KainKlang MusikMagazine

Interview

How was your last album received by your fans? Which were the (scene – sector) press’ reactions?
There is no doubt that the release of our first CD has caught a little unprepared all our fans who have been supporting us from the very beginning. The difference has been quite obvious, but those people, who have appreciated our sound from the beginning, have also supported us in such an important step.
As the press concerns, things are quite different, because “Precatio” has introduced us to the international music scene for the first time. Starting from the obvious consideration that we are a band still unknown to most people, we have received quite good reviews by most of magazines. We cannot say what critics really got or what they misunderstood, perhaps our only regret is to see a certain (and often common) search for comparisons, as if the only way to explain our music should necessarily be by a comparison with other bands or singers. They could be right observations if they were referred to one or some elements in our album, but, at least in our opinion, they are an aspect that often becomes a mere forcing while trying to define our overall sound.
But “our encounter with reviews” has been mostly full of beautiful surprises, thanks to reviewers like Luca Wild Mucciarelli, Ben Kettner, Vito Cammarretta or the Spanish magazine Lux Atenea, as well as other magazines such as the Covenant Zine, delere Mundi, and obviously KainklangMusikMagazin.
Did anyone support you, or did you do all by yourselves?
We made all by ourselves, including the songs, the production, the arrangements and the graphics of our CD. We obviously take in great account the several collaborations with various musicians, but except for this last aspect, we had no help in the production of our album.
Do you need any particular inner mood or a special atmosphere when you compose new songs?
I don’t think so, until now our music has been just the result of our experiences, and therefore moods were different. I think, it’s impossible to give any kind of name to pure inspiration (it was also an intimate mood), because it’d impoverish both the dialogue and understanding, if one can speak of understanding.
Are there any particular places where you can better concentrate when you write new songs and lyrics?
I do not think an artist can definitely say if there’s a place or an precise time where or when the inspiration comes to life. It can often be just an inkling, it is often something you become aware only later. I believe, an artist can look for inspiration by exploiting certain interpretations of reality, but in the end, he/she has no real evocative power on it.

What are the themes of your lyrics and in which way they influence you?

Music tells stories or draws experiences. Of course, they are elements that can not be completely separated, but by taking a closer look, it’s possible to realize how a lyric could be adapted to both distinctions. Our lyrics rarely tell stories, they’re more like to a kind of awareness that from its being particular wants to become universal. Personally, I love poetry or philosophy, that’s why our lyrics almost always have poetic words.
Do you believe that lyrics are more important than music, don’t you?
We believe, nothing has a secondary importance in a song. It could be the graphics of an album, but even in this case, it is, anyway, an important element.
I find, it’s quite absurd to note that in many cases it is exactly the opposite, even by reading the lyrics of some bands which often have good music value.
This happens maybe because we are much closer to the singer-songwriting music, in which the importance of words wants to be as important as music.


What should we know about the story of the Band?

First of all, it’s important to know all the inspirations that characterized us, because our music wants to be strictly bound to our native places.
Although the stylistic inflections that distinguish our music can mostly be linked to an international context, I firmly believe that, both for the sound and the lyrics, it’s immediately clear how our music is tied to our native places. If we had to conceptualize our music, we could speak of a sort of  ”Mediterranean concept”, a cultural baggage strongly bound to such a defined identity.


Are you satisfied with everything you have achieved until now or what would you change, if you could come back?
I think, it’s right to distinguish between a satisfaction concerning the achieved results and a firm dissatisfaction about the aims to be achieved. We believe, we have done a really good job until now, but we also know, we are too much demanding as to the ideals to be pursued.
An artist should never be satisfied in order to avoid the impoverishment of the same artistic impulse.
We believe that even though we have taken important steps until now, it doesn’t mean we have reach a goal, it is more a question of enriching a given path, which potentially could lead anywhere.

Why did you choose the Band’s name? Is there a deeper meaning behind it?
Even though English is the language of our lyrics, our music has always been permeated by several influences, not only strictly musically speaking.
The choice of the band’s name was, therefore, not completely accidental. The idea was to choose a name in which it was clear both our sound and the language as well.
For this reason it wasn’t enough to have English as the mother tongue of our lyrics, so we chose the Latin language too, because it was able to fill that sort of “split” between the places where our music comes to life and the language it uses in order to express itself.
The term Dialis refers to a specific meaning given by the Roman writer Cicero, and literally means “of just one day”.
Our interpretation has a philosophical connotation, because it attributes to transience -that is what lives just for a moment or “one day” – a close link with what is called eternal, as in its fragility and then decay it almost identifies life and death in the same essence, by emulating the immanence of time.

Which were your personal experiences that urged you to play?
My first muse was poetry; from the very beginning music was just a rib, then over the time the roles reversed, they are still essential for each other, but in a diametrically opposite way.
Personally I can’t say there was a crucial experience, but a series of circumstances that brought me closer and closer to music, some experiences which can clear justify all the decisions I made. More than an experience, it was a journey.

How important is in your opinion the image and personal appearance of a Band in the current (Gothic) music scene? Do you have a special way of dressing?
Nowadays the interest in the image is almost essential for any musical genre.
But it is important to clear up something: if it’s the music, with its inspirations and ideals, to determine the choice of a particular image, there is nothing wrong with it.
But if it’s the image to determine the music played, then, it is just a big mistake.
An artist should always be the reflection of his own art, and of course, he isn’t compelled to have a particular  image; more than anything else, it should basically be something spontaneous, but unfortunately it rarely happens.
As for the gothic genre, it often happens to fall into the same stereotypes.
Maybe, we could decide to dress up as a clown for the next album… it could be an idea! ..

