Miro Sassolini - The Story of a Creative Mind

In the vast sea of the myspace world you sometimes stumble upon pleasant surprises; browsing idly through the pages of friends nostalgic for new wave, we notice a name that can't help but stir something, a voice that, over time, we discover is still able to break through our emotional walls without any obstacle, regenerating the same positive tension of a time gone by that, today, in a new form, could come back. We reach Miro Sassolini, “the voice” of Diaframma, a jewel of a certain 80s scene, proudly lived through by the Italian scene as well, via a stimulating email exchange, from which this surprising interview emerged.

First of all, welcome back, Miro. Is the feeling of being a much-loved figure among old and new new wavers still alive today, or has it faded over the years because of your split from Diaframma?

Thanks, Mimma… in all this Diaframma has relatively little to do with it. In truth, the Miro cult developed in the Nineties, the years that musically and personally belong to my "experimental sphere"… I don't know, if I'd thought that winning converts was essential, I'd have made different choices in the past… I'm not a politician, I don't seek approval, nor do I make promises.

Starting from the debut with “Siberia”, all the way to “Boxe”, we notice how each Diaframma record represents an emotional scale that descends from a cold peak to a more engaged approach. Within these experiences, does Miro see himself as a mere interpreter, or as a conscious and essential vehicle for conveying these feelings?

I've grown, and so has Diaframma. We've changed profoundly over the years and you can hear it; from “Siberia” to “Boxe” there's a lot of awareness in between… ahahah!

I've never felt like a "mere interpreter", anyway, the facts and history speak for themselves.

What do “Siberia”, “Tre volte lacrime” and “Boxe” represent for you, respectively?

Growth, as I told you before, but also a turning point and a coming to awareness.

Did you ever think that Diaframma, riding the wave of the moment, could achieve success that went beyond a niche audience and reached more commercial circuits? And if so, was that just a thought, or also a wish of yours?

No! Otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about a "phenomenon" that keeps feeding its own myth year after year.

Being twenty years old right in the middle of the new wave era, a time of great cultural ferment in general, how did that affect your decision to sing? Would you have decided to sing anyway, regardless of the era and the genre?

I always sang, making life impossible for my parents, ahahah! Becoming a "singing professional" happened by chance - an encounter like many others can end up shaping your whole life.

I read in your biographical notes about some experiences in 1995 with the Pecci theatre in Prato. Can you tell us about that?

Certainly. After the experience with Diaframma, Bruno Casini suggested I do some things for the Pecci. You know, I'm curious by nature... the chance to do things different from the usual grueling tours appealed to me. For the Pecci I did video art and strictly acoustic concerts, where the word "amplifier" was considered blasphemy.

You told me about constantly experimenting with your voice. In that sense, does your theatre experience also come into play?

Theatre too, absolutely. Basically, experimentation is an automatic process: you just have to realize that through "study" you can do things you'd never think possible.

Ernesto De Pascale describes you not simply as a singer, or a painter and sculptor, but as "a creative". Is that a definition you truly feel belongs to you?

Yes, Ernesto coined an absolutely fitting term - an uncomfortable one, perhaps, since conformity is the rule for so many. In a world full of "specialists", I was, and remain, outside every mold.

In the presentation of your 2007 exhibition at the Covo Art Café in Cagliari, titled La marea distante, there's talk of the "artist's restlessness". Is Miro a restless man?

Miro is a man who channels all his moods, including his restless side.

Do you want to tell us about La marea distante? This unveiling of yourself, after years of absence, starting from poetry and drawing - where does it come from?

(Re)starting from poetry and drawing, forms and concepts I know well, made it easier for me to do what you call unveiling myself. In these cases, it's foolish to leap into the dark.

Going back to your musical path, we read about the Van der Bosch project, an experience that produced valuable material still unreleased. Why did this project also come to a halt in 1995?

I'm an "idea gobbler" - spending too long on something often pulls me away from the original project.

A curiosity: who is Abel De La Rue?

Nefarious utopia understood as a form and a morbid pursuit of illusion, "a worm eating away inside." Actually, Abel De La Rue, known as "the braggart," was a French cobbler who was arrested in 1582 and burned as a sorcerer, magician and marriage-charmer!

The lyrics of “Albe incerte” ooze with contradictory sensuality. Let me use this as a pretext to ask you what role your personal perception of femininity plays in your songwriting.

In the lyrics of “Albe Incerte” the protagonist gets lost in post-sexual paranoia. There's the certainty of virile power (before), set against the need to (re)bring purity "inside oneself" (after). The young girl who's pushed away is a fake redemption. When it's all over, the typical indecisiveness of the male universe comes rushing back. Paradoxically both characters are "guilty," but this only gives the man a semblance of "cleanliness," while the girl exits the scene dirty because she knows full well that it will happen again. In “Iguana” the exact opposite happens: the protagonist walks away destroyed by the experience, but the woman dies overwhelmed by her own beauty.

I'm turning into a metaphor what should be a meeting point between the two worlds; in reality the two extremes, instead of drawing apart to create the space needed for that to happen, keep getting closer and closer until they collide, crush each other, cancel each other out, suffocate. It sounds like a paradox, but that's how it is: you need to create distance, to let in the light needed to know the other person and either accept them or not.

In 2002 “Sassolini sul fondo del fiume” came out, a collection of unreleased recordings that also includes two tracks written by you. When Miro left Diaframma, did he feel he still had a lot of “things to do”?

No. After an experience full of things done, the need to let go arises. "Liberami dal Male," with "evil" meant as the end of a long story, is the title of a Van Der Bosch song - free me from this "bond" so I can dive into the frivolous. Then, when the frivolous becomes pointless and boring, all the "mental wanking" comes roaring back, and almost at the same time, so do the things to do.

Do you still feel like performing live?

A crazy urge! A necessity.

In one of your recent interviews I read about an upcoming release on the Desvelos label. You mentioned it was coming soon, in spring... What's the state of play at the moment?

I'd rather talk about my work and what I'll be doing in the future when the time comes. Just a little while longer and (some) of my work will be available. As for the rest, let's move on, please!

Will it be a project under the name Miro Sassolini, or a group effort?

I won't talk about the record made in collaboration with (P)neumatica - even the stones know about that one. The rest depends on various factors... we'll see... the name doesn't matter, the content does.

To sum it all up, was new wave a one-off adventure for you, or an experience that left an indelible mark?

Well! Professionally important, but not essential.

But youth, the historical period... definitely make everything indelible.

Do you think the current process of homogenization and imitation in music has reached a point of no return, or might we witness a new, catalyzing phenomenon capable of shaking things up?

I can't answer that question. The famous '78-'88 decade was a blend of strange, unrepeatable alchemies. There's too much anarchy (in Italy), individualism and self-regard.

Thanking you for your generosity, I'll close with a provocation: do you think Diaframma without Miro Sassolini still has a reason to exist?

No comment... Anyway, that's a question you should ask someone else.

Thanks, bye.

While we wait for a new "official" release, we point fans and the curious to the two myspace pages (1 and 2), where you can read, listen, watch and get in touch with Miro.

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