The Missing Tapes, on the other hand, ethnic instruments are mixed with purely electronic sounds.
the sound while I play. Often, though, I like to record clear sounds and process them at a later stage with my PC.
Q: I read in a recent interview that you are more interested in sounds and timbre rather than melody and rhythm. Could you elaborate on that?
Q: You also do mastering work. Within this particular musical genre, in Italy, the only other name I can think of is that of Giuseppe Ielasi…
A: I like to create a sense of melody out of heavily processed and richly layered sounds. There is something more personal in someone finding a melodic quality in a carefully nuanced drone, rather than something specifically designed to elicit a specific response on an emotional level. There’s a different kind of empathy at play, which runs deeper.
A: I would add that of Andrea Marutti, who also does vinyl mastering, which is something quite different and specific.
Q: I am not an expert in computer programmes, could you give me an idea of the ones you use? A: I use a simple setup as I don’t like to have too many programs open. I need to have everything at hand, and if I have to wreck my brain trying to unravel the thousand functions of a software and the multitude of links to the instruments I loose the spontaneity of making music. The program I mostly use is WaveLab, which I started using when it was just a mere digital audio editor. Q: No Max Msp then? A: No, just WaveLab, and sometimes FruityLoops, a digital audio workstation. In the past I also used ReBirth, which emulates two Roland TB-303 synthesizers, a Roland TR-808 and a Roland TR-909 drum machine all at once, on albums such as Frozen, released on Afe, and Line of Fire, out on Silentes, but that was a long time ago. Q: Do you prefer low frequencies? A: Not really, I like a warm and well balanced sound. The most crucial aspect for me is the quality of sound with a good dynamic range. Q: In terms of effects, is it mostly delays and reverbs? A: At present I use a Boss multi-effects pedal with delays, reverbs, distortions, and chorus, which I use for specific purposes when I have a clear idea of the kind of sound I want to achieve. For my next album I have used an electric guitar by distorting
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Q: What is your particular strength in terms of mastering? A: I wouldn’t be able to say. This is a niche market and we all know each other. Generally speaking, people who came to me have either heard my albums, or liked the work I’ve done for Stefano Gentile’s label Silentes. Q: What are the most important qualities one needs to have in order to deliver a good mastering job? A: First of all, one needs to have a certain knowledge of the specific musical genre one is working with and a certain sensibility in order to respect the sound of a particular album and to determine exactly where, when, and how, to intervene without prevaricating on the original intentions of the musician. The other fundamental requirement is to have a good stereo. Often, people master albums on small speakers and with a small woofer. I always rely on my tried and tested hi-fi stereo, which I’ve had for 25 years now. That is what I use to do music and listen to it. Q: Do you work with headphones on? A: No, I hate headphones… Well, they are handy in order not to disturb the neighbours and they are crucial when listening to a mastering job but in terms of making music, headphones always make music sound so much better and can give a false impression. The separation of sound on headphones between left and right channels makes for a totally different listening experience, and to judge the real sound propagation of an album I only ever trust my stereo system
because I know it and my ear is attuned to it. To give you an example, when I record an album with Andrea Marutti we tend to seclude ourselves in a small house I have in the Abruzzo region. We both take so much gear, that I couldn’t take my stereo with me as well. This means that once I get back to Rome, I normally end up having to spend more time mastering the album that it actually took to record it. This might be an exaggeration, but sometimes I do find missing frequencies, which means I have to add new layers of sounds. Q: What would you say to those who recommend listening to their music with headphones? A: If an album has been made specifically to be listened to with headphones on, that is what one should do. Also, it is true that it is more economical to invest in a good set of headphones rather than a first class stereo. Q: You don’t listen to music on your laptop then? A: My computer is connected to my stereo. Q: In your interviews you often stress that music should have an emotional impact for you. A: That is crucial to me and I say this in a critical way towards a lot of experimental music that very often is just a collection of field recording or technically proficient digital sounds, which leaves me rather cold. Experimentation for experimentation sake doesn’t go very far in my opinion. I would like my music to have the same emotional impact of pop music. Q: Do you believe that there needs to be an organic element in the music for it to have an emotional impact? A: Generally speaking, yes. I can’t think of a single album in the past five years, produced in a purely digital way that has moved me on an emotional level. I find works that combine acoustic and digital to be more interesting and to have more of an