An Interview with Ufomammut
Malleus Rock Art Lab have been exploring the soul of the visual arts since a decade now and Supernatural Cat Records have been spreading hyper-heavy psyched out tunes for the same period. Recently, the core of those two art-entities, the mighty Ufomammut, released the first part of their magnus opus, ORO, entittled Opus Primum and since we're midway before the second part Opus Alter being released, I thought it would be really interesting to contact the band for a bit more info on their art projects and have a glimpse in their forthcoming future plans.
Greetings!
First of all, congratulations for the magnificent ORO: Opus Primum,
which made the high anticipation for the second part of the album,
ORO: Opus Alter, even more intense. Are you satisfied with the
reception it received from fans and music press alike?
Thanks a lot. We're
very happy about the first part and the reaction of people. We
were a little worried about splitting the record in 2 parts, but now
We're 100% sure it's been a great idea.
As
already stated above, ORO is going to have a dual status and
although, I suppose this happened because of the total running time
of it, I think it's a bit of a risky move, because the two parts of
the album are going to be released with several months in between
them and given that the main musical ideas were already presented in
its first part are you worried that the thrill of the second part
might be a little lessen by this? What helped you in making this
decision?
We decided to split it because of its length and because we are not
fans of double albums. You
never focus on the entire work. Considering
Oro is musically various (as You'll notice once You'll listen to part
2) we thought it could be good to give time to elaborate the first
half and then to have the second to complete it and listen to it in
its entirety.
Your
previous album, Eve, was a one song album splitted in five parts.
Your new offering is one album split in two parts. Are there any
similarities in the writing process of these two albums and how did
you decide to split the parts of ORO the way you did?
We worked in a different way, this time we started with the idea of
doing something that had to be totally different from Eve and we
developed an idea of dynamics and layers. Then we worked on it little
by little and we focused on 10 main movements. Once
the album was ready we decided to split it in 2 parts of 5 movements
each. And
they're quite different even if linked by a main theme.
I
believe that the sinister atmosphere of Eve was teasing my sentiments
whenever I was listening to it and now, I believe that the first part
of ORO is disturbing my mind every time I listen to it. So, was it
your intention to create that kind of atmospheres or it just happened
naturally? And what's going to happen on Opus Alter? Shall I prepare
myself to listen to it while waiting in the hall of a mental
institution or something like that, just in case?
Our music comes naturally from our minds, probably there's a problem?
:-)
The
musicianship of Oro: Opus Primum is quiet dense, but most of its
tunes are based on repetition. How do you guys manage to drone
without being tedious? Is this because you built parts on other parts
or this is just a result out of jamming?
We like to grow little by little, to play the same riff and make it
change, layering it till it cannot become bigger anymore. It's
difficult to answer to these questions cause everything comes easily
for us, I mean, there's not a rule to follow.
How
much do you add to a song after it's frame is finalised? There are
many extra sounds and lots of noise in your music and I was wondering
how much of it do you layer afterwards and is this something planned
beforehand or not?
Again, not a rule. We
add till we think it's done. Some
are fat songs (full of fx and sounds), some are more empty.
It's
the third consecutive time that you record together with Lorenzo
Stecconi and I suppose you're pleased with his work. How much does he
effect the final shape of your sound?
Lorenzo is a friend, first of all. And
this is the most important thing cause it helps a lot. He
has a lot of suggestions and he's very very present in the recording
sessions. We
can say he's an element in the band. And
we are lucky to have another guy with us since about 10 years. He's
a sonic terrorist an he's our sound engineer Ciccio.
How
was the recording process of ORO: Opus Primum in general? Are you
totally satisfied with it or if given the chance, you'd make any
changes on the final result? Is Opus Alter also recorded or not yet?
If not, what's left to be done in order for it to take it's final
shape?
We recorded all together, cause as we said Oro is a single track. And
we're very happy with the final result.
Is
there anything you might want to share with the public regarding Opus
Alter's progress? Is everything going according to your timeline or
are there any conflicts in it?
Just wait some months. Think
about when we play live and we keep a feedback before starting again
to play. This
is the same thing. Just
a little longer...
Is
there any specific concept behind ORO? I'm asking because its
stunning artwork is full of small details. Are there any hidden
messages in it? For example, just to name a few of what I noticed in
it, why is the letter R in the word ORO, double and why there are
four eyes in the face of the lady in it?