What is your favourite audience? Is there a special one, you would like address your music to?
If we speak about a kind of audience meant as a crowd, I find it hard to imagine our audience in such a way, at least at present. Since our music wants to be particular, our ideal audience is more than a crowd of people jumping at a concert, it’s probably more like individuals who attend a theatrical performance or the presentation of a book.
Moreover, I want to say that it does not assume that our songs do not go well in both cases. This is more a kind of introspective approach to the art of music, but not for this reason it could seem more complicated in order to involve people and be understood.



Is there “the” difference between the German audience and the audience abroad?

I think, we do not have the experience to judge it; the only detail is a certain heterogeneity of the German audience compared to other nations, including Italy of course. While in most countries most of the audience focuses on one or two specific genres, in Germany we noticed a greater segmentation and stratification of the audience, and we consider it to be a strength, as this allows the flourishing of several music genres, avoiding that music always revolves around a single predominant genre, clearly risking to flatten and become flat.

What can you tell us about your Live performances? Do you often have the opportunity to play Live?
We haven’t had this opportunity yet. It depends on several reasons, first of all, because of economic troubles. So we decided to concentrate on the writing and releasing of our songs. It’s superfluous to say, we hope as soon as possible to bring our music on the stages, we are just waiting for the time is ripe.

In which Country would you like to go on tour?

In Germany, but basically we wish to visit every country.

Which country did you strike most on your last tour? How could you describe your music to those people who haven’t listened to it yet?
It’s a very difficult question. We usually invite people, who ask us what kind of music we play, simply to listen to it, also because, without being too proud, we clearly know that it is not easy to be classified into a particular genre. Obviously, the Gothic component is evident, but we think, it’s quite reductive to define our music just like Gothic music.
Moreover, our songs and our inspirations are often born outside the Gothic and later on they move in that direction; it’s probably because our sound is not very far from the singer-songwriting music, sharing with it the clear opening to several influences which are unavoidable for those people who live music as something inseparable from the need to grow and learn.
How important is the (musical) success for you?
It’s extremely important, but it is good to specify what success is in our opinion. The first concern of an artist is to seek a recognition for his/her own art.
Well, this is essential for the obvious and clear need to find a consent, but it should not be the first requirement of an artist. The artist makes art first and foremost for himself, if the audience came first, it would be just business (only raw commercial music).
For an artist the consent, and then recognition must be linked above all to the wish to pursue his/her own music; without an audience music is likely to go out, but first of all, it might not have to eat, and this is the essential fact .
The problem is that it’s often too easy to forget the inalienable right of the artist to be able to live on his/her own art, confusing this right with those people who love getting rich by making art just as a commodity, as if it was impossible nowadays to distinguish the two things.
Success is essential so that music could have the right to grow, not to get fat.
Do you associate any of your dreams with music? (If yes, which ones?)
We have dreams, and they are extremely important dreams, but they are all linked to just one goal, that is to carry on our music; if we have such an opportunity, we will be more than dreamers.


What kind of difficulties are you facing as a Band at the moment? Or everything goes, as it should be?
Difficulties were great from the very beginning. We lack in money and a real external help, and especially we have no certainty for the future.
We have gone on supported by our own resources until now, the results achieved have been important giving us new life, but every day is harder.
They are not difficulties only related to music. I see that the bad social and economic situation that always characterizes Southern Italy is still unknown beyond the Alps.
Beyond the difficult economic situation, our southern regions suffer from a constant lack in jobs, institutional and social degradation. We went through heavy sacrifices in order to scrape together the money we needed for the release of our album; it may seem absurd, but in our regions, people lost their jobs or, as in our case, nobody has ever had one.
I do not think it is right to dwell on such a topic, but we believe, what we have just mentioned is, unfortunately, a well established fact.
Is it important for you to be also known on the Net?
Yes, it is. It is also, at the moment, our only way to have a dialogue with our audience and the world in general, since we are still not able to play live performances.
Our wish, of course, is that we will have as soon as possible the opportunity to voice our music through other media.

What would you like to achieve, musically speaking, in the next future?
We are planning to produce a second album, and many other songs. Our main aim is always the same strong will  to improve our music.
If there is such an opportunity, we know, we will be able to seize it without delay. We know we are going the right way, this is enough to be motivated and to go on and on.


What wouldn’t you ever do for money?

Everything can be done for money, it’s a pity that we are artists, and therefore our relationship with money is not idyllic .. what would we never do for money? It’ s difficult to say, but what is sure is that if we were here just for money, we’re just going the wrong way!
Which models or heroes do you have?
Our models come from music and literature, and painting as well.
We like to look at those people who have been able to give important pages to the history, their heritage should coincide with all the responsibilities for those people coming after them. Responsibilities that, first of all, aim at not frustrating their teaching, making ourselves an example.
After all, the artist has often been, in his clear selfishness, a rare model of martyrdom.
What would you do after playing music?
We want to have eight children and live in the country! No, come on, joking apart. At the moment, after music we can only see other music, and that’s enough.


What would you take with you on a desert island?
I don’t know, but if we had to go on a desert island, the list would be too long, or maybe there would be no list at all. I suppose that if there was such an eventuality, the choice would be impromptu.
Thanks very much for this interview and all the best for the future!
Thank you Claudia, thank you especially for this opportunity, we really hope to see you soon in the future. Meanwhile, we can only wish you and your magazine all the best. See you soon!
Claudia Wagner