Fabio Zuffanti

Fabio Zuffanti needs no introduction on the pages of OndaRock. Long one of the most influential prog musicians on the contemporary Italian scene, in recent years he has been devoting himself with growing energy to his second passion, writing. After several essays, including the recent “Prog rock! 101 dischi dal 1967 al 1980”, and his debut in prose with a collection of short stories, “Storie notturne”, he has now published an in-depth book on the life and work of one of his favourite musicians, Franco Battiato.

Hi Fabio, your career as a musician is increasingly being enriched by new books, not just music essays but even attempts at prose fiction with the book “Storie notturne”. What different kinds of satisfaction does writing give you compared to composing and playing?

I've devoted myself body and soul to music for almost 25 years, I've made a huge number of albums with different projects, collaborated with dozens of musicians and toured half the world playing shows; I think it's only natural to try and get a breath of fresh air by turning to my other great passion, writing. That said, this activity does share some similarities with the way I compose: when I write, I try to bring a certain musicality into my sentences, an almost "melodic" flow that can draw the reader in without weighing them down. The key difference between writing and making music is that you can happily do the former alone, with a pen and notebook or a computer, anywhere in the world. Music, records and live shows, on the other hand, in most cases, are made together with other people. Let's say that in writing I also look for a moment where I can be alone with myself and my thoughts, letting myself be carried purely by the sound of the words. They're two different ways of living out artistic expression, but for me they're equally satisfying.

Over the years I've read everything that's been published about Battiato, and I realised that a great many aspects of his work were being overlooked or not explored in enough depth. I had long dreamed of a book that could dig deeper into the various inspirations behind his records (especially those from his experimental period), the perspectives of the collaborators who worked with him over the years (to tell the story from different angles), the more or less overt influences behind his lyrics... A study that would go deep into the analysis of the musical fabric, that would clear up various unclear points in his story, that would critically portray both the positives and the idiosyncrasies of the man, and much more. I waited a long time to read a book like that, and since it never came, at a certain point I decided to write it myself.

Could it be called an autobiography?

If by "autobiography" you mean that in writing about Battiato I somehow ended up writing about myself too, then we could use that term; otherwise, it's a biography through and through.

Both. Many details about Battiato the man came to me from the collaborators and friends I specifically interviewed for the book, but a lot more emerged from various statements he made over the years, which I tracked down in magazines, books, websites and so on. If I'd asked the Battiato of today to tell me about his past, he would have brushed it off in a few sentences - Franco doesn't much like dwelling on who he used to be. But I needed to recapture exactly that verve of the young Battiato, set within the time of the events I was narrating. To make readers understand what an incredible character he was back then, so far removed from the "guru" figure he is today. A genuine punk ante litteram; critical, restless, brazen, often even cynical towards the music of the time, towards his fellow musicians, towards anyone who lacked his great drive and dedication. A one-of-a-kind artist in Italy, always outside the box, of great courage and sincerity; the architect of a journey that, from its early hardships, would lead him to find balance and fame, always guided by his great intelligence, sensitivity and sharp sense of reality.

I met him a couple of times and we exchanged a few emails. He's a truly magnetic man: when Franco walks into a room, even if your back is turned and you can't see him, you can "feel" him. He has extraordinary charisma and an aura of great wisdom and depth. At times he can even be a little intimidating, being this mix of a saint and a university professor. In reality, though, he's a person of great humanity - extremely kind, extremely generous, and often very witty and funny. One of his great passions, for instance, is telling jokes...

Unfortunately Battiato is going through a period of serious health problems, and I don't think he's able to concentrate on reading right now. We all hope this difficult time passes and that we'll see him again stronger and more combative than before.

Sometimes, but with care. I'm not a big fan of those books written by musicologists who split hairs over musical analysis using terminology only accessible to people who know theory inside out. In that sense, I try to give the reader the keys to dig a little deeper into the musical discourse, without forgetting that the reader might have absolutely no grounding in such notions. So I try to make whatever I'm talking about understandable to everyone; at most I'll ask readers to make the effort of looking up some extra detail on certain terminology online, but I never try to make things needlessly complicated. I'm a self-taught musician myself, so I know very well how far I can push things "technically" before I risk losing my own bearings too. Starting from that premise, I believe an analysis of a musician written by a musician can certainly go into more specific detail (not just on a technical level) and reveal aspects that are often unknown to a non-musician writer. But, I repeat, always being careful not to overdo it and not to undermine the reader's ability to follow along.

There are two main reasons: the first is that this period is certainly my favourite in Franco's story, so I approached it with the right amount of dedication and passion; the other is that if I had covered his entire career, I would have ended up with at least a thousand pages, and it certainly wouldn't have come out before 2020. So I decided to split the story into three parts: the first is the one that's been published, the second should cover the 1983-1994 period, and the third from 1995 to the present day. However, I haven't yet made any plans regarding the release of the other two volumes.

On the musical side, autumn will see the release of my fifth solo album, titled "In/Out", an album featuring contributions from Livio Magnini (Bluvertigo), who is also the record's producer, Fabio Cinti, Nicola Manzan (Bologna Violenta) and other trusted collaborators of mine. It will be a multifaceted, many-sided work that brings together pop, electronic, jazz, classical, new wave, ambient, experimentalism and much more. As for writing, I'll soon start work on another music biography about one of the key figures of the great Italian rock scene of the Seventies, and I'm also putting the finishing touches to my first novel, which I hope to publish as soon as possible.

Ride the wave of great music

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