No.1 - DECEMBER 2015 WWW.MUSICTRAKS.COM
ANY OTHER QUIETLY, BUT NOT GOING AWAY DAVID RAGGHIANTI TURNING UPSIDE DOWN SUZ NO PREMEDITATION
REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
NEWS
about
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e are TraKs. Without “c”. With a big”K”. We are a magazine, all in English, born from an Italian webzine, www.musictraks.com. We talk about Italian indie music. What is it? It is a great and improving movement that is taking all the ground left for creative music in Italy. A billion of netlabels, indie labels, micro labels publish every day records of every kind, spanning from rock to dance, from soul to drone music, from metal to hip hop, from math rock to new wave. Many of those lps, eps, videos, are full of talented and strong songs, and we are here because we think that this music deserves to be known outside of Italian borders. “TraKs” will take care of this: with interviews, reviews and a lot of free music that you can reach with a mouse click or a finger touch. Because we are TraKs, without “c”. And we love Italian indie music.
contents 4 Review ANY OTHER
SILENTLY, QUIETLY, BUT NOT GOING AWAY
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Interview
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Interview
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Interview
DAVID RAGGHIANTI TURNING UPSIDE DOWN SUZ NO PREMEDITATIONS CESARE MALFATTI
20 NewTraKs DIVIDE BY ZERO 23 REVIEWS Interview
26 DIDIE CARIA 29 VIDEOS TO SEE BANDS 31 ITALIAN IN EUROPE
TraKs is an online emission supplemental of site: www.musictraks.com Editor in Chief: Fabio Alcini info@musictraks.com
review
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ilently. Quietly. Going Away. Curious way to call a debut. But it doesn’t seems quite straight the way of thinking of Any Other, trio made of Erica Lonardi (drums), Marco Giudici (bass and keyboards) and Adele Nigro (voice and guitar), formerly with duo Lovecats, here in the throes of an adventure a bit less influenced by new wave. With well-defined roles within the band, Any Other proceed to the conquest of indie Italian music (but, on paper, not stopping at the border) with ten pieces often harsh but without losing sensitivity. Lovecats, formed in Verona in 2010 with a clear reference to Cure’s song, saw Adele working with Cecilia Grandi.
ANY OTHER Silently. Quietly, But Not Going Away
Blue Moon, proceeding in gradual waves, but not without rhythm, thanks to a smooth but aggressive drumming. We switch to some romance in Gladly Farewell, with vocals and guitar gaining momentum second by second. A full instrumental barrier, especially in the rhythm section, welcomes the listener to His Era, which again goes in waves not quite regular. The three-minute 365 days proceed from a simple guitar around and again
The duo published a cover album, then an ep in 2013, enjoying some limitated success. Then the end of duo, with Cecilia trying to complete her studies. Adele stepped into another project, Ferry Pie, and ultimately teamed up with Erica and Marco, for the debut. The album opens with Something, also first video, that sounds very 90s, with good doses of guitar that begin to draw the profile of Any Other. A little less storming is
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review plunge into Nineties sounds. Roger Roger, Commander has a mood a bit darker, but not that much: the atmosphere of the lp alternates phases of contained fury and landscapes much more sunny. Not much sun at 5:47 PM, again aggressive; guitar and drums do their best to guarantee coverage to a loud voice. Teenage emphasizes a more moderate and intimate side of the band, with minimal sounds and most of the work left to the emotional voice, at least until they start to put hands to drumsticks and raise the volume level. Sonnet # 4 starts in the darkness. Early, here the temptation of noise seems to remain at bay, but the slow movement grows in a way so inevitable that the explosion of angriness and desperation appear absolutely inevitable. Album closes with the duet of To the Kino, Again, in which some of ancient new wave emerges, along with a great job of bass and drums. Debut of trio earns every praise that was written for now. Maybe it sounds a bit nostalgic, but here the simplicity combines perfectly with the impetuosity of youth.
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “SILENTLY. QUIETLY. GOING AWAY�
DAVID RAGGHIANTI turning upside down
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is debut, Portland, is among the records on the spotlight in Italian press in recent times: David Ragghianti hits the mark right away, with a lp that has a few surprising sound choices, a few pinches of irony and a lot to tell. “Portland” is your debut. Where have you been up to now? So far I have lived, stored experiences. Then I decided to open the garage, going to comb through what I had available. From this turning upside down “Portland” was born. The album is receiving praises everywhere. Are you totally satisfied or is there anything you would change?
