Nicola Mazzocca - Klippa Kloppa - Experimentation without borders

The end of 2021 brings us a genuine gem in the field of experimental music. "Mellifera" is the solo debut of Nicola Mazzocca, a brilliant musician who for many years now has been involved with some of the most original and inventive outfits this country has produced. We exchanged a few words with him, along with more than one reflection on the current scene, which we can only hope will soon be dubbed "post-pandemic".

What drove you to take on a solo work, and what did you want to convey through it?

Until now I'd never felt the need to express myself through a solo record, mainly because with Klippa Kloppa we've always tried to pursue something that goes beyond belonging to predefined genres; any musical idea, of any kind, suggested by any one of us has always been embraced with enthusiasm and worked out with the band. For the past few years, though, Klippa Kloppa's approach has focused more squarely on the pop side of things, on carefully constructed songwriting, on flawless execution: all things that, once the record is finished, translate into great satisfaction for the work done, but which, while still in fieri, can generate a sense of fatigue and frustration, especially when the recording sessions drag on for a long time. So I felt the need to return to a freedom of expression, both in composing and performing, and to search for a sound that wasn't more or less standard, but entirely personal. Since my usual partners in crime were all focused on finishing the new Klippa Kloppa record, though, I didn't want to drag them into another project before the one already underway was done (aside from Stefano and Mariano, whose contribution I couldn't do without on a couple of tracks). So more than the desire to make a record on my own, what I really wanted was to make a freer, more experimental record.

Actually, with "Mellifera" I didn't want to tell any particular story — I don't know how to tell a story through purely instrumental pieces, and I'm not even a big fan of so-called "soundtracks for imaginary films." Pairing instrumental tracks with images can be very effective, but it can also make certain pieces of music sound better than they actually are — music that, on its own, wouldn't really be worth listening to. When I want to tell or say something, I usually turn to lyrics: "Mellifera," on the other hand, only tells the story of a desire to play freely, to sort through, let out and capture as effectively as possible the musical ideas I'd gathered over the past while.

Can you tell us how the ideas for your compositions are generally born and developed?

Even though I just said I'm not a fan of "soundtracks for imaginary films," I have to admit that the ideas for my compositions generally come from film, comics, novels, books about animals or about psychology. I start out trying to translate certain sensations into music, or a story, a habitat, and then the musical idea takes shape, expands and transcends the concept it started from, until it no longer has anything to do with it. Having become something else entirely, it's the music itself that then inspires other images, other words, which I use for the titles, as ideas for the album artwork, for the videos. In short, the original source of inspiration is never what the track ends up representing in its final form.

Why did you choose English titles for most of the tracks on the album?

The genesis of the track titles on "Mellifera" stems from a process connected to what I described in the previous answer. Once the tracks were built, I looked for a visual counterpart to the feeling they gave me, in order to gather material for the tracks' videos. This time, rather than choosing a title that evoked that feeling, I decided to title them with a direct reference to the sources used to build the videos, most of which are American. The exceptions are "Una vita al secondo," for which I liked the concept of "a life per second" much more than the original title of the footage used for the video, and the title track, "Mellifera," which is called that because it's dedicated, like the whole record, to my favorite insects, bees.

How did you manage to strike a balance between composition and improvisation?

"Mellifera" started out as a work of deconstructing and reconstructing other people's music, carried out in a "non-digital" way, let's say, during which there was no advance composition, just the typical process of improvising and then selecting the best material. From that best material, several elements were then stripped away, to leave more room for the instruments I'd be playing, and it was used to build a skeleton on top of which I wrote and performed parts; some further improvisations were then added on top of that. So I started out very much leaning toward improvisation, and I ended up striking a balance only because I couldn't bring myself to give up a certain amount of controlled writing and performance.

Tell us about your collaborations with Stefano Costanzo and Mariano Calazzo, and how these musicians have shaped you as a musician?

Mariano has been in Klippa Kloppa practically since the beginning — I grew up musically alongside him, we learned to play together, we listened to music together, we lived together. It was unthinkable for me not to involve him in some way in the project; I was certain his touch would enrich the composition I wanted to bring to him, and that's exactly what happened. Stefano, on the other hand, is in my opinion one of the best drummers around in Italy, able to range across genres, with exquisite musical taste, razor-sharp compositional intelligence, and off-the-scale technique. We met a couple of years ago and there was an immediate connection, both musical and personal, which led to him becoming a permanent member of Klippa Kloppa and generated a shared musical vision that took shape in an EP we wrote and recorded together, titled "Oeuvre Livre" (which you can find on Bandcamp). For "Mellifera" I had in mind to make a track centered on percussion, and I was certain no one could interpret and improvise on that track like him — and indeed, his contribution was essential. I'll also take the liberty of recommending his incredible band Oportet (in which he plays alongside the excellent Umberto Lepore and Marco Fiorenzano, an outstanding drums/double bass/piano trio), and in particular their latest record, titled "Scandala," which is really surprising.

