Francis M. Gri - Apart - Revglow - The chrysalis's mutations

Having come into contact with the shadowy world of All My Faith Lost at a very young age, Francis M. Gri soon felt the need to break away, in order to create something more personal and free from the genre's clichés.

Over the course of just a few years, his fertile creative spontaneity has spawned a number of very different projects, from the deeply personal ambient landscapes of Apart, to the refined electro-pop shared with Lilium's splendid voice in Revglow, right up to recent acoustic experiments under his own name. All of this is now brought together under a new and ambitious mission, that of the KrysaliSound label. Here are Francis's thoughts on his artistic journey and on the current ways music is produced and consumed, in Italy and beyond. 

Let's start, quite simply, with the past, and then leave it there: would you like to revisit your experience with All My Faith Lost and explain what pushed you to move away from that band to pursue your own independent paths?

It was definitely an important experience, four years in which I learned how to approach music, composition and songwriting. I was seventeen when I started that experience, but as time went on I began to feel the need to explore new musical territory, and at a certain point I realized I no longer felt comfortable in the clothes I was wearing: so I decided to find my own path.

Even though certain passages on albums like Apart and Revglow still retain dark undertones, the shift from your past is clear. How does one "escape" the clichés of dark music? And now that you've moved away from it, do you think there's still room and meaning for that kind of expression?

Certainly! Every musical genre has a reason to exist if it's practiced in a genuine and pure way.

In my opinion, the problems with dark music are the exaggerated focus on image and the rigid attachment to the genre's clichés, and the lack of real musical research makes some output come across as poor or rather "crude".

Each genre taken on its own has its pros and cons, though; sure, it's easy to be pigeonholed, but from a creative standpoint, it triggers mental boundaries that can end up being counterproductive. I've never been a fan of the concept of "musical genre"; I much prefer the concept of "music done well", and I love listening to everything.

That's why abandoning the clichés of dark music was an entirely natural evolution.

What's the difference between working side by side with other artists in a band and being solely responsible for a project like Apart?

It's a big difference: you're free to create on your own without having to compare your ideas with others, you can "experiment" whenever you want and make the most of the moments when you really feel inspired. But you have to be able to be as objective as possible and have a good ear as a listener. For instance, since I'm very self-critical, I use this question to figure out whether what I'm making is any good: would I like it if someone else had made it?

How did the Revglow project come about, and what side of your artistic personality are you looking to develop alongside the wonderful vocalist Lilium?

After collaborating with Lilium on a few tracks from the album "Winter Fragments", the idea of creating a project entirely our own came about. The first album, "Liquid Pearls", came together in a completely spontaneous way – a lovely surprise, really. We're truly proud of the project, precisely because it was an explosion of creativity, free and crystalline. Now, unlike back then, we no longer have the problem of distance, and working together in Milan we're able to focus better on our ideas and be more precise in our songwriting.

Revglow is a duo project that lets me experiment with sounds different from the Apart project, and to be more essential, leaving melodic space for Lilium.

Given that Revglow's songs lend themselves well to a live setting, will we ever see you performing together on stage?

We'd love to, and we will do it in the future.

The soundscapes of Apart, along with the titles of the tracks and albums themselves, evoke cold atmospheres and depictions of solitary places: do you see this as inherent to the kind of music you write, or is there room for a broadly "ambient" reading of the music, distinct from the melancholic and introspective one?

Images are part of how I perceive art in all its forms, so it's natural for me to express emotions through metaphors. The same happens when I write: I focus on memories, feelings, experiences, and let them flow spontaneously and freely until they turn into notes and poetry.

I usually give a piece its title only once it's finished, right when the image of what I've developed becomes pure and clear; I let myself be carried along by the notes, only realizing the song's identity at the very end.

What's your ideal state of mind for composing? Does it depend on your emotions in the moment, or do your songs come about in a more deliberate way?

The only limit I set for myself when playing is trying to compose only when I truly feel inspired. If I feel like I'm having a good day, musically speaking, I know I could create something worthwhile, so I try to make the most of the moment.

Do you mostly listen to music close to what you make yourself, or do you enjoy exploring different styles and genres? Which contemporary artists do you appreciate the most?

I've always been a huge music listener, and I've always enjoyed ranging widely in search of artists and bands making "good music", so I listen indiscriminately to ambient, rock, jazz, metal, classical and electronic music.