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interview
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “PORTLAND”
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interview What is done is done. I’m very happy for the praises that the lp is receiving, any value you want to give to the term “praises”. We would have liked to have the strings, woodwinds and maybe more time to record vocals. But for budget reasons we could not.
The meeting with Giuliano was born thanks to the suggestion of a friend, Stefano Antoci D’Agostino. I was trying to help the artistic production of my project. Stefano advised me to listen to Giuliano Dottori. So did I. Giuliano is for me one of the best songwriters of Italy. After the contact I met him, I found out that he is also one of the best producers that I could encounter. Musically cultured and sensitive. He knows how to leave space and to bring the work forward. Nico Turner was on tour with Cat Power in Europe. They played in Lucca, where I live, during the Summer Festival. The band was staying in the hotel where I was working. One night Cat Power and Nico came into the kitchen asking: “Something good here?”. We have become friends and we stayed in touch. I asked Nico, who was in Milan du-
How was it born “Occhi asciutti” (“dry eyes”)? On a summer night, on my way home after work. A storm of wind and water, the swollen river was passing the banks. I could not see anything. Then the next morning, the song of cicadas. We were undecided whether to propose it as the first single instead of “Tema del filo” or as a second single. We opted for a more intimate first single. How it was working with Dottori and Turner?
the review
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ith the name of a couple of US cities, Portland is the first album by David Ragghianti. Ragghianti takes cues from the Italian and foreign songwriting to pack nine tracks of various flavors, respectful of traditions. With a melodic and rather classic song, I prati che cercavo, Ragghianti opens his album: the step is moderate, but the intensity of the song increases along the trail, with some more regard to the percussion part. We travel to the border of fairy tales often, with the texts of Ragghianti, but in Amsterdam the sound is quite concrete and rich. The lp, entitled to a distant city, is accustomed to travel, however, is confirmed by Dove conduci, very soft and whispered, with acoustic
guitar in the middle of the scene, along with the voice. There’s more bite, but without losing the temper, in Occhi asciutti, which can remind flavors no strangers to Italian songwriter Ivano Fossati. Full of rhythm and sounds undercurrent Tema del filo, while Se non ti ammali mai surprises with underwater sound effects, reggae and a bit of irony. We return to very soft and subtle mode with Pause estive. 300 anni has meditative lyri cs, and more meditations we find in Raffiche di fuga. Firmly anchored to all the roots of songwriting, Ragghianti constructs a record that shines the most in minute details. But the very fact that he has taken care of them says much of his writing skills.
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ring the recording of the lp, to play drums in a couple of songs. He accepted! This is what I call a good attitude. Mattia Pittella, a close friend with whom I shared my years in Milan, he played drums. Then “the Adonis� Mauro Mr. Fox Samson on percussions. At choirs Neith Pincetti, friend of Giuliano. Thank you again! The album was mixed by Matthew Cantaluppi in Berlin. Another lucky meeting. Professionally impeccable and always available.
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SUZ: NO PREMEDITATION
Photos by Malì Erotico
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interview CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “LACEWORK�
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usanna La Polla, aka Suz, has taken a new look to Italian trip hop: her third lp, Lacework fortifies the wave of returning trip hop that seems to characterize the very last stage of production of a certain sector of Italian independent music. Suz started in the early 90s as a backup singer and vocalist for the
interview pioneer of Italian ragamuffin Papa Ricky. With producer and bassist Ezra Alessio “Alessiomanna� Argenteri (both already in the ranks of Casino Royale) she is then landed to a solo career with the albums Shape of Fear and Bravery (2009) and One Is A Crowd (2013). What differentiates the work in "Lacework" from your earlier records? Besides the fact that "Lacework" is the first of my disks that is born from a piano, in this third album has seen the work only of Ezra and me, excluding the mastering of the tracks for which we have entrusted to Joseph Ielasi. You chose to use for the first time the piano. Can you explain why? The piano was actually used to compose, with the intention to rearrange everything later with synthesizers and machines, but in some parts it sounded so good that we decided to keep it. There was no premeditation in fact. You wrote lyrics in Thailand, Brixton and Bologna: what did you found in those locations?
