Interview with ‘Madre del Vizio’
http://www.myspace.com/madre2008/
Nattsol: For a start, a few words about yourselves, please.
Reb: I’m a friend of all the other members of MdV for many years now. After my former Band ‘The Bates’ – a German Punkrock band –split it took a few years to make music again. The band I played with then was ‘Desert and Fortune’. Upiry and KaiN were playing in this band, so it was my start to enter the world of goth rock.
Upiry: I would describe myself as quiet and relaxed bold headed bass player.
Nattsol: Madre del Vizio is considered as the first deathrock band of Germany. Tell me please, how it was formed, what was the atmosphere about deathrock for that time, what were your influences and how did you face them. I also ask the new band members to tell how they faced MdV and deathrock itself.
Fulvio: During that time, nobody in Germany was talking about deathrock. Of course, the music was based on American deathrock, but there were European influences in the music of MdV, as well. Additionally you can say that the music of MdV was a kind of proto-neo deathrock that was more influenced by electronic music than by American deathrock.
Reb: Compare with last question.
Nattsol: I’d love to ask now about the initial idea of the band. You don’t use your native language – why? What roles do play the samples in your music? Your sound is considered to be ‘American’. Is that the part of the conception?
Fulvio: Right from the beginning, we preferred Italian language for the lyrics because it sounded better and I was able to create a special kind of atmosphere while I was singing. The samples represent my thoughts. It’s like homage to the movies I love. Only compared with punk our music is American style.
Nattsol: It is always interesting to ask a successful band how it achieved this success. So could you tell this story a bit more detailed, please?
Fulvio: We are not successful in a commercial way through the charts. The band and its music is supported by the fans.
Madre del Visio by A.Berthel
Nattsol: So the original ‘Madre del Vizio’ broke up in the second half of the 90’s. Could you tell more about this brake-up? What were the most remarkable moments and achievements of the original MdV?
Fulvio: In 1996, Kain and I didn’t see any future in the former formation of the band.
Nattsol: MdV came back with the shortened name ‘Madre’ and released the CD ‘Mesmerismo’. Though the title had changed, the music of this release can be considered as MdV classics. So what are the differences between Madre and MdV, and what was this band itself? Why it broke up in 1999?
Fulvio: You can not say that Messmerismo is a regular MdV longplayer. It was recorded in times of change. In times when the musicians of the band didn’t like each other very well. By the way, the musical style is completely different to the other records.
Nattsol: The next question is about the next comeback, which happened in 2005 with the CD ‘Antonomasia’. This release has a bit softer sound than other MdV albums. So what had changed with it? What is this CD about? And why you didn’t give support shows to this release? And what were the reasons of the break after this release?
Fulvio: By recording the CD Antonomasia I tried to express myself in a new way with a new crew. Unfortunately, the members of this crew where the wrong persons to do this. These two guys didn’t have enough time to go on tour. Later I had to find out that they considered myself as non-professional-enough. Fact is: they were not able to meet the demands to play live.
Nattsol: So Madre del Vizio appeared with live shows, new material and the renewed line-up in the end of 2007. How did it happen?
Reb: KaiN and Fulvio had the idea to start the band again. Due to the fact that I made music with KaiN and Upiry before, I was the perfect person to do the job. The former guitarists of the MdV were not willing to enter stage again.
Upiry: KaiN, Reb and me played together in the band ‘Desert + Fortune’ for a few years. During the years after the band had split I was working on my solo project ‘Upiry’ until KaiN asked me to play bass guitar for MdV. Due to the fact that I’m a fan of this band since the early 1990s, I had not to reflect whether to do the job.
Nattsol: Now I want to ask you about the past members. Why did they leave the band? What do they currently do? Do you keep in touch with them? And the single question to KaiN – you left the band several times, but finally came back. How did it happen?
KaiN: Actually, I only left the band one time. These days, there were a couple of press statements by Apollyon about my opt out of MdV. Truth is that the original formation of MdV split in 1995. Then, Fulvio was looking for other creative people who wanted to share the following part of his musical career with him. Fortunately, I was one of them. After the tour and album for Messmerismo/Madre, Fulvio wanted to start a new project with Christian and Kreisi. The drums were only based on programmed samples so there was no job for me. During this time, I had the chance to play with ‘Desert&Fotune’ that ended after 6 years of drumming, recording 2 CDs and going on tour for three times. In the end of 2007, me and Fulvio met again. We talked about the release of ‘Antonomasia’. There were many requests for concerts based on the last album. The musicians who recorded the CD maybe didn’t have time to play the concerts or they were simply not in the mood to do the jobs on stage. I had the time to do the job. Due to the fact that I had played so many MdV shows, I knew exactly Fulvio’s preferences for playing life. I helped him to find tour-proofed musicians who fulfilled his expectations of a functioning band. And so I’m back again in MdV. It’s like coming home.
