Rockets - Galactic Pop

We meet exclusively with the last true witness of Rockets, namely Fabrice Quagliotti, still the soul of the band, as shown also by the recent tour, which also stopped in Italy. Right in the midst of that tour, after this interview took place, came the news of the passing of Christian Le Bartz, voice and founder of the French outfit, who died on February 4, 2025 at the age of 73. "You left quietly, the opposite of your explosive character," Quagliotti recalled. "The image of Rockets in their golden era is gone. What a blow, Christian. Forget the bombs on stage. Even though we hadn't spoken in years, you were always on my mind. I see you again the first time we met, with those wild eyes of yours. I see you again when, with a bit of sadism, you shaved my head, a Rockets initiation rite. I see you again in our arguments. I just see you, period."

In our conversation with Fabrice, we mainly explore this new chapter of Rockets, pioneers of space disco and space rock since the 70s, with timeless hits like "Electric Delight", "Galactica" and "One The Road Again".

Hi Fabrice! Congratulations on this tour, it's having huge success!

Hi, yes, thanks, I have to say it's going great.

I also see a lot of young people in the audience...

True, maybe they're not familiar with this kind of music and show, but from what they tell me when I ask them, they're having fun. We try to bring a real show.

I have to say that with all your influences you manage to attract both people like me, for instance, who are into space rock and electronic music, and people who might not know that kind of music but still connect with you anyway because they find original and interesting ideas in your sound.

Indeed, I agree, I think that's one of the reasons we've managed to have such a diverse audience for so many years.

You recently released a new album titled "The Final Frontier", how did it come together? Did you have any particular new drive or influences?

The only rule I set for recording the album was that it had to have the flavor of the first one, the green one, of "On The Road Again" and "Plasteroid", because those are the most experimental and rock-oriented, so I wanted to go back to our roots. We worked closely with Fabri, obviously, but also with all the other musicians, and after years there was real teamwork, with everyone contributing their own ideas. It also took 11 months, and Michele Violante, our sound engineer, did an excellent job, amazing! "The Final Frontier", in my opinion, is an album that never gets tiring to listen to.

“The Final Frontier” also came out in a nice vinyl edition, with blue and clear LPs.

Yes, and for the tour another edition came out, a double one, containing 4 more tracks, with a smooth side D where you can add autographs, for those who want to, so as not to ruin Domenico Dell'Osso's beautiful cover art. You can only find it at concerts.

You're considered "space rock", a term that immediately makes me think of Hawkwind - did they have any influence on you?

Yes, I know them, of course. Personally, as influences I'm "multi-ethnic" - I mean, I started with classical music, I loved prog, Genesis, Yes, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. So a mix of all this - for the melodies, Bowie, for the harmonic influences, Genesis, and so on.

I imagine the Berlin trilogy was very important when it comes to Bowie…

Very much so! I also love Kraftwerk a lot, their sound and the way they built their sequences.

On the surface your cover of "On The Road Again" seems far removed from your tastes, but actually mixing genres is part of your personality. You've also played a cover of the Doors, for instance.

Yes, you know, in a band the sound is made up of five different entities. As for the idea behind the look, though, that was our first producer's doing - he had this idea of a band of shaved, silver-skinned extraterrestrials. Truly genius.

A look that reminds me a lot of 70s sci-fi films. Did cinema play a role in your influences?

You know, actually no… we were a bit strange, they were mostly ideas that came up as a group - we were certainly all sci-fi fans, that helped. I have to say some people actually took inspiration from our look, for instance the beautiful film "Westworld" with Yul Brynner - he was shaved bald and dressed as a cowboy! Really great.

What interests you musically today?

In Italy I like Subsonica as a genre, while on the international scene I absolutely love Billie Eilish - I think she's the only artist in the last thirty years to achieve global success with music that isn't commercial. She has the advantage of having a brother who's a genius, an incredible producer, and she sings wonderfully. I also really like the shows she puts on, she's a real character.

Thank you, Fabrice!

Thank you, I'd also like to mention Katia Creative, who created our spectacular outfits, and, again, Domenico Dell'Osso for the wonderful cover art.

Ride the wave of great music

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