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|
| Date |
August 2008 |
| Type |
Interview |
| Source |
Goldfrapp.free.fr |
| Title |
Exclusibve Q&A with Davide Rossi |
| Country |
France |
| Journalist/Photographer |
|
| Text |
- Davide,was that you on stage with The Verve at Glastonbury?
If it was how did that all come about.
Yes it was me. I've been working on the new Verve's album, which will come out pretty soon I think. We've been talking about playing on stage together and when the opportunity came up at Glastonbury we just went for it.
- What do you think about the selection of singles from Seventh Tree. Is it true the uber fantastic Clowns is set for release?
I'm not allowed to say anything about this stuff (eheh)... also because I don't know anything about these kind of decisions until they are actually made. Having said that I think that Clowns is probably one of the best songs I've heard in the last decade, so it should rightly deserve a special treatment...
-Have you ever introduced to Goldfrapp any kind of italian music? what was their reaction/comment?
Only if we are really bored and tired during touring and if we need a laugh backstage, I introduce them to some crazy euro-italian-shit stuff, of course accompanied by my own personal danced interpretation of it! Ehm... I don't really listen to any Italian music and I don't know much about it at all, since I don't live there from 1994 I'm trying to forget about Italian pop/rock music all-together. Of course I'm well aware of our heritage of great composers like Vivaldi, Corelli, Albinoni and Paganini for instance and during the 50's and 60' we also had some pretty good stuff too (like Morricone, Rota, Carosone and the like for example) but I don't feel particularly proud about Italian music right now... more about the wine and the food!
-I noticed you do really fancy work on Human and the acoustic Ohh La La, as well as some equally pristine parts in Clowns or Utopia. Do you have a lot of musical input on the songs you perform? Do you have any particularly favorite song or album to perform from? If you were to listen to only one musical group or genre for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I would say that all of the band members apart of Alison and Will obviously (that is me, Alex, Angie, Charlie, Ged and Ruth) have a huge input on the Goldfrapp's live show. During the rehearsal period of each tour we try to bring to life what Alison and Will do so amazingly well on studio. I personally love to perform songs like 'Ooh la la' and 'Train' at festivals because the audience goes crazy and songs like 'Clowns' and 'Utopia' in theaters because they sound so huge and fulfilling. If I had to choose one song from Seventh Tree I would choose 'Little Bird'. That song goes really somewhere else at gigs and we always love to do it.
I really hope I will never have to listen to just one group or genre of music for the rest of my life.... that sounds like actual torture to me! I love so much different stuff. Music is like food to me and we all need a balanced diet which changes with time and needs, don't we?
-About this year's tour... presumably there's been quite a different vibe from previous tours - what with the more mellow Seventh Tree songs, and of course the extra musicians. Personally, I'm loving the added dimension Ruth's harp and Alex's acoustic guitar give. Has it been going as expected? I note a few up-tempo songs from earlier albums have recently been added to the setlist... Oh, and do you enjoy playing the violin (live) as-much/more-than guitar/keytar? And...can he play a flute in each ear simultaneously?
Well, I think I can say this is probably the best incarnation of the Goldfrapp band I have experienced so far. Ruth and Alex are fantastic musicians and their input has been key especially for the new material. And let's not forget that we also have a new amazing drummer in Ged Lynch, although good old Rowan left a legacy of great gigs of his own. But this is Goldfrapp, ever changing and ever expanding and hopefully always to the better.
I love to perform with different instruments and I have to thank Goldfrapp for it. When we started with Felt Mountain it was just violin and now is electric and acoustic guitar, electric violin, recorder, keytar and backing vocals... once I even played dulcima on a cover of 'Boys Will Be Boys' of the Ordinary Boys, which we did for a b-side a couple of years ago. So, until they will ask me to try new stuff I will never be shy to get on with it!
And by the way, the double recorder ear technique is something which took decades of hard work and labour to master, so I'm not prepared to share it so light-heartedly in such interviews.... hope you will understand (eheh)...
-Do you have a favorite violin concerto, if so which?
Again, that changes with times I suppose... perhaps at the moment I will say the Bela Bartok 2nd violin concerto is defenitely one of my favs.
-Do you know how to fiddle and if so, did you teach yourself?
No, I went to the Conservatoire in Torino and then Milano, had a Russian teacher, did classical competition and all that stuff for many many years...
- I'd like to ask Davide at what it was like getting back with Alison & Will after the break since the Supernature tour. How did he feel about the music for Seventh Tree and did it surprise him as much as it did many on the GMB? What are his favourites from the album?
Going back to prepare a new tour with Alison and Will is always exiting and it's really like going back home for me. They are and they'll always be part of my musical family. I remember, during the making of Seventh Tree, Alison would play me some demoes of the new stuff and I though right from the start they sounded utterly amazing. I will never doubt their talent, I always know that when they are in the studio they are about to make some ground-braking incredible music... they are just so good and it's a privilege to work with them.
-Also, are there any particular challenges around creating the live sound (especially this time with all the new band members and instruments)?
Well, there is always challenges in this job as in any job that aims to be creative or the like. Having said that, I think this is the best mixture of acoustic and electronic stuff we have been doing for ages and the new and the old elements of our music repertoire are well assorted at the moment. It's quite liberating to be able to discuss set-lists almost on a daily basis, considering the variety of the material at disposal. I remember in the old days we were more stuck about the songs we could do or not.
