INTERVIEW
WITH SARRAZINE (italian version)
by Giancarlo Bolther Your
new record is very deep and aesthetic at the same time, what kind
of music do you want to create?
Thank you, this CD was a collaboration of various artists
so I cannot take the compliment only for myself, it reflects the taste
of more than one person. My input in this was the choice of the songs
(most of them except for Iron Horse and Music for a Whale) and their
interpretation. I did also two original pieces "A-stase"
and "Who am I?" but they also were collaborations. All the
people involved are Electro in essence. All these factors make the
music what it is and the coherence of the project, at one point we
were worried with so many cooks! As for the depth I see it more as
maturity, we are all passed our teens and it must transpire in the
music. I do not have a style as such yet neither do I feel I belong
to a genre. As a composer I am just at the babbling stage and I don't
know yet if I will pass it!! My choices at this point are more about
the kind of songs I like to sing and if they suit me.
Can
you tell us more about the the making of the new album?
As I said it was a collaboration. I had worked with Phil
Von as a guest on previous albums and we had said it would be great
to do one together. Two years ago we started on it then Phil realised
for practical reasons he couldn't do all the tracks so he came up
with the idea of asking some of his friends to participate, most of
them I knew. This is how he became the artistic producer. Without
the internet it could not have been done, me living in London the
others in Belgium Switzerland Barcelona Paris... Istanbul!!! As for
the process some started with a voice track others with a music track,
a few fell almost immediately into place the others took much more
time.
Where have you found the ispiration to write this album?
It started with the Marc Almond track also I knew and loved
some medieval songs (Sarrazine, Blood River, Pour mon Courage, not
here original tiles) and the Henri Duparc "invitation au voyage"("la
tristesse du roi") This gave the general atmosphere, impulse.
How is born your musical carreer, is this the first time that
you record an album?
I started my career as a dancer I studied in "Mudra",
Maurice Bejart was the artistic Director there were good voice teachers
there. Then I joined the "Lindsay Kemp" Company and I sung
in most of the productions, in London after a show I met Phil. When
I moved to London I started a band with an Italian artist Luca Mainardi
we went in studio and all but it didn't lead to anything in the meantime
I had sung on some Von Magnet CD (Phil) and appeared in some of their
concerts.
Would you like to tell us the meaning of the name Sarrazine,
does it is your “alter-ego”?
All the others had stage names so why not me? I am not at
the beginning of my career, and most of it has been on the stage playing
characters and most of the shows didn't fall in any category, so to
have my name on a "Pop" record at this stage felt very awkward,
an Alter Ego gave me freedom. Sarrazine is the title of a Balzac novel,
it is also the name of its main character It is a very beautiful name.
The story is quite perverse, baroque and decadent a great combination!!!
An adaptation of it was made for the stage in London in which I appeared,
it was one of the best shows I have ever done. You see.... I HAD to
take a "pseudonym"
Looking at the artwork of the cover you remembered to me artists
like Mark Bolan and David Bowie, how much were you inspired by these
musicians?
It is a very "Glam" cover.... Another link with
Bowie and Bolan is my years with Lindsay Kemp, in the 70's Lindsay
knew them well, he worked with Bowie or shall I say Bowie worked with
him, I think they have influenced each other aesthetically.
Are you planning a tour to promote the album? What kind of
show are you thinking of, it will be a theatrical performance?
I am planning to do so, this is a studio album to translate
it live will be a challenge. I would like to include some live musicians
on top of the pre-recorded tracks, big job for the sound engineer.
It should also be a "staged" concert may be with a couple
of performers. I put all this in an hypothetical mode because it will
all depend on the money I find for the production. Anybody interested??
Which are your fave bands/artists, the ones that inspires
you best? How do you feel about the new bands and the new genres?
If I had to choose one it would be the Velvet Underground.
I don't listen to new stuff very much, lately I listen a lot to classical
music, Opera in particular French Opera is my new fad Werther by Massenet.
Which are your ambitions and expectations about the future?
To do the concerts, make another CD, as for the more far
out stuff direct an Opera, be in a science fiction movie, go on a
Yoga retreat in India, visit Iran, oh yes! I saw quite a few years
ago a beautiful show in London "La Gata Cenerentola" I would
love to work with the director: Roberto De Simone ... as I told you
before I speak Italian quite well (a Neapolitan accent might be difficult
though)
Do you have a philosophy? Your vision of the world is...
To live a good life. It doesn't seem to be as easy as I hoped!
As for my vision of the world I find it hard enough to cope with the
daily reality of my inconsequent life that I don't think I can bring
myself to contemplate the Planet's
What is the greatest challenge for your future?
To die well
GB
Reviews (in italian): Sarrazine
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