Paola Basile
Luca Briganti

Music is the best problem solver.
July 7, 2020



We live near Milan, a 1000 kilometers from our home town. Being so far away from our families, the quarantine has been a really tough moment for us. Our apartment is only 50 sqm and our kitchen is about 15 sqm. Creating a proper set with an improvised recording studio in this space was a challenge but we put all our efforts into this project.

recording in our kitchen


We always thought we should have done something together with our music but we never found the strength and the courage.



When Covid-19 hit and we were forced into quarantine, we thought this is our chance, in this weird and tough year, to start our homemade project—The Corona Duo. Paola’s voice together with Luca playing his guitar, perfected with his video knowledge, we started filming ourselves in our tiny, little kitchen.


We met for the first time in a small music studio in Taranto. Luca had just come back from a long trip in Indonesia and our love was at first sight. This happened almost ten years ago but we only started dating after six years of lovely friendship. This project has strengthened our relationship even more. Our love is huge and we are really happy living and working together. Creating this music helped us weather the lockdown, otherwise it would have been a mess every minute.


In our opinion, music is the best problem solver, so we decided to start this project to spread some good vibes through the web.



Hopefully, our music can help people feel less sad and lonely during the lockdown. We spent many hours recording, sometimes twelve in a row, mixing and editing. It was exhausting and we drove our neighbors crazy. But the emotions we felt when people got excited about our music and reached out to us from their homes made all of it so worth it!


There is no particular reason or a sentimental one of how we choose our songs. We simply like them and the music is always touching. We try to alternate classic songs with modern ones, choosing different genres every time. Our personal favorite is Cry to Me. We have listened to many versions and tried to do our personal take on it. It gained 9000 views in just a few days on our Youtube︎︎︎.


The real struggle is reproducing a song, filling it with a personal touch and proper arrangement.



We already know which songs we are going to record for the next video and we have a long list of them. Now we keep recording (even with some feats) and will probably continue our project in the next year, quarantine or not. Stay tuned for our next video—made with love in our kitchen!





Paola Basile and Luca Briganti, both originally from the South of Italy, are a couple in life and work. Paola discovered her voice while singing in a church choir as a young girl. She worked in a Gelateria before meeting Luca and is now the photographer in the team.

Luca has worked as a video editor and technician for commercial agencies and in television before taking a hiatus to travel to Indonesia and The Canary Islands. There, he discovered his passion for travel documentary, surfing and exploring remote places. He has produced documentaries for clients such as Enel, Samsung and Yamaha among others.

With their combined interest in music, photography and filmmaking, The Corona Duo became a passion project and a labor of love during the pandemic.

*note from this pandemic thing: please consider supporting Paola and Luca’s project on Patreon︎︎︎.
© 2021 this pandemic thing