Calibro 35 - Tales of guns and gangsters

A gig at Sottoscala Nove in Latina provides the perfect opportunity to meet Calibro 35, the Italian band that has restored the shine to a musical genre that seemed obsolete and forgotten: 1970s Italian crime-film soundtracks. Soundcheck has just wrapped up, Enrico Gabrielli is completely absorbed with his saxophone, which is showing a few minor issues, Luca Cavina thanks us for the interview with Zeus! three years ago, Fabio Rondanini is putting the drum kit back together, and while we wait for dinner, Massimo Martellotta, the band's guitarist, kindly agrees to play along with the interview game. The amatriciana pasta and breaded cutlets aren't ready yet, so we've got a bit of time on our hands. We take the opportunity to dive into a freewheeling chat covering the band's origins and evolution, the members' side projects, the reasons behind their choice of the poliziottesco aesthetic, their attempts to break into foreign markets, the ever-shrinking record industry, and much, much more...

Hi Massimo, if it's alright with you I'd like to start from the band's origins: how did you all meet?

It's important to clarify right away that Calibro 35 is a project, not a band formed by friends who knew each other since school and grew up musically together, perhaps sharing similar tastes. At first we sort of "sniffed each other out" from a distance, and then we chose one another. It all started through the musicians' circuit - we already knew each other by name. In 2007, when the Calibro 35 story began, the ones who knew each other were me, Tommaso Colliva and Enrico Gabrielli. I brought in the drummer, Fabio Rondanini, while Enrico brought in the bassist, Luca Cavina. We started spending time together in the studio, and right from the start everything just clicked. We found the right chemistry immediately.

Who were you playing with at the time?

I was playing with Eugenio Finardi, I'd worked with Stewart Copeland and I was collaborating on various film soundtracks. Enrico was in Afterhours, where he contributed to the writing of "The Milanese kill off Saturday night", Fabio was, and still is, Niccolò Fabi's drummer. Luca was playing with Ferretti, with Transgender and with Beatrice Antolini. Those were the main projects we were involved in at that time.

What was the mission, the spark that brought you together?

There were various reasons, the first being the realization that Italian presence at many European festivals was somewhat limited. We asked ourselves what Italians had to offer that could travel abroad, and the answer came pretty quickly: we've always had a great tradition in the field of soundtracks. That, combined with our love for that kind of material, pushed us to take on the Calibro 35 project and to shape it in this way.

Why crime thrillers specifically?

We were interested in that musical material, a blend of so many genres that it allows a very eclectic band like ours, with musicians coming from completely different backgrounds, to engage with material where classical, jazz, rock and funk all converge, sometimes even quite boldly, if you like. Funk filtered through an Italian sensibility, essentially material that was interesting to grapple with, first and foremost as musicians. An unusual choice, and therefore a stimulating one. Then there's the purely aesthetic side: many of the films we reference have a very strong visual style. We really liked that. Sure, some films are more worthy than others, but the aesthetic power and distinctive character are always remarkable. Besides, we can't deny that the soundtracks often surpassed the quality of the films themselves.

You started out with covers, reinterpreting other people's themes, then went on to develop an increasing amount of original material. Did the source material start running dry, or was the idea of developing your own compositions there from the beginning?

Everything evolved quite naturally. But I have to let you in on a detail few people know. This year we released "Said", a soundtrack made up entirely of original material. Well, that record was actually recorded just three months after our first album came out, in 2007. And it was our first major confrontation with original material. Right after our debut came out, we were asked to put together this soundtrack, so we found ourselves seriously tackling a project written entirely by us. From that point on, thanks to the music we wrote a few months later for the documentary "Eurocrime!", which our second album was drawn from, we realized we could actually rely heavily on our own material. And that it could probably be considered just as credible as the originals from that era, allowing us to present ourselves to audiences with a personal, recognizable style. So the idea of focusing more and more on original compositions really came about following "Said" and "Eurocrime!".

Faithful to the originals, but with personality...

A lot of people liked the fact that sometimes we stayed very faithful to the originals, and sometimes we managed to take them completely out of context. For instance, "L'indagine" by Morricone is originally orchestral, but we redid it for a rock quartet. Or in some of Micalizzi's compositions we replaced a trumpet theme with guitar. Our approach is always philological, and genre fans appreciated some of our reworkings precisely because they stayed very close to the originals: the fact that someone today would revisit those themes with real passion and attention to detail caught quite a few people's interest. During the making of "Eurocrime!" an American director asked us for unreleased music for a documentary, and that's how the "Calibro Style" was born. As time went on, the share of our own material kept growing. On the second album there were eight of our own tracks out of twelve, on the third ten out of twelve.

Right up to the recent "Traditori di tutti", which is entirely original material.