That said, my iPod always has to have Hammock, port-royal, Ludovico Einaudi, Radiohead and Thom Yorke, Sigur Rós, Lamb, Dan Arborise and E.S.T....

You're a very prolific artist, much like many others working in electronic and experimental territory. Do you think the larger output from artists making this kind of music comes down to it being "easier" to conceive and produce compared to, say, an album of "songs"?

I think the advantage lies in being able to compose independently in the quiet of your own home, drawing on every artistic and emotional impulse, free of constraints and limitations.

The voice is still an integral part of the Revglow project, and it also surfaced in “Digital Frame“: generally speaking, what kind of space do you think the vocal element can have in compositions like those of Apart?

Apart is an instrumental project, and the voice there will always be a minimal element, used as a background tool, whereas in Revglow voice and music carry equal weight.

You remixed a port-royal track and also worked with their collaborator Alexandr Vatagin. Can we expect a stronger electronic push from you in the near future?

The new Revglow album already has a stronger electronic component, and that's a path I intend to pursue and develop further in the future with greater awareness, although I still consider it essential to keep bringing in the acoustic instruments that have always been part of my compositions.

What do you think of Italian electronic productions? Are there any Italian artists you particularly appreciate?

To be honest, I pay more attention to foreign productions, but besides the already mentioned port-royal, I really appreciate Teho Teardo and Nosound, and I find the work of Attilio Novellino and his project A Vortex of Low Pressure genuinely interesting.

Still on the subject of electronics, how have software and computer equipment influenced your way of working and your music? Do they represent a purely “technical” support for you, or do they also affect the creative moment itself?

I think I'm a bit atypical as an “electronic musician”: the software I use to record and compose is Pro Tools, which, unlike programs like Cubase and Logic, lets me have the instrument in front of me while composing and shape the sound with my own hands. I'm not a fan of MIDI; my approach to composition is still classical and hands-on, but the support of technology has by now become indispensable.

Purists of analogue disapprove of the new frontiers of digital music, and it's true that the fact anyone can compose music nowadays carries its own risks. Even so, I believe this new way of composing echoes, in a modern key, that of the classical composer who wrote his work on the staff and then corrected and revisited it again and again until it reached perfection… Today our staff is the editing screen of our software.

You gave us one of your tracks exclusively for our free-download compilation OndaDrops Vol.2: what do you think of the current way music is consumed and spread online?

Honestly, it's chaos. There's simply so much music online, a melting pot so overwhelming that it's almost impossible for genuinely talented artists who deserve to be distributed and rewarded to stand out, and the indie labels that support their own artists are few, with very limited visibility and access.

People have by now grown out of the habit of buying CDs and listening to them attentively. The same thing is happening with books: the digital shift is wiping out those small gestures that made us appreciate all the more an object that was slowly consumed in our hands.

Downloading single tracks is like tearing out just a few pages of a book and thinking you can grasp its whole meaning—it makes no sense…

Earlier this year you released a mini-album under your own name, focused mainly on acoustic sounds. Why did you decide to keep this release separate from your other projects, starting with the name itself? Can we expect further developments of this more intimate, acoustic side of yours?

I felt like recording something completely acoustic that would sound exactly like when I strum away at home; this mini-album is a sequence of guitar and piano improvisations.

Unlike the other two projects, it's simply me playing in the intimacy of home; "Home" is me, the guitar and the piano.

I really enjoyed the experiment, and I think there will be a follow-up...

Apart, Revglow, Francis M. Gri: three parallel projects, each with fairly distinct characteristics of its own. Do you decide in advance which one to focus on, or does the placement of your compositions into one or the other happen naturally?

When I start composing I'm already aware from the outset of where the new track belongs, and everything happens as naturally as possible.

Lastly, what can we expect from you in the future, and what do you expect from music?

With KrysaliSound I can manage all my projects freely and independently, and in the future I'd like to expand it and run it as a kind of workshop where music, images, video and poetry can interact.

The beauty of experimentation is that there are no limits to imagination, you just have to turn around to spot new, endless territories to explore.

The hope is to be able to spread and make my music known, and I think that even though we live in the digital age, the best and most effective way to get noticed is still the oldest one: word of mouth.

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