Talco - Interview 2016

Intro:

What has your band name to do with your childhood ?

Not so much, it’s just a demential name that we have since the day we were born, just to give sense to our past spirit, we were just young guys that played without any plan, and writing stupid nonsense song….but it was a wonderful period so we decided to keep that name for the rest of our life!

What has changed in the 16 years after your foundation in 2000?

6 albums, one live cd and many many concerts all around Europe and not only…it's the best starting point for explaining how many experiences we had on these years and with the same enthusiasm as the beginning. We're more mature, and sometime having more responsibility than year ago is very stressful for us, but we're living with our passion, so I think that the thing that is changed in these 16 years, is this: Talco began to be our life and not only a hobby!

Often people mention the band name Ska-P when your music is described. Blessing or curse? Is the comparison OK?

I think ska-p are one of those band that we listened more in the past, and sure, we re honored if there's a comparison like this. But I think that the influences are more in talco, like the patchanka of Mano Negra, the Italian songwriting folk, Balkan, kletzmer, Californian punk rock….all kind of music that we listen since many years that naturally belong to our music.

How would you describe your current style? What does "Combat Ska" mean?

Ska-punk music with a well committed attitude. We play our favorite music talking about what we consider important for us.

Italy has a lot of ska bands. How would you describe the Ska music scene there?

Now ska is not like 10-15 years ago, unfortunately now the ska scene is living a very difficult period and many band disappeared because of this. When I was young, I liked so much the Italian scene and considered it like one of the best ska scene in Europe, with bands like Persiana Jones, Shandon, Vallanzaska, etc.

How do you feel about ska? Also in respect of its Jamaican origins?

I think we play a kind of music with many good meanings that belong to us: an interracial music style, with a party attitude, it's the best for us!

Music CD:

Your current release "Silent Town" I have already praised elsewhere. Silent Town is a fictional city that is marked by nepotism and mafia structures. Would it have been too dangerous to call the city or cities by name? Or is it just a metaphor for many cities in Italy?

I don't like to talk directly about a thing, because it would be too much banal in my opinion, and, using metaphors, you can talk about many different episodes but that talk about the same topic. So if we talk about a kind of “Mario Rossi”, people that doesn't live the situation in which Mario Rossi is involved couldn't recognize themselves in this topic…but if you talk about it with a more general story, someone who lives the same kind of problem can easily recognize himself on it.

"Silent Town" is your sixth release. What is different from the earlier productions?

I think it's our most mature album because it represents a mix of all our styles: the simplicity of Tutti Assolti, the power of Combat circus and Mazel Tov, and the melodies of Cretina Commedia and Gran Gala. When people listen to talco, they use to say that there two different periods: the powerful period and the melodic one, so we decided to mix these two characteristics in an album.

It is noticeable that you always like coming to Germany. Alone on the 2016er tour, nine out of 26 dates in Germany. Where does this obvious connection come from?

From the beginning. When Tutti Assolti came out we had a great opportunity of playing far from Italy where a meritocratic scene could have helped us to promote our music, and Germany adopted us and let us going on with our project till now. Germany is like our second home, it made us learn how to work hard for playing all over Europe and that there was a great possibility for us that we didn't find in our country. Probably without Germany Talco wouldn't exist.

Talco - Interview 2016

You regularly play a song called St. Pauli, whom you produced of 2009. What connects you today with the Hamburg football club St. Pauli?

The same idea of many years ago when me met: and idea of football connected with political and socials ideas that helps the culture of football not to consider bullshit like xenophobia or racism.

Is there a crazy experience on one of your many trips?

So much but it's difficult to remember them because during our travels we laugh about everything so every trip is crazy ahahah!!!! We don't use to take us seriously!!

You played in several countries in Europe, also played in Russia. Remains Asia or America a dream or is it possible?

Is possible but very very difficult to organize. We know, watching social networks, that many people would like to see us on Latin America. We're working on a tour between California and Mexico but till now nothing is confirmed yet. For Japan, we played two years ago on Fuji Rock, and it was for me the best experience I personally had with Talco. I look forward to come back in Japan!!!

Political:

What is the current situation in Italy? Life secular and politically from your perspective? What are the trends?

The same as 30 years ago with a mix of populism, ignorance, disillusion, xenophobia more. All consequence of 30 years of Berlusconism. The problem of Berlusconism was not only himself but th e mentality he brought, that ruined culture with dangerousness consequences, not only in right wing parties. Left wing politics don't exist anymore and we’ a kind of American spaghetti political system with ignorant people that don't get informed about life and what's going on, and parties without any ideal difference.

Have you ever experienced reprisals as you have played in Italy or other countries?

Sincerely just at the beginning for a song that talked about Palestine that we don't play anymore because we were accuses with Banda Bassotti, Ska-p and Obrint Pas to be antisemitic….it had been a very bad experiences and we were very sad about it, also because a band that use an Yiddish word for the title of their album, and in the same one dedicate a song to the tragic topic of holocaust cannot be considered antisemitic. But superficial people are all over the world so..lets go on!!!

Future:

You sing in a honest way in your own language. Have you ever thought, in addition to the English translations in the booklet, lyrics to sing in English?

Maybe we will do for promoting our tour in America but I think we'll go on on singing on our language because we think that it's the best way for talking about something without risking of be superficial or writing something wrong or banal just because it's not our language. Talking in Italian we have more possibilities of explaining our message without banal slogans

What's next on new projects? Even more tour plans or CD productions in mind?

At now we have to finish and surviving to the 120 gigs on silent town tour ahahah. Then sure…a new album!!!!!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

CD-Review Talco "Silent Town" (2015)

CD-Review Talco "10 Years - Live in Iruna" (2014)

CD-Review Talco "Gran Galà" (2012)