-Do you enjoy the challenge of playing new material live, or is it better to get your teeth into something you know well?
Both are essentials: the new material brings freshness and new blood to a live gig, but the good oldies are the ones that make you connect with the audience better.
-Are there any albums that, after all this time in music, you can listen to purely for enjoyment - ones that you'd take to a desert island?
As I said earlier, I listen to much stuff and that that varies all the time. I really go in periods... sorry I cannot give you the ultimate album... I think that if I was stuck in a desert island I would probably be more concerned about getting something to eat and to drink to be honest... I could always find some coconuts to bang here and there if I needed to hear some sounds.
-Those of us on the Goldfrapp board are obviously big fans of Goldfrapp. What bands/artists caught your attention like this - any you 'followed' when younger?
I was a huge fan of Madness since when I was 10, then I remember being also a big fan of Frank Zappa for many years. I think that being a musician kills the romanticism of being an actual fan although I still have love and respect for many artists of the past and of today.
-Can you believe you've now been a part of Goldfrapp for 8 years! Which was your favourite gig so far and do you think there's another 8 years left in Goldfrapp.
I know, it's already 8 years and it feels like not such a long time at all!
I have many favorite gigs with Goldfrapp... the ones that i remember the most? The first Brixton Academy and the first time at the Other Stage at Glastonbury were perhaps some of the more unforgettable gigs ever. On this tour the very first gig at the Union Chapel and the one at the Royal Albert Hall were pretty special too.
I wish to continue to collaborate with Goldfrapp in the future and I'm sure we will for many years, until they'll want me to of course.
-What has been the weirdest moment you've experienced on your travels and tribulations with Goldfrapp.
Like... being on tour... that is so fucking weird all the time... full stop...
-Has he ever been accidenly whacked by one of the dancers? I imagine it gets a bit scary up there with people not being able to see through costume!
At the Royal Albert Hall, one of the dancers (Lena), gave me a right punch during little bird and my bow fell in the floor... thank God that was during a moment I wasn't actually playing... Lots of times the most bizzare things would happen on stage... I kinda just get on with it and work with it.
-the mighty pedal rack that Davide uses. what is it and how many pedals does it actually have?
That is my actual bedroom that I use on tour to rest and sleep in between cities... there is also a toilet and a small kitchen... you know... The size of it has been subject of jokes by the whole crew... are you (the person who's asking me this question) actually a member of our crew????;)
-Davide obviously has a strong involvement with the live show, but does he have any input in the composition of new material?
No, I never have any input in any of the compositions. That is entirely Alison and Will's cup of tea, not mine.
-I read that he's composed some strings on Coldplay's latest album.. How was it working with the band (did he actually work in the studio with them, or do things on his own?) and then also what is his favorite track from it?
Yes, I've been working with Coldplay for about 1 and half year, more or less the time that Goldfrapp took to do Seventh Tree. Well, working with the boys was of course a great experience too and real fun as well. Yes, I worked in studio with them and Eno and also on my own at my home studio. That's how I do it I guess. There are six tracks in the Album where I contributed and perhaps one of my favorites at the moment is 'Yes'.
-What track is most difficult to play?
For me probably... no... actually, Clowns... that is a real challenge... really high parts with strings and backing vocals at the same time... kind of a nightmare.
- You are one of the earliest touring members of Goldfrapp. How did you first meet them? And how was it like getting to know Alison and Will for the first time many years ago?
I am the oldest band member apart of Alison and Will of course. Charlie and Angie came on during Black Cherry, so there you have it...
I met Will during a session for a movie in a studio in Bath called 'Terra Incognita', the studio of Peter Hammil, which sadly doesn't exist anymore. That was 1998. After that Will called me to join the band about a year and a half later and we've been collegues and friends since then. Alison: I first met her during our very first Goldfrapp rehearsal in the spring of 2000 I believe. I think i got a crush on Alison for about a week and then I had to control myself and get on with the job (eheh)!
- Who comes up with your outfits when touring with Goldfrapp; you or the band? And who made them or cobbled them together for the tours?
Alison has the main vision of what it should look like on stage and it's real fun to dress up. I usually end up with the craziest outfits... I sort of put them on and people say YEAAAHHH!
- As a producer, how do you prepare yourself for a new project? And how collaborative are you when working with an artist?
I never really prepare myself, when I get into a studio I am myself in that moment, with my past and present experiences at disposal. Of course is important to be as open as possible and committed to the fullest if I'm working with with any artist. There is no other way of doing it for me.
- As a touring musician, what instrument do you always bring with you and can’t live without?
Well, obviously the violin!
- In today’s music marketplace, is it better being a musician without a label or do musicians still need a label? And if you could share your thoughts or opinions on that.
That's a though one. I think is not as easy to say one or the other. Unfortunately, a musician or a band, if he, she or they are willing to make it, they will need some kind of funding that only a label could possibly give them. But it is also true that record lables have been acting like huge assholes for far too many years and now their collapse, economically and culturally, is obviously inevitable. I somehow think that however painful the process may seem, it will bring a new wave of artists (and hopefully managers and lawyers too) that will find a way do it in a different manner. In this respect I think that this period in the history of our culture is a very interesting one, because a lot of things, not just music, are at stake. |
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