Oro is full of symbols and meanings: it means gold in italian, it's
a palyndrome word, OR means “pray” in hebrew too. The main theme
is inspired by alchemy and the search for philosopher stone and the
eyes of the lady are opening to see the Truth. We could go on in
explaining all the different sides of the concept, but the last thing
we want to say is that it deals with the path of knowledge...Every
listener can give its own personal meaning.
Speaking
of the once again absolutely great artwork that complements perfectly
your music and considering that in our days more and more people are
listening to music through digital formats, how hard was the decision
for you to put so much talent and energy in making it so special?
Don't get me wrong here, I firmly believe that the artwork (and
lyrics) are -almost- equally important to an album as the music it
contains, but I think I don't represent the majority. So, what's your
point of view on this?
We totally agree with you. At least we could establish a small
fanclub of artwork :-) We have great respect for music and his true
fans, like if it was a religion. Visual side has always been a
natural and essential choice for representing to our idea of music.
If someone thinks that this is not related to music, we don't care at
all.
What's
your opinion in the digital formats of music? I know we're in the
21st century and this is somewhat a logical continuation, but with
the rise of internet, more music was/is discovered and not always in
legal ways. So, does this help the music industry & the musicians
especially or the harm it does is bigger than the help it offers in
your opinion?
The free flowing of music through the net is useful and important:
you can easily listen to music coming from everywhere. We know, there
is too much crap around, but if you discover some gems, well...you
want to know more. True listeners want to physically touch the music.
They want the cd or , better, the vynil. It's a ritual. And they want
to go to a concert too, like a mass.
Your
visual alter ego, if I may call it like this, Malleus Rock Art Lab,
are responsible for the visual aspects of Ufomammut, but also creates
posters and artwork for other artists and I'd like to know what's
harder, to create the artwork for your own music or for other
artists, and why? Also, are there any specific terms regarding the
choice of the artists you work for/and with? I'm asking this because
as far as I know, Malleus works on film's posters and also for non
metal or heavy music related, artists.
As Ufomammut we like to explore our extremes. So we like heavy music,
but not only. As Malleus, we are very open minded and we are
interested in the “soul” of the music. we don't care about the
genre. And we have different interests: we always put the same
effort in creating for Ufomammut, for other musicians, for a book,
for a movie.
What
is the process of Ufomammut's artwork making? I know that Poia and
Urlo are also the two thirds of Ufomammut and Malleus and so I was
wondering what's Vita's effect on the artwork and also, how big is
Lu's effect in Ufomammut given that she's the one to blame for the
astonishing visual aspect of the band? Would it be safe to state that
she's the unofficial fourth member of the band?
Yes, that's true: we can easily say that visuals Lu creates for
Ufomammut, are fundamental for describing music soundscapes. As we
said, we'd like to add to the list of band members Ciccio, our live
soundlord and Lorenzo, responsible for our sound on the records.
Ufomammut
was given birth back in 1999 and if I'm not mistaken Malleus was born
a couple of years later. How strong are the bonds of their
relationship and if sometime in the (very far, I hope) future, one of
those entities seize to exist, the other one will continue to live or
not?
Both born from Poia and Urlo that are 2/3 of them. They
came out naturally, evolving from the common interests of these
entities and music is the main link. They're
our lives, so hopefully they'll last enough...
What
are the main sources of inspiration for Malleus and what are the main
musical influences of Ufomammut?
A
lot and coming from so many different fields and situation it could
get too long...
How
would you guys describe your music to someone who had never before
listened not even a single tune of yours?
Don't know... Better to listen... We think that psych acid hard heavy
sludge punk rock could work, but not sure...
Is
the music you create and the music of the bands that belong to
Supernatural Cat roster the music you enjoy listening the most? If
not, what do you enjoy to listen to? Do you have any guilty musical
pleasure that you might want to unbosom?
We've different tastes in music and some main bands in common, from
the Beatles to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and so
on... Then
Vita is an old school metal head while Poia and Urlo listen to
different things from folk to metal to country and so on...
Now
that Supernatural Cat Records is mentioned, can you tell us a bit
more about it? What was the main reason that you created a record
label and given by the small and purely Italic roster of it, is this
label a matter of friends or are you interested in cooperating with
other bands also? If yes, what's your criteria of choice?
