A sort of introduction to Sparkle in Grey’s unique and hybrid-like musical universe, bringing to the fore a better appreciation about compositional motives as well as musical directions embodied by the collective.
Sparkle in Grey is a chamber post-rockin’ electronic collective which has its roots in experimental music, constantly in search of unfamiliar sounds, new ways of interacting electronic schemas with soulful instrumentals. They are based in Milan and contributed admirably to the world of independent music with a bunch of colorful albums, accompanied by lively and intriguing performances. This interview is a sort of introduction to Sparkle in Grey’s unique and hybrid-like musical universe, bringing to the fore a better appreciation about compositional motives as well as musical directions embodied by the collective. They’ve recently published their last effort entitled Thursday Evening; a structurally complex, progressive inflected medley of textures and dynamic instrumentals that clearly deserve a serious interest and listen to all followers of uncompromisable-independent electronic music.
Philippe / Igloo :: As a starting point I would like to know how the band was formed and how did it come to existence in terms of signature and contract with labels ? What was the musical line you wanted to develop and defend at first sight?
Matteo Uggeri :: Maybe strange but we can tell different stories about how the band was formed. One says that Sparkle in Grey has its roots in the friendship first between me and Cristiano Lupo: we played together for long time in a very strange band called Norm before we met Alberto on a football camp. He later on proposed me to play with him and I brought Cris. Franz met Alberto in a music school, they become good friends and so he joined us after few months. The band in this sense exists since 2005. We didn’t really have any ‘contract’ with labels… we have our one and we invest a lot of time and efforts in publishing music. This helps us to keep all the different musical lines we want to follow, from electronic, to rock, to progressive to industrial, to folk. For each album we try to get the support of other ‘real’ labels that may help us, and so far the Swiss Old Bicycle is really the best one in this sense.
How do your artistic sensibilities work together? Who is responsible of what in the compositional phase and writing process?
I think that one of the best thing of SiG is the fact that we have quite different musical tastes and attitudes, so the final mixture comes from influences of nearly any kind, maybe sometimes I bring more ‘industrial’ feelings and ideas, Alberto more rock, Cris more new wave and Franz something classical, but it’s not always like that, it changes all the time. The fact is that 90% of our creative process is into the rehearsals room where we meet and improvise in order to define the songs, and afterward we refine the tracks re-playing it many times until it satisfies us all (more or less!). Usually after the final recording is done I add some more subtle layer (vocal samples, field recordings) during the premixing and we discuss for further potential arrangements to add, maybe then asking to other musicians to collaborate.
How do your approach music in terms of inspirations, ideas, doubts and forming experiences ? How do you articulate your ideas?
We articulate our ideas mostly when we have dinner together, time ago on Thursday evening, now on Wednesday, in Alberto’s house or in a pizzeria, and afterward at Silos, the rehearsals room. On my side I may say that I also spend a lot of time thinking about music when I’m doing other things, especially while I drive or when something hits my rage and imagination, like the news or the contact with other musicians. Nowadays I think that a lot of inspiration comes to us through the awkward political, economical and social situation we live.
I think that if friendship has been the driving force that brought us together, it must be the pivot to keep us fight together and play the music we’d like to see out.
The more minimalistic textures of the early years are progressively taking part into a vast and dynamically complex musical ensemble, evolving into a vast register where we can meet field recordings, traditional post-rockin’ excursions, dream-pop ambient, bleak noises, elements of folk music… everything combined and strategically organized in an unusual-orchestrated way. Retrospectively how would you describe the successive changes from one album to another? Any transitional album in your trajectory?
Well, first of all thanks for this accurate and interesting analysis of our music! Yes, we do change our styles from an album to the other, and we need to try new roads. Maybe we get bored easily, or we like to taste different approaches and sounds. I noticed your use of the word “strategically”: it’s true. I must admit that we think about all the steps we make in collecting our musical efforts in albums that are published one after the other. There is a project behind it, and a lot of talking and thinking. Sometimes it’s perhaps not too easy for listeners to follow our intricate path, but we hope that our way to build and design our poetic will be appreciated. This is the reason why we already know now the titles and styles of the next three albums we’ll release (‘dunno when, anyway!).
I firstly discovered Sparkle in Grey’s music thanks to the solo work of Matteo under the moniker of Hue. I was literally convinced by it. Back in those times I was preparing a book around the musical personality of Maurizio Bianchi (pioneering artist in the field of 80s power industrial electronic music). I wanted to release a short monographic study which could include chosen interpretation about the works of a few contemporary Italians artists who collaborated with him…then I logically discovered the conceptual album Nefelodhis (collaborative work between Maurizio Bianchi and Sparkle in Grey). This was my first introduction to Sparkle in Grey back around 2008. I was literately transported by the droning magnificence and magical transport of this album than I consider it as a major release in the post-rockin experimental realms. Does this meeting with Maurizio Bianchi consciously shown a new improvement in your musically creative direction ? How would you like to define Sparkle in Grey’s other collaborative works (notably thinking about Tex La Homa)?
