Warm Morning Brothers - Living Slow and Pop Music

Which song, for you, best represents the current Warm Morning Brothers?

I'd say "Cumberland Street" could represent us in this latest incarnation of ours, because, even though it's in line with the new tracks, it still stays tied to the kind of songs we were writing at the start of this project, quite a few years back now.

It's hard to think of Warm Morning Brothers as anything but a "one-of-a-kind" band, at least on the Italian scene. You can tell right away from the music that this is something you do first and foremost out of passion for doing it – you immediately notice its intrinsic value, the care that went into producing it. I read that the project began in 2002, when Simone "left" the world of rock to devote himself to what felt closer to his way of expressing himself, at least musically. Can you tell us how the idea developed, how the actual duo came together, and so on?

In the early 2000s I played in various rock-oriented bands: Blue Noha, heavily influenced by certain American indie-rock sounds, with Dinosaur Jr as their main point of reference above all others; Rookies, with whom I still play today, devoted to sixties garage rock with clear nods to the Dutch Beat and English rhythm and blues, plus lots of collaborations with solo artists and bands.

Having always been musically "omnivorous" and interested in a wide range of genres, rock started to feel a bit too confining, so I began thinking about a project that wasn't tied to one particular genre, but something that would give me the freedom to write in a freer way.

At the time my brother didn't have a band, but he was completely immersed in studying guitar and orchestral arrangements. Almost by chance we started playing together, without worrying about whether we were forming a band or anything else. After a few months we'd already written our first album, and from that moment on we never stopped writing and searching for new ideas and solutions. For us it's very stimulating to think of Warm Morning as something that's always in motion and doesn't have a fixed shape.

Given that your sister is also a musician, I get the sense there's a special atmosphere in your family – can you tell us about that? Where does Modicamore's love of music come from?

Actually the "sister" cellist we included in the line-up for our live shows isn't our sister (at least not by blood), but she's definitely part of the "family", as we like to call it. Elena is a great professional and a kindred spirit to us, who has brought new energy and good vibes and has helped create a much more effective and engaging live set. We consider ourselves very lucky to have met her!

Those were the years of the new acoustic movement – "Quiet Is The New Loud", one of its manifestos, came out in 2001. Your past reference points are very clear – 60s pop, both "youthful" and "grown-up", I'd say, from the Beatles to Bacharach, just to name the best-known – but were there any artists over the years you looked to, at least to feel a little less "one of a kind"? Is there a current artist/band you'd like to collaborate with?

Sure, staying in Norway, alongside our “champions” Kings of Convenience, I'd say Sondre Lerche has been writing beautiful records for so many years now, and he's inspired us a great deal. Not moving too far, over in Sweden the indie crooner Jens Lekman has been a solid point of reference, with his class and his timeless way of writing songs. But also Iron and Wine, Timber Timbre, Midlake, Last Shadow Puppets, High Llamas and many others. We'd love to do a split 7-inch with Jens Lekman, a tribute to ABBA.

I've also read that you write songs together but almost without any direct communication. Can you describe your process to us?

There's no fixed method to how we write albums: sometimes six months go by with nothing coming out, and then as if by magic we write fourteen songs in twenty days. In the early days we worked on songs more individually, but on the last few albums there's been much more communication during the writing stage, and the final result has definitely benefited from that (positively, I think). Being brothers, most of the time we manage to communicate and exchange ideas even without speaking, which speeds up and eases the creative process.

Your arrangements have steadily grown in scale and importance since your early days, and perhaps on your latest album, “A Bunch Of Weeds”, they've taken on a broader tone, by now maybe more “orchestral” than chamber-like, at least in feel. How has this side of your music evolved over the years?

Thanks to Andrea's ever deeper studies and research into orchestral arrangements, the contribution of classical instruments like strings and horns has grown increasingly important, becoming one with our sound. Andrea is also a great devotee of film scores, so he's decidedly influenced by the majesty and grandeur that an orchestra can give you.

So it'll be tough for me to ever manage my goal of making an album with a bare, minimal sound, no orchestra or anything else, recorded live with just a couple of microphones. One of these days I'll get there!

In particular, I feel I can spot some new lyrical glimpses in this new record, perhaps more “modern” in a certain sense — I'm thinking for instance of “Dull Boy” and “The Boy And Marlene's Ghost”. Is that a direction you recognize? And, in general, how do you feel you've changed on this new record?

Yes, especially when it comes to “The Boy And Marlene's Ghost”, we sensed a change of course in the ideas that were coming out: this track was the first one written for this new album, and it acted as a sort of guide for the songs that followed. For “A Bunch Of Weeds” we veered towards a soft, hazy psychedelia, blended with the sixties pop we love, which then led us to write songs like “Dull Boy”, which could be considered more of a mantra than a pop song, underscored by lyrics inspired by an old English proverb famously used by the great Stanley Kubrick in his masterpiece “Shining”, in the scene where Jack Nicholson obsessively types on the typewriter “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.

You've always paid great attention to your artwork, often featuring pastel drawings. One of your latest videos too, “Sun On Gold”, shows a lovely animated story. “A Bunch Of Weeds” has so far come out in a special edition, in a handsome, handmade-looking box. Would you like to tell us about Warm Morning's relationship with this side of things?

We love taking care of the artwork of our albums, since the images we pair with our music are the first thing through which we communicate with the outside world. My wife Sara, who works as an illustrator, has always handled the artwork (the idea of family keeps coming back around). The decision to do a limited edition, with a box containing the record, lyrics and a few small gadgets, was made to give something extra to those interested in one of our records, and since we're talking about a small number of copies printed, why not make them a bit more special? A more traditional edition will be out soon, distributed by Self, thanks to the collaboration between our label, Other Eyes Records, and Dark Companion Records.

On this album we also invested a bit more in music videos, and we're very proud to have worked with Aimone Marziali, who directed the video for “Sun On Gold”, using strictly all-analogue animation, which made the pairing of images and music truly magical.

Your uniqueness (but also, of course, your merit) was recognized right away — if I'm not mistaken, your first release on a label was on the prestigious Shelflife. “Too Far From The Stars” came out on an Indonesian label. “Stolen Beauty” was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. A series of events that certainly seem like more than coincidence, yet perhaps still haven't quite come to full fruition: why do you think that is?

Simply put, we live at a different speed. We can't reconcile our musical work, and our approach to Music, with the throwaway philosophy that rules today's record industry. We've always lived on hills among vineyards, and our rhythms follow the cycle of the seasons, like bears.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google