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In Koh Tao I found the quiet and time to think, meditate, read. Brixton, and London in general, have certainly enriched my English vocabulary and Bologna finally gave me what gives me every day, that is the ability to receive many stimulations that come from suffering of mine or my friends’. In short, my town is the primary source of the stories that are mentioned in the songs of the disc. How did you write "King of Fools"? King of Fools comes from the observation of some people close to me, alas, unable to live in the present and see the beauty in things. They are looking at the earth from a distant island unattainable in the sea. Can you tell the main instruments you used? Quite simply my instrument is the voice, but I imagine this is not the answer you need, then I will tell you that after writing the frames of the songs on the piano, an old grinding wheel of the early '900 played amiably by Ezra, the whole thing was rearranged in an electronic key. For rhythms Ezra used an old Akai sampler and a synth for the Teenage Engineering OP-1 and a Kawai sx 240, also working a lot on the effects to try to make sounds deeper and dilated.
LACEWORK THE REVIEW
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he first track is Billie, and immediately it presents the new sound of this record: the piano. The song has a high pace and a catchy good harmony. Richer in effects but also in some ways more minimalist Pure Rapture, with odd beat and some new wave impressions. King of Fools softens the tone, although a mock organ gives to listeners a bit of concern. The Abacist, strong and dark, has a step once again underlined by the piano. Wall of Mist pursues the road of heavy percussion. Sensual ethnic moves characterize the following Wide Blue Yonder, giving feelings that may call into question Massive Attack or smooth pop music of 80s. Anthemusa arises quite differently from the rest of the record, with the voice of Suz that stands statuesque right from the start. Dramatic piano lines shore the notes of Lethe, where is apparent a certain amount of resentment. Testing of Gold also sounds very dark, as if towards the end of the album the lights tends to fade, and negative feelings got the upper hand. Neither the mood improves with Still Water, which again hinges on percussion and combines the contrasts. There is a consistent rhythmic speech innervating all the pieces of Lacework and building the structure on which the voice of Suz now lies, now stands. A hard and polished elegance that does confirm the good that it was already known about the singer from Bologna.
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interview
cesare malfatti A
record devoted to the Art of Milan, not only the main works, but also to smaller and more obscure ones: with the 2015 Milan Universal Exposition as an excuse, Cesare Malfatti (in these pages, portrayed by Fabrizio Fenucci) has created, with the help of collaborators, mainly for the lyrics,
like Paolo Benvegnù, Francesco Bianconi, Kaballà, Alessandro Cremonesi, Luca Morino and others, Una città esposta (An Exposed City). We had the occasion to have a chat with the Milanese songwriter and guitarist, formerly with La Crus, Afterhours, Amour Fou. How is it born the collaboration with
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interview Did you are more stimulated or doubtful for such a work being associated with a controversial event as Expo? I never had doubts, the lp is on Milan and its works of art, the six-month Expo are just an excuse to promote the artistic heritage of the city. The music of the songs had different moments of birth. Is it been a long work to get a consistent picture or the pieces were made in the running? The music came first, I chose the song to be combined with artwork, then the author has written the lyrics. The music maybe always wins on the lyrics. Also my way of singing makes everything smoother. Is there some possibility of reunion of La Crus at the moment?
Expoincittà underlying the lp? It was born when I learned that Alessandro Cremonesi was studying an idea that tied six works of art in Milan to six months of Expo, I thought that these works could be the subject of many songs. I have added seven more songs on many works or particular stories of Milan, once I made the album I went to the City to talk about this project and the collaboration was born.
Soon we have to meet... and maybe something happens...
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “UNA CITTA’ ESPOSTA”
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newtraks a bit more epic and also with some characteristic of anthem: for example a chorus, but also some exciting rides of guitar. Eastern Europe is the watershed of the ep and proposes rhythms high which contrasts with a pointed guitar. Oswald, with some echo and some effect, turns up the volume without losing control. Soft explosion slows down a bit, offering to guitars the way to offer a more sweet side of themselves, but the song grows up: we become increasingly aware that the end of the record will not be peaceful or pacified. There is definitely a remarkable mastery of the elements in the field by Divide By Zero, who know the terrain on which they move and put together an ep definitely enjoyable. We can hope for the next episodes that the band completes the process that can lead to having a style all of their own.
