Interview with KByro of Itaca by Dave Wolff
Itaca is in the process of developing their sound, which is a mix of alternative metal, progressive rock and a hardcore attitude. How far has this development progressed, and what steps are you taking to make this sound unique in the Italian music industry?
Right now we are developing some track pre-productions, trying different directions, especially for guitar gear. Our guitar sound was totally lacking personality in our first EP, and that we are trying to fix. Our next work will probably consist of just one track - a single then - and we very much hope to and want it to sound not too metal. See, the overdriven guitar always tends to be too boxy, we need something more rooty, garage and rusty.
Describe the debut EP you recorded, and the factors that led to the guitars lacking the personality you would have wanted for them.
When we recorded our EP, “Ep-tagramma”, the band was six months old. Despite having a lot of ready material, we didn't manage to prepare it the right way. We didn't have a straight, clear idea about our sound, so we chose what others (so-called engineers) suggested (more like forced us to do). After the recording, that took a while, we needed to close the project as soon as possible to concentrate on gigs, so we searched for a compromise. Of course our guitars are not as aggressive as we would like them to be, but it was a good start and what the EP turned out to be has an alchemy no one has, for sure.
There are compromises because some engineers believe they know what is best for a band. How many ways did you find this a limitation? What was it that convinced you to work independently after the EP's release and gave you a clearer picture of what you wanted to accomplish?
This is a limitation mostly because many people think they can override your work with their ego. What a band like ours needs is a producer, but no one is gonna pop up and help us, will they. We still don't have a clear picture; music (as art in general) is a living thing that evolves and changes with just the tiniest adjustment. So we just thought to change paths and see what happens.
This may prove that engineers and producers are not always correct when it comes to bands that have a vision that is unique from that of their predecessors. In spite of what has worked for other bands, will the direction in which you wish to take your music work for you?
Sadly only time can tell. We'll discuss this later this year I hope. And no, engineers and producers are not always right, mostly because you have to pay them good money for their time. Of course for bands like ours, time and cash are too important to waste, so it's often quite a Moloch to deal with. And we're not kids anymore, we all have our jobs. Try thinking about teenagers.
In the long run, how beneficial will it be for you if the band works alone now? Is it likely to take longer than working with an engineer?
Working with no help is exhausting and needs a lot of energy, time and motivation. You cannot do it for long, especially a band with quite an amount of material as we are. We need to record the more tracks we can, because listening to our current stuff is not quite enough to understand who we are.
Does “Ep-tagramma” contain all of the compositions written by the band or are there others written that were not included?
At the moment we have fifteen tracks ready to be played (two of them being covers) and one more pretty close to the end. “Ep-tagramma” contained what at the time was our “elite”. Today our tracks moved to a more complex style, yet we kept our rage and fire alive.
Is there a particular reason why the songs you chose were selected?
The song we chose, “Danza Macabra”, sums up our style, being it social criticism, song construction and arrangement (classical method in a prog way with aggressive hardcore), in a reduced length. Also it is sort of an heir of Tempo Scaduto.
Name the songs you recorded for “Ep-tagramma” and discuss how closely the lyrics reflect the songwriting in terms of growth.
“Disegno” is about the very process of writing/creating, being it a statement about who you are. And every consequence this “choosing sides” thing triggers in others. “Dolcevita” takes its inspiration on a book by Stefano Benni, talking about oppressive society and the role of capitalism and control in ruining your life. “Eptagramma” is a hymn for anger as an engine helping you accomplish things. “Tempo Scaduto” follows the Topoi of Dolcevita, being less literary and more of a provocation.
Which songs are the band covering and why have you chosen those particular songs?
At the moment we are covering “Via con me” by Paolo Conte and “Poetica” by Cesare Cremonini. They are both quite popular in our country but good musicians. Especially Conte, who's a jazz pianist. We chose those songs because we like them and are pretty well known in our country. To arrange them in our style was challenging but fun.
How do you hope your listeners will respond to the covers of Paolo Conte and Cesare Cremonini? What about their work do you find appealing?
People like our covers, I think it's because they're respectful of the original, yet powerful and inspired. Conte is a wonderful composer, the kind of artist you would want to play in a smoky place in the basement (in a noir movie, maybe). His music I compare with Dino Buzzati's paintings or Vilella's comics. Also his piano reminds me of Erik Satie's. Cremonini is in a way similar, being a story teller, and in many ways totally different. His music is more similar to Coldplay, though less euphoric and more introspective.
Among the fifteen songs you have completed, as well as the covers, how many do you intend to work on and possibly improve in the near future? Discuss the new direction you mentioned.
We'd like to record everything. Everything. We don't know if it will be single by single or on a full length album (today it doesn't make sense anymore), but we must do it. Listening to us on Spotify you would think we are something we are not; there's so much more under our flag. Mostly our issue is the balance between the band and our personal lives: growing old means to have responsibilities and we are often busy doing something else than playing. That said, I think the next two months will show us how to do.
What makes you think that recording full length albums no longer makes sense? In your statement that there is more to the band than what is heard on Spotify, what did you mean?
