Hi Simone, thank you for doing this interview, how are you doing?
Quite ok, I am alive, I can’t complain…after all
What was the first song or experience that you heard that spurred your interest in creating music?
I always been interested in music, I grew up in the 80’s, a new era of videoclips became. remember I watched the twins videos,wow I loved that stuff, and their look, i think they were fantastic ahahah, I was very impressed by that synth pop bands, I’d say that 80’s pop has been my first approach with music
I am curious, before Spiritual Front, did you play in other bands?
Yea, like many other kids of my age I played in metal bands, long hair,black clothes, speed riffs, crushing tunes. It’s been ages ago
What are the ethics as an artist that matter to you?
Playin’ with heart is the matter, put yourself in the front, being youself, put al your energies in what you are doing. I think we don’t have the time to be fake, art has the urge to feel, to express, to open something otherwise buried by a pathetic society, by the cruel law of earthly existence, never forget we are trapped in this body, we are trapped in a specific culture, we just have to use their means and their arms to get free from ‘em. Use their weapons against them in order to liberate our souls, our beasts.
What are personal influences in your music that the general public may not be aware of?
There are some artist that are easly recognizable in our songs like Johnny cash, scott walker, death in june, cohen etc, but as mentioned I grew up with bands like human league, twins,simple minds, king, roxy music, the smiths but also tons or soundtracks, country stuff, electro, indie, I’ve never been blind when it comes to music, I try to absorb everything around me, every influence can be positive.
In 2006 you released Armageddon Gigolo album, how do you look back on the album now?
I loved that album, it has been a fundamental work for me and for the band evelpoment. As everything, look back,I’d ve changed some stuff in it. Pictures suck, I’d like to change some drums set etc, but ilike it, it’s a very ‘natural’ album, very real, very personal.
Everyone has certain expectations when a new album is released, what were yours for Armageddon Gigolo and did you achieve them?
If expetations means a copy of AG…well,no!it’s just a his natural son, long time passed from it, we changed, our experience made us different, we travelled, we learnt, this new album is more refined, more pop maybe. I saw many comments against our latest single ‘darkroom friendship’ just because we tried to play something different or ‘clean’. It’s pathetic when people expect from you the same old story,it s like to fuck for 10 years in the same position.
What is success for you and in the light of that, do you consider Armageddon Gigolo to be a success?
A success?i think it has been an important album for making us being accepted in many scenes around, it showed how a band can evolve. It has been important cause it gave outside a different vision of what the dark folk scene was. It started a sort of inner evolution.
In between Armageddon Gigolo and the new album “ Roma Rotten Casino” lies 4 years, why did it take so long?
Line up changing, personal changing, we recorded the whole album a couple of ears ago, but we weren’t satisfied so..we cancelled it. We wanted to catch the real spirit, we wanted to fix a specific instant of our lives, 4 or 10 doesn’t ‘t matter, you have to do what you really feel. I know it’s long time, fucking long time, but it worth, I’m happy with it now.
You call your music “Suicide Pop” can you define that and how is it created? Do you always work the same way while composing?
Suicide pop plays like something fascinating and tragic, simple and catastrophic. Pop is something straight to your heart, simple, popular, a vibe that can reach everybody’s heart without any filter
In what way will “Roma Rotten Casino” deviate from Armageddon Gigolo, what progress have you made?
At least when you change the line up something in the sound inevitably change with it. As I told you before the new album is more refined, the production is definitely more ‘shining’, I paid more attention to how concerned the sound itself, it has good arrangements, also we chose to work with the members of Ennio Morricone orchestra again in order to give to the album a soundtrack touch. The songs construction was more direct, more straight.
Did it turn out to be the album you had in mind before you started working on it or did it completely changed in time?
It turned out as I expected, oh well, now I can tell you this eeheh,or maybe I’d have done it more rough probably, but it’s ok, I like it
What was the hardest part in recording the album? Do you try to keep a live atmosphere because I think Spiritual Front is at its best at live shows?
Thank you dear, well it’s always hard to reproduce the live mood, but at the same time we always try to play live what we did in studio before. For example we don’t use electronic pads or fake instruments, sometimes is good sometimes it complicate your life, I absolutely don’t blame who do that, I love electro music, but we chose old school music! It’s hard when we have to give up to the idea to bring the string section at out gigs.
The album is scheduled to be released on 24th of September, is the time between now and the releasedate a nervewrecking time for you, waiting until the first reviews and comments come in? What do you do in this time?
Very hard, yea. I received many good comments from those who listened to it, anyway it’s an album destined to divided our audience. i’m very opened to every comment, every ideas. You know, the more you wait to publish an album the more the expectations grow.
When listening to Spiritual Front I am always getting the feeling that it would make great music to go along with certain movies. Do you feel connected to certain movies, what are movies you think are inspiring?
Absolutely. Cinema is the most important inspiration for us. Cinema is not just entertnainment, it’s a greatest from of art closer the life itself, with his defects it always give a sort of possible reproduction of what we are, of what we feel, it has the chance to put together all the senses. We usually devour ton of movies, but the most inspiring movie, especially for this album were Odete, o’ fantasma, one year with 13 moons, the right of the strongest, the days of anger, brokeback mountain, summersturm.
Are their songs on the album that stick out for your personally, with which you have a special bond?
Certainly yes! In a way or another they all come from me. I always talk about myself, there’ no point to talk thing I don’t know. Many movie are involved in them but all movies that I found related to my personal experiences and feelings.it’s hard to choose a song in particular. All the songs are o personal, so close to the bones.
The album will be supported by a video for the track “Darkroom Friendship”. How was it to make that video? Did it turn out like you wanted it to be?
Well, I wanted to do it more muscular, more masculine, at the end me and the director decide to make it more soft, yea I like it, it ‘ pop, ironic, I admit it’s quite different from the classic f cenrio, butit wa funny to try something different, unusual. Some people have been displaced by it. But iknew since the beginning. Some are till afraid about the rrc result, but it’s nothing shocking, just darkroom friendship is totally pop
Who are the current live members? And how do you all prepare for a tour that surely will follow to present the new album?
Actually we are 5, but we are using backing tracks with strings too. Unfortunately we can’t bring strings section because of the several technical and economic problem we’d afford. The song are performed as in the album, there aren’t big difference. There’s n point to record something you can perform live.
Can you give some information about a possible tour already?
At the moment we fixed some dates in the east: Russia, Romania, Poland, Lithuania, but we dealin with the ret o Europe too. We’ll play everywhere!
Are there specific songs that are most often a part of your set list? If so, can you explain the significance for this happening?
Well it’ hard to say.we’d need another couple of hours.
You will play at the Summer Darkness festival in the Netherlands, will you play some new tunes as well, what can the people expect of the show?
Sure we will definitely perform tunes from our last album. unfortunately the album won’t be available due the postpone release but people will have the chance to hear the new tracks.
Any last words for our readers?
Never look back. keep going on.
www.spiritualfront.com