Thanks again…! And about our collaborations: I love the interaction with other musicians, because every time you work with someone else you discover new things you perhaps never heard before coming from you. Maurizio is a great and mysterious artist, and working on Nefelodhis was strange because it’s a 100% improvised record from the SiG side. We recorded few musical sessions on the sounds that MB gave us and then I made some mixing and post production. For Tex La Homa; it was totally different. We had these two tracks, very calm and melancholic, very soft and mostly acoustic, in a may say ‘Kranky style’ and we wanted to make an LP with someone on the same wavelength. We asked Balmorhea, Peter Broderick and Tex La Homa but only this last one was so kind to accept. We’re still in touch with Matt Shaw, he’s a really good guy and a talented musician. Personally, I’d love to collaborate more with foreign musicians now, especially African ones maybe.
You have performed many live and installations. I consider partly Sparkle in Grey as a live-band. What time and energy do you consecrate for this experience next to studio recording sessions?
The other three SiG are really into live acts, and I think that when we have the (rare) opportunity to play live often, we do good concerts. But it’s very difficult with the set we have (many instruments, the laptop, etc.) and the limited amount of time we have to travel. I’m a studio guy. I’m perhaps a control freak. So I like playing live but I prefer to keep my hands on knobs and cursors in the rehearsal or in the studio, maybe beside a good professional like Giuseppe Ielasi, Cristiano Santini or Andrea Serrapiglio.
What are the equipment and musical gear we can expect to discover when you are in studio?
Difficult question. Each time we go to record to a new studio we allow the engineer to choose the best he think may suit to our music (if I well understood the question.) None of us is a gear freak, we’re not really into the recording technology, but we are at the same time demanding for the results in terms of sounds (recording, mixing, mastering).
How do you consider Sparkle in Grey’s musical personality today? How would you define your style inside a frame of references?
It’s so difficult. The best thing a journalist ever said about us in terms of our style was Giovanni Linke, who said that we are the “paladins of the non-genre”.
I’ve noticed that the band works more like a musical family with a largely free spirit who occasionally enable many guest musicians to participate in the adventure. How does it happen and what does this state of mind and conception bring to the global musical alchemy?
“Musical family” sounds lovely! Yes, we like to involve other musicians, including real relatives (Lucja, the pianist, is the sister of Franz Krostopovic) or good friends. In this sense in the last two albums (and in the forthcoming “Brahim Izdag”) Simone Riva is a constant presence at drums that brings something really special. He’s the best drummer I know, but at the same time he’s not there to show how good he is. He knows always how to find a drumline that fits with the electronic beats and the melodies of the other instruments. His specialties are polyrhythm and the “Fibonacci Series” in music. Each time he tries to explain what it means we don’t understand, but we love what he plays. Moreover, in the acoustic record we’re going to issue in 2014, The Calendar, there are other guest, like Letizia Sechi at the clarinet, Luca Giordani at the accordion, Alessandro Pipino at the saw and others. We are an open and welcoming family!
Emotionally speaking and based on my own perception the band seems to be inclined to leading thematic such as daydreaming, isolated states, derision and self-irony, absurdism, sweet melancholia and subjective wandering. Do you have a few words to describe the specific imaginary and evocative qualities which surround your musical universe as well as the originality of the graphics (which appears to be inseparable to the music, this from the very beginning of the band’s existence)?
Among the quantity of your suggestions, I think that self-irony is the one who fits us the most, both in musical and graphic terms. We laugh a lot when we meet, and we joke all the time, but it’s also true that this is a reaction to the absurd and weird reality we face on our daily lives. Moreover, melancholia is something that falls into our music almost every time we begin to play. All of us have—I think—a natural attitude to melancholic melodies, even when we don’t want. My wife says that “there’s always something apocalyptic into Sparkle in Grey music” (and she does not mean it as a compliment!).
Have you ever tried to work with other medias or artistic languages (cinema, visual-art things, new theater…)? I’ve seen an amazing cartoon based on the track “Goose Game.” Does this kind of experimentation present a particular interest or a field of possible explorations?
Yes, we did that video and it took us so much time and effort. I don’t think we’ll have the resources to do again something similar. But Cristiano and Franz in particular are really into films and cinema, and they often suggest to use visuals in our live acts, for instance. We’d like to, but it takes a lot of effort if you want to do something good. Alberto also is experimenting on stop motion with stones for the last album, and with great results, but it’s that kind that need two hour of work for 10’’ of video!
What are your plans and perspectives to come to keep up the band’s vitality?
My God! That’s a scary question! Keep up the band’s vitality. It’s a key issue, really. We face disappointment and stress periodically, and we’re getting older and poorer every year. But I think that if friendship has been the driving force that brought us together, it must be the pivot to keep us fight together and play the music we’d like to see out. I hope it’s gonna work forever.
For more information about Sparkle In Grey, visit www.sparkleingrey.com.