Full length albums became a thing when vinyl was long enough to actually be an album. The idea of a full length being a must-to-do- thing for a band/artist had become more and more important until the early 00s, when internet download, then streaming, you know this. Today more than one single in a year is certainly a better strategy than investing all your energy in a ten track LP - meaning two or three months of hard work just for recording it. Don't get me wrong, there's no good or bad strategy here, and I love concept albums. But here's the thing: if it's not an actual concept, I don't see the meaning in putting songs together. I mean we have so much more audio material, some definitive, some in progress, that it is a shame not to record it.
How difficult has it been to maintain a balance between your professional and personal lives? What additional effort must you put forth when you have the opportunities to work in Itaca?
Sadly it is quite difficult. You have to synchronize everyone in the band and sometimes that's not enough. Work takes away most of our time, working on the Italian east coast means one of us has a total time job during summer and another is more busy now. So summer means practically no playing. Writing, arranging and rehearsing with the band means to force yourself go against stress and tiredness. Sometimes you ask yourself if it's worth the effort. And today is 40 C degrees, haha!
In what way does the song “Tempo Scaduto” draw inspiration from the Topoi of Dolcevita?
The themes from Tempo Scaduto are Universal in a capitalistic society. You can elaborate them in many possible ways. As I just said above, “Danza Macabra” also goes through a parallel direction about that. Not exactly the same stuff, but it's like pieces of the same puzzle. Literature is always a good start for our lyrics and the choice of writing in Italian is willingly a way to be more understandable for our main audience. We could (and we will) write in English sooner or later, but for now we feel the need for our listeners to be connected to us with more than just music. Our message needs to be internalized for our music to be complete. That's why there's not too much growl, that's why voice is comes always first, despite composition being so complex.
What aspects of “Ep-tagramma” do you consider a good starting point for the band in order to continue developing their sound?
We like it not sounding conventional. Despite guitars not being as present as they should, the alchemy between clean Italian singing, the technical and fast drumming and the bass sounding like a lawnmower is something that works for our ears. Also when playing live all of this works A LOT better with good guitars.
Where has the band been traveling to promote the EP? What's been the reception so far?
We didn't travel at all! Hahaha Since the start I think we had like a dozen gigs all in the nearby. Last December an opportunity to tour in the Balkans was offered to us, but it was too early and expensive. Sadly, there are not many options for bands like ours here. Although a lot of people show appreciation for our music and come see us playing.
What songs on the EP do you think could have been improved upon if you had better equipment, more time to experiment, etc?
“Tempo Scaduto”. The song was too vast to be left like that, but then again we needed to move forward. Despite all of that we chose to make a video clip of this track, which will be out July 15.
How much experimenting with different directions have you done with the new single you’re working on? In what ways has the songwriting improved since your EP?
We rehearsed a lot more and home recorded it again and again. Our equipment is improved: we now use Fractal axe FX and Neural Quadcortex, as well as more of our drummer’s determination (and a new snare, haha).
Who worked with you on “Tempo Scaduto” and what was the outcome of making the video? How does the video represent the concept and lyrics of the song?
In the “Tempo Scaduto” video clip we remained the more simple as possible (due to budget and time issues). Despite that we managed to do a good job, thanks to Acme Superproductions who filmed and directed us and our dancer, Selena. We hired her to be sort of an incarnation to Death, who's referred in the lyrics. She just dances on a rooftop, dressed in red with a seven pointed star on her back (as in Eptagramma concept). And here we close the circle with our new single to be: the dance of death is “La Danse Macabre” (French) or “Danza Macabra” in Italian.
Can you relate how much dancing and video experience Selena has? To date, how long has she been working with the band?
Selena is a long time dancer, being both modern and hip hop oriented. We hired her through our drummer, who has known her since music academy. This is the first time she collaborated with us, but we're thinking about something new.
How much time did you spend studying “La Danse Macabre” before incorporating it into your video? How closely related is it to “Tempo Scaduto”? How did Selena's adapt it for the video?
“La Danse Macabre” is a medieval concept, mostly visual. I can sum it up as a memento mori (you can find a really nice example of it in Disney's silly Symphony skeleton dance, btw). In “Tempo Scaduto” death is a presence haunting the main character and as fast and far he could run, death will eventually find him. This is a dance, where the puppet keeps pretending not to see his strings, but he's still condemned. Selena did a very good job turning words into gesture, every movement of her hands follows the lyrics.
For future video projects, do you have any other allegorical pieces from the Middle Ages in mind? As you produce more videos, will this genre play a greater role visually? Which of your songs are you working on next?
Next video will definitely be “Danza Macabra”. I'm thinking about setting it in a graveyard. Middle ages are not our topic nor our style, although I've been a sword man for an evocation company. We'll just go with the flow.
Can you describe in more detail how you hope your approach to music will have a direct impact on music as a whole, if any? Is it your goal to inspire other musicians or are you just striving to achieve your own goals?
To inspire someone else is something that happens if you're lucky enough. Our goals are just to play the more we can in front of people who enjoy our music. We do not hope to have an impact on music, our ideas have no purpose, and they just come out. We look for our path without considering a goal. Obviously we'd like to make some cash, so stopping spending money to play and reverse this trend. So that we could spend more time doing what we like. But at the step we are in we're just happy to whatever comes next. Like this interview.
-Dave Wolff
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