Yes, we found ourselves working on a kind of concept, playing on a story by Giorgio Scerbanenco that was never actually turned into a film. We thought up and wrote the soundtrack for an imaginary film, based on that text. We didn't expect to produce so much material, but instead in just five days the output was abundant, and we ended up having to sift through about fifteen tracks. This time there was no need to resort to covers, no need to dig up material from composers of the past. Also because we liked the idea of working on this concept using exclusively new compositions. Doing the entire soundtrack ourselves for a film that doesn't exist.

So not just cinema, but literature too in Calibro's imagination...

This time we took a book as our starting point, but the connection with cinema remains strong. Cinema always plays a central role in our imagination. We'll keep making soundtracks, both our own and other people's. There will definitely be themes by past masters on the next record, because that's something that interests us and that we intend to keep exploring, and it lets us channel our music in a certain way.

The new record introduces something new, even if it had already surfaced sporadically in the past: vocalizations. So no longer just instrumentals, but also the presence of voices.

Actually, we've always used vocalizing — just think that one of our standout tracks, the one that even ended up in the Hollywood film with John Malkovich, "Convergere in Giambellino" (on the second album, ed.), had that bom-bom-bom-bom-bom. On this record, "Traditori di tutti", we used the voice of Serena Altavilla, the incredible singer from the Florentine band Blue Willa, who took on a couple of roles: in one track she simulates orgasms, and in another she does backing vocals. She was game for it, and we'll definitely do more with her in the future. Besides, I find her amazing when she sings in Italian.

Better than when she sings in English with Blue Willa?

The Blue Willa project is fantastic, a fully realized project that works really well, incredible live too. We've already done part of a show with her on thriller cinema, a retrospective on giallo and horror films called "Indagine sul cinema del brivido", where she sang a couple of songs, and on a Mina track the whole theater went wild. She's phenomenal.

Two schools of thought seem to be emerging: some believe that to break through abroad it's better to sing in English, while others think that to reach the home audience more effectively, to get your message across better, it would be more effective to sing in Italian. Calibro 35 chose a third way, instrumental music. Do you think this choice can make your music more international?

Since there's no specific language in our music, it could indeed be more easily exported beyond national borders. Exportability is baked into Calibro 35's DNA, but it's not something we planned at a desk, it's not like we decided to leave out the words in order to sell records in China or Japan. The point is that we were interested in instrumental music, also because all four of us are musicians, and none of us is a singer. If we were ever to do sung tracks, as has already happened with "Tutta donna" and "L'appuntamento" (both on the first album, with vocals by Georgeanne Kalweit and Roberto Dell'Era respectively, ed.), since they're one-off cases, we could easily play them abroad in Italian, and it would strongly underline the fact that we're an Italian project offering a song in Italian, because in that case it's important to do it in Italian. If that's the attitude, you automatically become international, because it can't seem strange if a band of Italian nationality decides at some point to offer a song in its own language.

Maybe that's exactly why you tour so much abroad, far more than the average Italian indie band.

Sure, being instrumental opens some doors for us, we manage to work well anywhere, I can't argue with that. We've been to the United States several times, we've been to Brazil, the Balkans, Turkey.

But when you're in these places, do people know you? Does anyone already know your music?

Obviously it takes time before you become familiar, especially in a place as big as the United States. But we've always moved in a very targeted way. For instance, in the US we've never done the classic coast-to-coast tour that a lot of European bands take on to try to get known everywhere. We chose a more targeted approach, focusing on situations with a lot of media impact. In New York we were invited to one of the biggest festivals on the East Coast, in Los Angeles to another major festival showcasing Italian excellence. In that case the event was broadcast by a major radio station, and a thousand or so people who had heard us on the radio then came to see us at another show. In Brazil too they invited us and covered all our expenses, because they were very interested in our project. We've always tried to play in the right places. We were in Texas for South By SouthWest, where a collaboration with an American label also came about.

And Europe?

Right now we're pushing hard on Europe. We'll soon be in Spain and we've built up a solid presence in the Balkan region. In Turkey, in Istanbul especially, we have a scene that follows us with great interest.

Is it harder to break into England?

The English market is a bit tougher, there's extremely high competition, but now with the new label something might move. We sort of found each other, and they have significant opportunities for exposure in Britain and Japan. Record Kicks aren't big, they're a small label, we chose to work with them because they're very focused, they do few things but do them very well. We're about to play in London now, we have good prospects.

Why can't Italy manage to organize festivals as major as the ones in the States you mentioned?

In Italy we had Arezzo Wave, which was initially of international standing: giant stages, a great scene that had built up around it, with bands ranging from up-and-comers to mainstream acts. You know, I don't think these things don't happen in Italy because we don't care or aren't capable. The problem is that everything revolving around music is always seen as very amateurish, as if the activities surrounding music weren't real jobs. The Italian market is tiny compared to the English, German or French markets, the numbers are really laughable. When the numbers are so small and the funds allocated to music are practically nonexistent, what can you do? It's very hard to manage to do things that are truly strong and original.