Divide by Zero
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ith a declared passion for music from the triangle Editors-Interpol-The National, but also for the post-punk of 80s, Divide by Zero began their adventure in 2014 and now they published the first self-titled ep . The core of the band comes from other groups from Ravenna (Pitch, Silvermood, Mr. Nothing, Renudo). The members are: Christian Amatori, Davide Benelli, Carlo Andrea Ceccoli, Luigi Palestini, Nicola Rambelli. It starts with Your favorite bones, sounding quite basic which, besides the aforementioned bands, is influenced also by something à la Depeche Mode, especially in the introduction. No superpowers comes with
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “DIVIDE BY ZERO”
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REVIEW
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ebut name is In a State of Altered Unconsciousness: this is the title of new record of Earthset, band born in Bologna in 2012: the album is published by Seahorse Recordings and distributed by Audioglobe / The Orchard. After a first demo-ep in 2013 and two years to propose in concert their repertoire in major venues in Bologna and at The Good Ship in London, the band comes out with a concept album of ten tracks . Overture opens with very sweet and gentle tone, while Drop turns a bit in acid, with math rock on the background. The two lines (math rock, not excessive complications) are also confirmed by The Absence Theory, which looks a lot like a rock song altogether. rEvolution of the Species opens the way to some change of pace. Acoustic guitar and romantic attitudes surprise the listener in Epiphany, but by again it the song resumes running and hammering. So What ! evolves as a playful song but the final goes on darker tones. Skizofonia opens with a beat, but then evolves in an almost symphonic piece overtly psychedelic. Gone proceeds along more direct influences toward grunge and 90s with something of the Smashing Pumpkins emerging here and there. A.S.T.R.A.Y. walks on trails that remind somehow the neo-prog, with long guitar solos and various evolutions. And the piano
Earthset opens Lovecraft: you proceed in misty land; the contrasts, especially those caused by the guitar, are very strong. The long suite (over seven minutes) of Circle Sea shows an epic construction, underscored by a brief aside spoken. There is good and inventive power in Earthset, able to present a consistent lp.
CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO “EARTHSET�
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reviews LEBOWSKI “DISADOTTATI” Disadottati is the third studio album of Lebowski: new lp comes with some significant changes. David Lenci is the sound engineer, flanked by Richard “Rico” Gamondi of Uochi Tochi mastering. The eight pieces of Disadottati move in mazes with electronic influences from psychedelic pop vein, with irony in the lyrics. We start with an allure of elegance but also with a bass grooves of good importance: Rent to buy opens with a long instrumental session; lyrics talk of economic problems solved with daily solutions daily (apparently) original. Il cielo è sempre meno blu sways on the dancefloor between sounds very saturated and rich, with psychedelia and Madchester influences, and again everyday problems treated lightly but still present. It hits hard in Il tagliateste, high tempo and dirty tracks, with a perfect portrait of a dismissal presented as something made for the benefit of the laid off. Rhythms slightly loose but much poison for Offshore
El Salvador, which uses percussion and guitars very obvious and powerful, for results that travel on the wire of the ambiguity. L’incapiente, after an intro strongly electric, is grafted almost completely on voice, drumming and present participles. The keyboards add a touch of surreality. X provides rhythm and percussion before all, structuring a sound more and more steeped in electronics. What remains of analog, however, such as the guitar, is quite acid. Una vita disarmata enters the house of Vasco Rossi, mostly to mess around, while the ending is left to the keyboards of Mr. Costa. This lp can hurt: songs almost always speak of economy, domestic or global, and always sick. And it does it through sounds very alive but also very dirty. The result is strong, convincing, sarcastic, almost painful.
DAP “RESONANCES”
His name is Andrea D’Apolito, but when embraces the guitar he prefers Dap: the Roman folk singer debut, published by Toto Sound Records, is Resonances. Although this is a beginning the lp can count on a considerable number of collaborations, ranging from female voices Vahimiti Cenci and Sara
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reviews interviews
WWW.MUSICTRAKS.COM streaming of full albums videos news 24
reviews Sileo to guitarists Jorma Gasperi and Daniele Sinigallia. And Strombolifeatures the trumpet of Paola Fecarotta. Departure is soft with Crossroads, that convene to voice and guitar-style folk classic. Strong personality and also some electric ideas are instead in Eye for an Eye, short but rather intense. The voice of Dap is the main actor of Stand Back, which returns to soft tones and not always simple structures of guitar. It’s not too volcanic Stromboli, which indeed further sweetens the landscape with a female voice and a piano. Back to winning ways and acoustic guitar folk When I call, with aftertaste of prairie landscapes. Independence Day sees a very soft flow of notes, at least until a final surprise. Not again has a feminine and very Celtic opening, however, but it gains a faster pace. Pearl, with darkness absent in the rest of lp, becomes a pop-rock song well executed. Attention to detail and an eye to the general framework ensures a good overall result. CLICK HERE
tude and large doses of guitar, the lp kicks off, thanks to Noah, cooler in the first part and more pounding in the final. Day Before Weeding plays with small britpop resonances. Chorus for the introduction of Between Mind and Body, which proceeds in a totally vintage mood, with some Beatles influence. Monkey See, Monkey Do maintains a high level of volume, with a lot of guitar sound. Modernize is qualified by a sharp drumming and some romantic inclination. More power in Sermonize, but it’s gentle power, with melancholy accents. Leave ‘em expands its sound, with a very articulate drumming and guitar trying to play with volumes and effects, becoming one of the more structured songs of lp. Tearful presents hushed tones and autumnal atmosphere, but it makes noise in the second part of the song. Then, a cover of Imagine, mostly acoustic: the comparison with a totem of this magnitude is done with lightness, giving an original version of an enormous classic that might seem immutable. Lp closes with Inner Freak, sweet and nocturnal, where the melancholic side of band finds its fullest expression. Good test for Yes Yes Daddy, that with this record doesn’t give up pop roots but also welcome other useful influences.