Malleus created S.C. to help Ufomammut in producing its own music. Then,
during the years, we started in finding out some very cool and
original bands like Morkobot, Lento, ICO and Ovo we'd loved to
produce and help a little to come out. A
band has to be filled by soul, hey need to give us something and it's
difficult to explain in words.
I'm
sorry for this, because although this interview is mainly about Ufomammut, I
can not resist to ask you about the project in which Urlo and Poia
are participating. I'm talking about Farwest Zombee. Shall we expect
something from them in the near future? If yes, would you be kind
enough to share some details about this really interesting project
and its works?
FWZ is a project born from Urlo in the last years and it involves
Poia of Ufomammut, Lorenzer and Fede of Lento and Stefano of the
mighty I.C.O. All
the tracks are recorded, just need to find the time to mix and master. Maybe
we'll see some other guys involved and hopefully it'll come out
before the end of 2012.
Back
to Ufomammut now, all of the band's albums were released by
Supernatural Cat and so is going to be the lp version of ORO,
although that the album's going to be released by Neurot Recordings
also. Can you please tell us a bit more about this collaboration? How
did it all started?
We just enlarged our families. We
have similar ideas, attitudes and tastes. So
when Steve kept in touch, everything came naturally.
Did
this interplay had any effect in your art generally? Are you
satisfied with the job of Neurot Recordings regarding ORO and is
there any contract in force between you two for more albums?
Totally happy, we couldn't ask for more. Future...
Don't like to think about it, present is already quite complicated.
There
were a mini tour promoting ORO last April and as far as I know there
are a few shows already confirmed in Europe for the coming summer.
Shall we expect an extensive tour before the release of Opus Alter?
And is there any chance of enjoying you playing live in my homeland,
Greece, sometime in the coming months?
At
the moment we are trying to move around northern Europe for the next
October, just after the release of Opus Alter. We cannot say more
than this, but we'll obviously like to play in Greece. Hope this
will be possible soon.
Speaking
of Greece, I suppose you know about the financial crisis and as far
as I know, Italy is having some serious problems also. What do you
think of this? Do you believe it's something that can be solved if
sanity prevails or is another hint that the scheduled for the coming
December, end of the world, is approaching?
End of the world, we don't believe to it. Maybe end of a certain way
of playing with virtual money. Mankind will survive to the bank
dictatorship...
And
back to music. Are you familiar with any of the bands of the growing
greek heavy scene and do you have any good recommendations from the
Italian heavy music scene that we should check out?
We don't know too much about greek heavy scene, just tell us some
names. We will do the same with some italian bands like Incoming
Cerebral Overdrive, Morkobot and Ovo. :-)
Do
you prefer playing live in small dark venues where your visuals can
really add something to the whole experience or you enjoy the most
playing in the big arenas of festivals? And considering that your
show is accompanied by visuals, how do you manage to make the magic
happen when playing in a festival where the timeline of appearances
is more strict?
We
must say that, for many reasons, we prefer to play in front of
people :-) We don't care if we are in a small club, or at a big
festival. We put a lot on stage and we have it back multiplied from
our people.
Numerous
live appearances and live shows in the most famous of music
festivals, you've been creating music for quiet a while now and for
the same amount of time you've been spreading the magic of your
visual art through Malleus. Also, you've created your own successful
record label and lately you're working with the mighty Neurot
Recordings. Do you still have any unfulfilled dreams and is there any
incomplete ambitions regarding you and your various art related
projects?
Our ambition is going on own way, focusing more and more for the next
step. We don't consider the results as satisfactory like the road
followed for reaching to them.
Knowing
that live appearances are going to take place in the summer months
and that the second piece of ORO is going to be released early this
autumn, what's your long term future plans regarding Ufomammut? And
do you have any specific plans for the future, regarding the works of
Malleus and Supernatural Cat Records?
Unfortunately, they are secret plans. Even for us :-)
That's
all by me folks. Thank you very much for this interview, I really
appreciate it. The epilogue is yours.
It's been a honor, hope to meet you all soon, in the cradle of our
civilisation.
Malleus Rock Art Lab: Official Website
Supernatural Cat Records: Official Website
Neurot Recordings: Official Website
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