Who is producing this work, and who will be distributing it?

I'm thrilled to announce that "Mellifera" will be produced by Lepers Produtcions, one of the most fearless, imaginative and long-running (as well as one of the most prolific) Italian labels. I've been a fan since time immemorial, and in the past I'd already had the chance to work with them, taking part in a compilation celebrating the label and, above all, helping them out with the production of a few records. I'd never had the chance, though, to put out a record with them, either with Klippa Kloppa or on my own, and while chatting with the label boss Giuseppe (aka Superfreak), "Mellifera" felt like the right record to cement our relationship. If you're not familiar with Lepers yet, I'd strongly encourage you to check out their releases — there's some incredible stuff and outstanding artists such as the already-mentioned Superfreak, Alexander de Large, Arabia Saudade, I Centauri, Bokassà, Bread Pitt…

How did you choose to promote "Mellifera"?

I'm so lazy that I decided NOT to promote "Mellifera" in any way, apart from the usual sending it out to press outlets for reviews. Honestly, I wouldn't even know how to promote it properly, not to mention that it's not the easiest record to listen to: I think the tracks hold up well individually too, but there's certainly no "single," and it's definitely an album made to be listened to from start to finish as, precisely, an album.

Do you believe the pandemic has brought about a permanent change in the way records are made and performed live?

I don't think the pandemic has brought about a permanent change in the way records are made. Certainly, during the toughest months of heavy restrictions – and I'm talking about the Western market – it did change the way records were promoted and distributed: many artists chose to delay the completion or release of their album, waiting to be able to promote it again through live shows. This underscored, more than ever, the importance of live performance for artists who can't survive on record sales alone, in an era when digital earnings are meagre and go almost entirely to the big online platforms. The pandemic brought forth alternative forms of live performance, from live streaming to festivals-as-performance, from concerts structured as a series of linked live video clips to performances involving audience participation through augmented reality. In my opinion, though – aside from a few interesting cases – these were mostly experiments (I'm thinking, for instance, of Billie Eilish, Nick Cave, the Club to Club festival, the stuff done by Pc Music, or the Cosmos platform) that don't stray too far from models that were hardly new to begin with, like live videos on YouTube or Tiny Desk-style projects. The path that will lead to forms genuinely alternative to both in-person music and to performance archived online doesn't yet seem clear or well trodden. On the contrary, at least in this first phase, the return of live shows seems to have given – and I say this from personal experience too – new vigour to the concert format, given the strong need and desire felt by everyone involved (industry people, musicians, listeners) to go back to sharing the pleasures of the stage, the dimension of meeting and exchange, the physical experience of music.

Do you plan to perform the songs from this album live?

For now, unfortunately not. I recorded all the instrumental parts of the record myself, and to take it on the road I'd have to "recruit" musicians to back me up... Since I could never choose musicians other than my trusted companions Klippa Kloppa, and, as I mentioned earlier, we're currently very busy finishing the new album and preparing the live show that goes with it, I don't think this is the right time to take on anything else. That said, I'd absolutely love to bring these songs to the stage – once the work with Klippa Kloppa is done, and if my bandmates are willing to back me, I'll give it serious thought. Going it alone, maybe using pre-recorded parts, really isn't in my nature, and I wouldn't even find it fun.

What do you think of today's music, and what are your musical touchstones these days?

I'm a voracious music listener, I also read a lot about music, and that pushes me to try and stay on top of things, listening here, there and everywhere, but the truth is that genuine listening – the kind done purely for pleasure, not just so I can talk about it – makes up a small percentage of everything I actually listen to. I consider myself a great orphan of Italian pop song, the golden years of the Seventies and Eighties; it saddens me that that glorious melodic tradition hasn't been carried forward, in a clearly modernised way, by those making music in Italy today, who seem to prefer other models, both melodic and rhythmic, first and foremost South American ones. I'm not too fond of this kind of musical globalisation, which doesn't add but rather erases and depersonalises, and that's why today I particularly love the music produced in countries – Brazil above all – that have managed to preserve their national soul and make it contemporary, or bend it in a thousand different directions. This answer obviously has nothing to do with the musical touchstones of "Mellifera" – for this record I don't think I drew on any particular current reference, but rather on countless references built up over years and years of listening.

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