Written between 2021 and 2023, Cellule Stronze is an intense and intimate concept album that narrates Francesca Pichierri’s mother’s journey with ovarian cancer. It captures the emotional, physical, and social complexities of the early years of this experience through a moving and sonically rich narrative.
Independent and entirely free from commercial interest, the album was conceived not for profit, but as an urgent and personal artistic expression, born from love, grief, and the need to give voice to a lived experience.
Released on May 8th, 2025, World Ovarian Cancer Day, the album’s journey began on September 20th, 2024, World Gynecologic Oncology Day, with the debut of its first single, “Gelo”, setting the tone for an album deeply rooted in personal experience and artistic purpose. With five singles released ahead of the album, Francesca gradually unveiled the story, letting each track resonate individually while hinting at the larger emotional arc.
Beyond its narrative of illness, Cellule Stronze is ultimately a meditation on life and its fragility: on the deeper meaning of existence, the courage to open up and embrace vulnerability, the importance of human connection, and the art, as delicate as it is essential, of holding on and letting go.
More Than an Album – A Narrative-Driven Musical Experience
More than just a collection of songs, Cellule Stronze is an act of reclamation: an attempt to find meaning in the senseless. It transforms pain into artistic language, so that it becomes a story, an emotion, a reflection, and, ultimately, a source of comfort. Through this album, Francesca aims to give voice to those facing challenges of illness, particularly cancer, encouraging empathy, awareness, and sensitivity toward such experiences. It is a testament to emotions that deserve to be preserved: eternalized through music and heard.
Cellule Stronze is a raw and reflective musical diary: a narrative-driven project, an audacious sonic book that delves into the difficult, often unspoken realities of living with, and beside, illness. Though deeply personal, the album speaks universally to anyone who has faced uncertainty, sought meaning in hardship, or held onto love amidst life’s fragility.
Each song within Cellule Stronze inhabits its own unique sonic world while contributing to the broader story, creating a cohesive and immersive experience that pushes the boundaries of pop storytelling. Authenticity takes precedence over industry expectation. Poetry and imagery thread through the music, weaving together a narrative that remains unresolved, still unfolding in real life.
Through a deep, authentic and experimental musical language, the album captures the unspeakable, transforming it into an evocative, unfiltered sonic journey that makes noise in the silences that often surround illness.
A visual journey
In line with this immersive intent, Cellule Stronze also unfolds as a visual journey. Francesca collaborated closely with German cinematographer and visual artist Dominic Thiel to bring a visual counterpart to each chapter of the project. Every element, from crafting individual artworks for each song and the album, to documenting studio sessions and home-recording moments, to creating poetry-based and experimental videos, was conceived to deepen the emotional resonance of the work. This visual storytelling invites listeners not just to hear, but to see and feel the world she narrates, offering a multidimensional and immersive experience.
The Meaning Behind Cellule Stronze
The title, Cellule Stronze, meaning ‘bastard cells’ or ‘bitchy cells’ in Italian, carries a dual significance: referring both to the relentless nature of cancer cells and the social ‘cells’ of human connection that can fracture under the weight of adversity. Yet, at its heart, the album is an ode to the enduring love and strength that persist even in the darkest times.
The Making of the album
Cellule Stronze has been a deeply DIY, independent project, recorded in motion and created with an exceptionally small yet dedicated team. Francesca composed and wrote the songs, and then arranged and produced the album alongside Italian musician Stefano Iuso. Simone Ferrero handled the mixing, and Giovanni Versari mastered the record.
Much of the album was composed and recorded in her childhood bedroom, an intimate setting that profoundly shaped the album’s sound and emotional depth. The space’s limitations became an artistic asset, reinforcing the album’s rawness and authenticity. While much of the co-production was carried out remotely, the final stages saw Francesca and Stefano coming together in studio to complete the project, ensuring every detail aligned with her artistic vision.
Authenticity is a hallmark of Francesca’s artistry, where every sonic element, from vocals to instrumentation to raw, real-life recordings, is deliberately chosen to serve the story she wishes to tell. Subtle fingerprints are woven throughout the entire album, reinforcing the emotions and experiences she seeks to convey and contributing to the cinematic, at times theatrical, quality of her music.
Critical Acclaim
The album has drawn significant international attention, with over 250 features in independent music blogs and outlets worldwide. Critics have praised its emotional depth, artistic innovation, and fearless honesty.
Francesca has been applauded for capturing the subject of cancer with raw, unfiltered authenticity. As Rockit observed, she “eschews stereotypical narratives,” crafting a resonant musical experience that, in their words, “transcends personal experience to become a collective voice”. They also called Cellule Stronze “a concept album that leaves a mark,” where “sound elegance and emotional intensity come together.” Music For All praised Francesca’s rhythmic finesse and artistic maturity, noting that “despite her recent releases, she has the experience of a seasoned musician,” and that the album contains “songs that could become future classics.” They described her as a “virtuous and sincere” artist, whose work is worth discovering regardless of commercial intent. FVMusic Blog highlighted Francesca’s “stunning vocal performances,” while Music Arena remarked that “you feel it down to your bones, the way she makes every note tremble like breath fogging glass.” Bside-guys called Cellule Stronze “something both beautiful and necessary,” setting “an impressive bar,” and Zona Emergente described it “a true journey to the depths of the soul.” A&R Factory praised the album’s “provocative originality,” and Plastic Magazine described it as “a superb example of the highly original musical world that Francesca Pichierri is creating” and “a record born from pain but driven by love… fully confirming Francesca Pichierri as a sensational new talent with a compelling sound and worthwhile musical vision.”
The album has also been performed live in a range of contexts, from ESGO 2025, one of Europe’s leading gynecologic oncology congresses, to the San Marino Eurovision Song Contest, where Francesca reached the semifinals, bringing this story to a broader, pop-media-driven audience. These performances reflect the album’s unique ability to resonate across different spaces, making it not only a work of art, but a catalyst for connection and conversation.