In Spain, though, the numbers aren't that different from ours, and yet they have Primavera…

And inside it you find everything, from electronic music to noise avant-garde. But you know, we have some interesting situations here in Italy too. For example in summer there's Miami, maybe it's a bit self-referential, being a little too focused on the indie scene, but all in all it's a festival that works, it gets bigger every year, it keeps sustainable policies, it's organized with a real passion for music behind it, to make live music something people get into the habit of going to.

Are there still events out there trying to blaze a trail, though?

Yes, although sometimes we've found ourselves in rather strange situations, like at Nova Rock in Austria, where we played a few years back in a very high-profile setting, but maybe too broad an audience. On the same night there was us, complete unknowns on our second album, then there was Slash with the new Guns 'n' Roses, and then there was Rammstein. It was great, there was room for everyone. Anyway, I think the problem is the market being too small and the lack of funding. Still, it seems to me there's a real desire to do important things.

You've had plenty of collaborations in the past. Is there a dream project you're still hoping to make happen?

We don't worship any particular figure. We see ourselves as craftsmen. We've got plenty of possible projects in mind. For instance, we'd love to make a Beastie Boys-style record with some cool American rapper. Then we'd love to score a Quentin Tarantino film, which, incidentally, is something practically everyone suggests to us, something many people see as almost obvious.

Do you know if Tarantino has ever heard anything by Calibro?

I think so. In "Django Unchained" they used material by Bacalov, and there's the Elisa track that's handled by Sugar. I personally have an ongoing relationship with Sugar, and I know for a fact that they managed to get a Calibro record to Quentin.

But is there no idol from your youth you dream of bringing onto one of your records?

I grew up listening to a bit of everything. From Keith Jarrett to Jimi Hendrix, figures who aren't exactly within reach. We'd like to do as many projects as possible. Maybe something with an orchestra.

Let's sort out your side projects a bit — who's doing what?

Enrico has Der Maurer, but above all he arranges a huge number of other artists' records — most recently he wrote the scores for "Fantasma" and toured with Baustelle as conductor. Luca has Zeus!, with whom he's made two albums so far, and Fabio plays with Niccolò Fabi. For me, the main project has always been Calibro, right from when it started: it's the project I believe in most. Beyond that, I sometimes produce records — recently I did something with Filippo Timi — I score films, and there's a TV programme in the works that might actually happen. Anyway, everyone's got their own outlet.

Speaking of Baustelle: did you like "Fantasma"?

I haven't listened to it.

What do you mean! Enrico arranged all the scores for it!

Well, that was his project, not mine…

Come on, aren't you curious to listen to each other's work?

We were on tour with Calibro, and I got the chance to hear some of the instrumental and orchestral backing tracks before the vocals were added. Let's say I found it more interesting before the vocals went on. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for Baustelle, but let's just say "Fantasma" isn't exactly my favourite sandwich. They're good, the project is very solid, but it's just not really my thing.

Do you manage to juggle all these different commitments with ease?

Not easily, but keep in mind that our albums often come out of five- or six-day sessions. That said, Calibro 35 remains the main project for all of us.

What's the state of health of the Italian independent scene?

I really struggle to define and pin down an independent scene, because the numbers just aren't there. Consider that a band like ours is being courted by three majors, a situation that would have been unthinkable seven or eight years ago.

How come? Maybe because they recognize your talent?

We're musicians/performers, but we also handle a lot of the work that goes on behind the scenes, off stage - being on Facebook and other social networks, promoting ourselves, keeping up a huge network of contacts, developing new projects, managing the website, a whole series of tasks that, if you don't do well, you simply can't survive. In practice you end up creating small entities, real little businesses, and majors are watching them closely.

Interesting: tell us more...

Self-management, especially online, is the future - actually, it's already the present. Small labels are already moving pretty well in that direction. The major labels are trying to figure out how to get in on it. Otherwise, once the rap and talent-show wave - which is what generates the most money right now - runs dry, they'll be left empty-handed, and behind compared to their potential competitors. So the more far-sighted ones are paying close attention to outfits like ours, who manage to do a lot on their own, with passion, through self-management. If you handle a lot yourself, it could mean savings for the label on certain activities...

Which bands do you like most? What are you listening to these days?

We listen to everything. After shows people leave us a lot of demos, and we listen to them. We find that really rewarding. Among international acts, we've been listening a ton to early-'70s Fela Kuti. Among Italian artists, Federico Fantuz from Bologna, with his instrumental project "Music For No Movies". Then we devour everything on the Daptone label, an American label doing retro stuff with a very early-'60s aesthetic, featuring artists like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Since we've been sampled in a rap track, we've also grown really curious about the contemporary hip-hop scene.

It's news these days that you have a video nominated for the PIVI.

Yes, we're glad about that - we already won the PIMI in the past, and these are important accolades.

The beer has run out, and from the kitchen they let us know the spaghetti is ready - have a great show, guys.

Ride the wave of great music

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