Nattsol: As I know, Upiry has the solo experimental project, Reb played in ‘The Bates’. Are/were there some other side projects, or the projects you participate in? Could you represent them to a reader?
Reb: We both played in ‘Desert + Fortune’ together with KaiN. Short before I became a musician in MdV I played in a local Band from Kassel, our hometown, called Nirgendwo.
Upiry: The work on my solo project expresses my thoughts, feelings and my view of social life in general.
Nattsol: During these two years you played in many countries. What were the most remarkable shows for you? What is your public nowadays?
Fulvio: For me every show is unique and not comparable to another show. Every live event is a great experience.
Upiry: Every concert has its unforgettable moments. However, our first gig in Milano was something special. This concert showed me what MdV means to our fans.
Nattsol: Another ‘show question’. Could you tell me about the German scene? You haven’t played in Germany for 11 years. Why do you avoid it?
Reb: There is not a scene for Goth rock with Italian lyrics in Germany. Most of the German audience only accepts German or English sung songs.
Nattsol: So you work on the new stuff. Tell me, when we should expect the release and what it will be.
Fulvio: We work on our new album -amare l amore-. Basically, love is the best thing in the world and this is what the now album tries to express. I think, the album’s gonna be released by the end of the year.
Reb: I think, we try to find a way back to the roots of dark music. I try to play a sound that is similar to the old new wave sound played in the early 80s. Even if it does not exactly sound like this I try to do the best to make it sound similar.
Nattsol: If read your texts, it could seem that you’re very obscure and depressive persons. What role plays humor in your lives and in your music?
Fulvio: That’s wrong. I’m a happy person. I like it to act this way. It’s a kind of therapy for myself.
Reb: Humor is everything especially when your on tour. We laugh a lot during our rehearsals. Especially Fulvio is always funny.
Nattsol: It’s not too hard to notice religious and mystical motives in your works. What is your attitude to religion and mysticism?
Fulvio: I use these because: a) my childhood memories come back according to the rituals and extraordinary impressions I had during this time. b) I try to be a good man. I’m not interested in politics, religion, rituals and mystic. c) I use its symbols as a kind of pop art recycling.
Nattsol: Many deathrock bands prefer to use batcave image, but you ignore all batcave aspects (in sound and in image). What is your attitude to batcave? How has your image been changing through years? Was it ever important for you? And what about current period?
Fulvio: I’m the same person like the years before exept my shoe size has changed.
Nattsol: Tell me, please, about your cultural backgrounds.
Fulvio: I only passed secondary school.
Reb: If you talk about my subcultural background, I only can say that I tried to do Rock’n’Roll since I entered ‘The Bates’ and the time before. Although I was raced as a typical German, there were always people in my peer that showed me the way of Rock’n’Roll. Upiry: Since my childhood, music, arts and culture were part of my life. I lern to Jobs, but …. music is my life.
Nattsol: What music do you listen? What bands/projects/composers you like?
Fulvio: siouxie, new order, …… editors, she wants revenge, ……
Reb: I like most genres of music. Based on the fact that I’m singing in choir, I like the gospel and classical stuff. My favorite of course is guitar music. All kinds of Rock’n’Roll from all decades since the 1950s.
Upiry: I prefer all kinds of melancholia in every kind of music, so genre isn’t important to me. I personally was influenced by the music and art of Rozz Williams
Nattsol: Do you have passions except Art? What are they?
Reb: I spend a lot of time in front of my computer screen. Not that I’m an expert in computers, I love to consume tons of multimedia like movies.
Upiry: The ‘Wiener Aktionismus’ specially the works by Gunter Brus (1969), Salvador Dali, the works by Rozz Williams (in sound, words and vision).
Nattsol: What part your attitude to the music plays in your life? In your opinion, does it make your lives unusual if compare them with ‘ordinary’ lives?
Fulvio: I’ll spend all my life for music, without music i am nothing.
Reb: Music is very important. It feeds me because I teach guitar. It enriches my life. It is good for me. It gives my life a meaning. Not everybody is able to say this, even the person has perfect living conditions.
Nattsol: And your final words for this interview.
Reb: The main thing in life is to be happy and to have fun.
Upiry: ‘why is the colour green not green? It will never be the same, never understood or simply not intended.’ Thanks very much for the interview and all the best for the people all over your country.
Questions: Pall ‘Nattsol’ Zarutskiy
‘Grave Jibes Fanzine’
