Eugenio In Via Di Gioia - Mainstream Buskers

We had a quick chat with Paolo Di Gioia, drummer and co-founder of the band, before the show in Naples.

Compared to “Lorenzo Federici”, the second album was definitely a statement of our desire to branch out from a record that came entirely from the street — busker music, as reflects our origins — and move towards using instruments that weren't purely acoustic, adding different sounds to our second work. In fact, we tried to take great care with the sonic output of this album, with what actually comes through in the end. We didn't expect this kind of success, I have to admit. When we made “Tutti su per terra” we wanted to say: “We want to give our path a direction and make people understand that there's greater maturity on this record compared to the previous one”. We wanted to convey a sense of growth, and that came across really well with the audience, who grew more and more interested in us. Above all, we noticed that the album really started to be appreciated about a year after its official release. We've seen that, from January 2018 onwards, there's been a clear increase in the number of people coming to our shows. In terms of numbers, we've seen with our own eyes a very satisfying growth in our live audience.

Radio Deejay sometimes plays the role of patron for the Italian indie-pop scene. You were noticed by them and even featured on air. Who discovered you, and how did you experience it?

Radio Deejay was a real springboard for us. In the sense that, right around that rise starting in January, Radio Deejay gave us a further push in February to get us known. It was Linus himself who came to know about us after the whole train episode (see the introduction). After the clip was shared around a bit, he was struck by it, listened to “Chiodo fisso” too, and his words were: “Damn, this song is really good”. From that point on we were guests on the show and he played us throughout March. It was all very spontaneous, there was no mediation from press offices or anyone else. He heard the song himself, liked it, and decided to play it. If our spontaneity managed to reach even Linus, then it means our music works.

Do you think the current Italian independent scene, which is undergoing profound changes, has helped your rise? Or do you consider yourselves outsiders compared to the indie-pop that has started to top the charts?

We're somewhere in between. In the sense that indie-pop, which isn't really a musical genre but more of a blurred artistic current, is going through something of a golden age. That's good for us too, because in a sense we belong to it, but we try to have a different identity, tied to our origins. Especially in terms of sound, we set ourselves apart quite a bit from that scene. We're part of the trend, but not entirely. We keep our distance from the sound of Gazzelle, Ex-Otago, or Canova, but we're still happy that that world is taking such a nice turn.

Critics have pointed to an emerging pessimism, even an apocalyptic tone, in many of your lyrics. But it could also be described as realist or grotesque, if you look at it from another angle. Do you see yourselves as Schopenhauers armed with guitars, or are you uncomfortable with being labeled pessimists?

We're realists. We've tried not to come across as pessimistic, and admittedly at first glance it does seem like the opposite, but the fact is that we're right in the middle of it. It's society that's like this, and we're part of it. What we've built is above all a vision shaped by contemporary science and sociology. In fact, ours is the realism of a warning that says “if something doesn't change, this is how things are going to turn out”. So maybe by 2050 we'll be eating insects (even though it's already public knowledge that they're legal in some Western countries too), there will be flying cars. The funniest thing is that some fans send us articles about certain "predictions" of ours that are already coming true today. We want to portray the reality of today's society, in every possible way.

So you're realists who, by forecasting the near future, are watching their predictions come true?

(Laughs) Yes, that's actually a bit worrying…

On the other hand, there's a deep vein of irony and satire running through your lyrics. Which of you is the one who brings this ironic touch to the realism?

The irony definitely comes from the lyrics that Eugenio Cesaro writes. But irony is also part of our attitude on stage and in life in general. Anyone who's never seen us live picks up on the irony through the words of the songs, but live, that kind of energy comes across even more amplified. Also because all four of us share this tendency: we make music, but we also do a bit of theatre between songs when we're on stage.

Does literature ever come to the aid of your songwriting?

Speaking for Eugenio, he wouldn't call himself a big reader, but in his lyrics he's always tried to instil his favourite books and that way of communicating: for example, "La Coscienza di Zeno", "I Malavoglia", but also philosophy, which he particularly appreciates, and which comes through in the reflective vein of some tracks on the latest album. Let's say that on some tracks it helped a lot, while on others the ideas came from the street instead. Playing as street musicians, our inspiration came from the people passing by in front of us.

Let's talk about your distinctive sound. On the surface, the songs seem built on folk-pop formulas that Italian audiences already recognise and are used to. Yet after a few more attentive listens, you can pick up on some fairly complex swing-jazz shadings. You've even been compared to Elio e Le Storie Tese. Do you recognise yourselves in that comparison?

Let's say we're trying more and more to move away from those swing sounds, precisely because of that whole idea of maturity I mentioned earlier. The goal would be to evolve towards simpler, even more pop sounds, without ever falling into cliché. On the next album, which is already in the works, we're moving closer to sounds along the lines of Alt-J, more outward-looking, international references. That swing vein has been part of us from the start and we've always kept something of it, but over time we're leaving it behind. There's simplicity, but there's also the compositional skill of people who have always made music. In some songs we try to make that clear, in others it's less noticeable.

As for satire in music, from Gaber to Caparezza, Italy has a long history of sharp pens. Who are your reference points, both in Italy and abroad?

Definitely Gaber, as far as Italy goes. As for abroad, it's hard for me to say, because we don't really have an adequate linguistic yardstick for comparison. Italian satire is a world of its own. We mentioned Gaber, who's a clear example, and maybe early Jannacci. Although real, full-blown satire was more a part of our previous album than of this one.

Moving on to your concerts. Word has it they're particularly intense. On your social media you even shared a message from a fan who broke something during a live show, but was still thrilled to have seen you…

Yes, you can't imagine. Eugenio had come down off the stage, everyone rushed in to pogo, and this girl got knocked over in the crush. We immediately got her back up onto the stage. We realised she'd hurt herself, but she kept insisting she was fine. When we saw the comment afterwards, we felt terrible.

But she was happy. She took it as a badge of honour, a real war wound.

Exactly, at least that makes us happy.

Over these past few months of touring, has anything struck you? Any particular experience?

Without a doubt, the warmth. Everywhere we go, like the show in Prato, where people knew every one of our songs by heart from start to finish. And seeing that happen from Piedmont all the way down to Sicily is amazing. In December we played a venue in Ragusa, even a bit out of the centre, and we watched it fill up, to our complete amazement. And everyone was singing along. That was a truly incredible experience for us.

What should audiences expect from one of your shows?

Definitely a lot of improvisation. We always try to be different. No live show will ever be the same as the last one. Between one song and the next, we're always doing something. We take inspiration from the local people, the place, the atmosphere. There's always a real desire to entertain, as well as to make music.