“ZETA RETICOLI (feat. Cristiano Godano)” is the title of the new arrangement of the famous 2004 single by Meganoidi, released 20 years after its release.
20 years have passed since the release of an iconic song of Italian music from the early 2000s. What does it feel like today when we think back to those times and retrace this period? We asked Luke Guerciohistorical trumpeter and guitarist of the Genoese band, as well as creator of the new arrangement of Zeta Reticoli.
I think it was really cool! I don't look back with nostalgia, but as the beginning of a journey that brought us here, today. I'm extremely pleased that the new arrangement with which we wanted to celebrate Zeta Reticles was so well received. It was done in one go and in an extremely emotional way.
After all, if Outside the Loop Stupendous Sensationa completely different album from the first, with Zeta Reticles gave us a second youth, the realization of this new version of the single even gave us a third youth. Maybe our way of conceiving the craft of recording and self-production will not always be mainstream, but in its own way it works”
How did the collaboration with Cristiano Godano of Marlene Kuntz come about and how did the arrangement develop?
I created the arrangement quite impulsively. With Davide Di Muzio, our singer, with whom we now form a sort of artistic “de facto couple”, we were discussing the fact that in our circuit we often tend to collaborate with “close” artists. This happens both to facilitate a yes to the proposal, and for a natural tendency to be rather closed – and we Genoese are not famous for our openness!
We felt that staying anchored to our underground circuit was not the right path. So we decided to go beyond our boundaries and contact an artist that we respect and love particularly: Cristiano Godano. Even though we had crossed paths several times over the years, we had never had the opportunity to stop and talk and say: “Let's do something together”. We tried and Cristiano welcomed the proposal with enthusiasm. When there is affinity and mutual respect from an artistic point of view, working together becomes natural, as if we had known each other forever. With Cristiano it was love at first listen and the mutual respect was immediately consolidated.
What do you think was Cristiano's greatest and most important contribution to the individual? How did he make a difference?
Cristiano is not just an artist; he is made of music. He is deeply immersed in music, and unlike many other artists, he considers it something that goes beyond his own ego. He is literally at the service of music, and I think many artists should learn from him in this. His contribution is expressive, open: he arrived with an attitude of comparison and availability, which is not easy when there are many of you.
And in fact the collaboration between you doesn't stop here. In fact, you are working on a new version of a song from Godano's solo album “Mi ero perso il cuore”…
Yes, we thought about rearranging a piece this time chosen by him, “Ti Voglio Dire”. It is not only one of my favorite songs by Godano, but one of those that I love the most in absolute. Imagine my surprise when he asked us, I was so happy.
With Meganoidi you are grinding out one concert after another with the “Brucia Ancora Tour”, you will stop in a lot of Italian locations and you will be on the road all summer and beyond. How is it going?
It's going very well, we're constantly on the road and, compared to other realities, our calendar is always very busy. We've been on tour for 26 years and we've played over 1200 concerts… I don't know why people haven't gotten tired of us yet! If they continue to follow us, we can only be happy. The tour is giving us great satisfaction because, in my opinion, we have a characteristic that works very well beyond the purely artistic aspect: at the end of the concert we get off the stage, chat with people, listen to what they have to say, accepting both compliments and criticisms. Those who follow us and come to our live shows are not just fans, but part of a sort of extended family. We care about talking to people because it's an aspect that, unfortunately, is being lost more and more.
Well, maybe that's why people haven't gotten tired of you yet and they hardly ever will! 🙂
For many, as we say in Genoa, it may seem like a “bullshit”, but for me it is and will always be a privilege to get off the stage and receive praise as well as to hear someone say “I didn’t like that album”. Why? I want to understand it. I want to compare myself. It happens to me too that I listen to albums by bands that I follow, but that I like less than others. I always tend to think like this: sometimes you’re not ready to listen to something and you tend to judge or express hasty opinions. I, on the other hand, want to dialogue, understand the why, get to the bottom of it. That’s why I always look for the opportunity to do it, and I’m very happy when others do it with us.
In this regard, have you noticed any changes, especially generational, among Meganoidi fans? Do you have a hard core that has followed you since the beginning or is there also a younger following?
The core group remains, our peers continue to follow us, but I also notice the presence of many young people, which shows that, once again, word of mouth and shared listening with the previous generation work perhaps more effectively than many radio passages. A bit like in my day, when – I still had hair! – we went to music stores to discover new releases and listened to them there, at the moment. Perhaps you tend to fall in love with something more when it is recommended by someone you respect.
And here you give me a nice assist for the next question: what do you think of these times in which the use of music has become much more “disposable” and the turnover is so rapid?
Music, nowadays, is increasingly a product to be consumed quickly and then thrown away. I have my own opinion on this: I don't know how long this mechanism will last. In doing so, in fact, not only are the songs thrown away, but also the artists. They are no longer considered for their artistic value, but mainly for how they appear. Be careful, appearing is important and is part of the show; music is also this, let's not forget it. However, I don't know how long this method will work. On an economic level it could last forever, but will artists be willing to submit to these rules forever? We have never succeeded and not because we think it is right or wrong, we have simply never been capable of it.
Among the albums you have recorded, is there one in particular that you consider your artistic manifesto?
Yes, what I consider a summary of what Meganoids are are Delirio Experience of 2018 and Mix of 2020. Not because they are the last, but because in these works we have not been ashamed in any way of who we were, who we are and what we want to be. In the past, perhaps, we have fallen into the trap of making pieces because “they had to be done that way”, perhaps transforming a pop song into a rock song or vice versa. With the maturity and freedom of those who have chosen to do only what they like, we have focused more on certain types of arrangements. It is no coincidence that we started doing unplugged live, also to adapt to the post-Covid period, when not all realities could afford to organize electric concerts with adequate spaces. It was very interesting to translate our repertoire into a guitar and voice version.
Is there anything you've wanted to do as a band that you haven't done yet (and maybe you're planning to)?
There is, and we are working on it: a live behind closed doors! We are studying to do it in a particular location, probably in the fall. We haven't figured out the modalities yet. We would like to involve our usual collaborators, including Beppe Platania of Lucerna Films and Andrea Morghen of Aurora Vision who I met at a live unplugged, they are very good producers and directors. We still have to fine-tune a few things, we'll see!
Would you like to share with us a memorable moment from the last twenty years?
There is an anecdote that still makes me laugh a lot, when I think about it. It was 2004, that year we did a series of concerts in a row that, hearing them like this, you wouldn't believe it: Milan, Pordenone, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya… and then Bra. This alone would be enough to define the “memorable”, but there's more: we enter one of the Japanese clubs where we were supposed to play and I hear a voice behind me saying “Ah, so, it's you! What the hell are you doing here?!” And it was a girl who was studying oriental languages there, and who had seen us play in Milan two weeks before.
Can you give us a little preview of what the next album will be like?
The next album will certainly have the typical Meganoidi matrix, always with what I like to ironically define as “pushed singer-songwriter”. The new version of Zeta Reticles inspired us to conceive a more orchestrated arrangement. This direction is very intriguing to us and we could continue to explore it.
Last question Luca: what's playing in your playlist today?
Aside from Meganoidi – at least that way I can pay my mortgage! – Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Beck, Marlene Kuntz and Cristiano Godano, Harry Styles. I’m pretty omnivorous, maybe I’ll move on to Steely Dan and Motown, then classical and trumpet literature.
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