AND LISTEN TO “RESONANCES”
YES DADDY YES “GO BANANAS” Born around 2009, Yes Yes Daddy today publish Go Bananas, a record that they define “simple” but that sounds pretty convincing. With power pop, a sharp atti-
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interview
Didie Caria
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rimo Tempo is the new lp of Didie Caria: torn between love for the theater and music, he has decided not to choose, making a record “that comes on the wooden planks of the stage of a theatre,” to use his words.
through the musical theatre, than I study butoh dance and dance theater for a short time. Then I try to merge all these different artistic languages in a single concert that also has the characteristics of a show.
Your story is not exactly the one of a “normal” independent musician...
How do you harmonize all these aspects?
Yes, then we can start to destroy the concept of “normal”. I have not a normal story for an independent musician and I think even that no independent musician wants to be called “normal” in its story. I have my own story as the other people. Beginning as a gospel singer, I am passionate to theatre and I step
An album of songs is a journal of photography, so there is never a question of harmonizing the different characters of the story but rather to be able to make make more vivid the image of what you are experiencing at this moment. By doing this it suddenly springs from your imagination your more specific
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features, all your passions. What were the biggest difficulties you encountered in making the disc, if there were any? One difficulty was the economic one that definitely was surpassed thanks to the passion of my producer Neda (Meatbeat records) and the generosity of the people through a fundraising campaign, that allowed me to produce my album and to be here to speak in this interview. Sometimes in the writing of the album there was another difficulty with arrangements because when you like a song you you think you have to add things, but then it turns out it’s not necessary. electric piano. Then there are a number of games: a chessboard, a glove, pliers wood, a stool, a wand over which I stuck a ball of rubber bands, a dynamo torch ... The arrangements have been made using a loopstation which is one tool that allows you to record sounds of any size and send them to loop or repeat them overlapping on one another to create the structure of a song.
Why this title? What feelings occurred in the realization? The album is called “Primo Tempo” because this title represents my musical but also art and theater vein. The feeling that has accompanied most of the writing is a great freedom to do what I wanted, in the way I wanted it. The goal was to give joy to me in the first place and be as honest as possible.
CLICK HERE
What instruments did you use in lp?
AND LISTEN TO
The album sounds you hear are, from the most conventional: a guitar, a ukulele, an
“PRIMO TEMPO”
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videos to see Calibro 35 Bandits on Mars
click and see Espa単a Circo Este:
Amycanbe: Wherefrom
Margherita Mia
Tales of Unexpected:
Gran Torino: Albero e Foglia
Sfumature di Quarzo
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italian bands in europe
Modena City Ramblers
Funk & Soul, Manchester (UK) March 19, 2016: Bi Nuu, Berlin (Germany) March 31, 2016: Marula, Barcelona (Spain) April 1st, 2016: Madrid (Spain) tba April 2, 2016: Madrid (Spain) tba
denis the night & the panic party November 13, 2015: BIG SHORT LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL // World Premiere “You Could Be my Home” Modena City Ramblers and 99 Posse November 2, 2015: La Bellevilloise, Paris (France) November 3, 2015: Heaven, London (UK) November 4, 2015: Vk, Bruxelles (Belgium) November 5, 2015: Sugar Factory, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
España Circo Este December 11: Youthcenter, Imst (Austria) December 12: Cafedecentral, Innsbruck (Austria) Melampus December 10, 2015: Le Bourg, Lausanne (Switzerland) December 11, 2015: Turba, Lugano (Switzerland) December 12, 2015: Sedel, Luzern (Switzerland)
Calibro 35 February 25, 2016: Paris (France) tba February 26, 2016: 100 Club, London (UK) February 27, 2016: Craig Charles
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