and I am also a house DJ. I love any music that has courage and personality. I enjoy mixing different things together to create something new and different.

Looking back on your career, which performances remain unforgettable for you?

The Puppini Sisters: The Royal Variety Show... Afterwards, King Charles told us that he had bought our album and thought it was wonderful. It is also very difficult to choose between Michael Bublé’s Christmas Special and Vivienne Westwood’s Christmas Party.

AI is one of the biggest topics in music today. As musicians and producers, how do you view this transformation?

The Puppini Sisters: I used AI to mix some house music I was producing, but to be honest, I didn’t like it and immediately went back to the old methods. On the other hand, I find AI very useful for organizing social media and handling administrative tasks that, as the president of our record label, I would normally struggle to keep up with.

Now Alanya is next. What kind of The Puppini Sisters should Turkish audiences expect at the 20th International Alanya Jazz Festival?

The Puppini Sisters: We will definitely bring you some flavors that have never been recorded before! And you are going to love our costumes.

You have been to Türkiye before. What do you think of the Turkish audience and Türkiye.

The Puppini Sisters: Türkiye is an incredible country and it always fascinates us. Turkish audiences are very sophisticated and cool! We have never been to Alanya before, but we can’t wait. I don’t know much about the Turkish jazz scene, so I hope we will be able to catch another concert while we are there.

If you could make just one promise to the audience before stepping onto the stage in Alanya on Sept. 17, what would it be?

The Puppini Sisters: Music, costumes, energy and a beautiful night spent together. Because for us, The Puppini Sisters is not simply about three women singing together. It is a friendship that has grown within music for 20 years, a world we create together on stage and a shared excitement with the audience.