The reincarnation of Negazione! Conducted via email with Alessandro and Bongi and originally published in Perro Maldito#1
Perro: Well, let's start with the most banal question expressed in the most obvious way: since you are quite a young band, tell us something about the Confusione birth and history. (A=alessandro; B=bongi)
A- Ok, Confusione is not so young as it may seem, it was started in late ’94; in those days we were Diego (g), Matteo (v), Rodrigo (d) and me (b), then someone went and others came, I started to play drums and now we are: Diego (g), Bongi (v), Marco (b) and me (d). Marco is the freshest member: until the last summer, when the 7” came out, Dodo played with us (he’s on the recording too), then probably he lost interest in the whole thing and got sick of us! We’ve been in the deepest “underground” for many years: few gigs, few recordings and releases (1 demo and a 7” which never came out) and so on, we played above all for ourselves, for the sake of it, then times passed by, we grew up, got bored of things and with new energies, new heads and new members we got out of the “shell”, now we love hanging around and playing, meeting new people, new bands, knowing new places and realities.
Perro: Well, let's start with the most banal question expressed in the most obvious way: since you are quite a young band, tell us something about the Confusione birth and history. (A=alessandro; B=bongi)
A- Ok, Confusione is not so young as it may seem, it was started in late ’94; in those days we were Diego (g), Matteo (v), Rodrigo (d) and me (b), then someone went and others came, I started to play drums and now we are: Diego (g), Bongi (v), Marco (b) and me (d). Marco is the freshest member: until the last summer, when the 7” came out, Dodo played with us (he’s on the recording too), then probably he lost interest in the whole thing and got sick of us! We’ve been in the deepest “underground” for many years: few gigs, few recordings and releases (1 demo and a 7” which never came out) and so on, we played above all for ourselves, for the sake of it, then times passed by, we grew up, got bored of things and with new energies, new heads and new members we got out of the “shell”, now we love hanging around and playing, meeting new people, new bands, knowing new places and realities.
B- The current line-up for me is improving: I have some different ideas of what playing this music (in some places rather than others…) means, that diverge from Marco’s point of view about the argument. Sometimes I ask myself if could be better to quit my involvement in the band, stop doing Confusione, I dunno…even because those divergences have a positive aspect too: I can reconsider better my own ideas and my own actions out of the boundaries of a musical gender and his stereotypes. We’re persons with different visions of the hardcore scene and attitude.
Perro: If I have to define your music I would say that is fastcore with a '80s italian HC influence and a very personal style. How would you describe it to the uninitiated?
Perro: If I have to define your music I would say that is fastcore with a '80s italian HC influence and a very personal style. How would you describe it to the uninitiated?
A- Well, for us it’s hardcore, then it’s up to YOU to give your definitions, we don’t care too much. About the 80’s Italian hardcore influence I can say that some of us may have some records from those scenes but we never really listened to those bands so much to get such an influence as you and other say. We take inspirations from many bands, not just hc bands, but we don’t feel so close to anyone in particular.Anyway your definition seems to be one of the fittest, something similar can be found in many reviews….
B- I’m the one with the records of the 80’s. My favourites are Nabat and Nerorgasmo: in the golden age of Italian hardcore two of the most controversial bands. I don’t like definitions too much, but for me there’s no problem in the term “fastcore”…even if I think that Confusione is not only concerned in how fast we play our music.
B- I’m the one with the records of the 80’s. My favourites are Nabat and Nerorgasmo: in the golden age of Italian hardcore two of the most controversial bands. I don’t like definitions too much, but for me there’s no problem in the term “fastcore”…even if I think that Confusione is not only concerned in how fast we play our music.
Perro: Talking about the italian scene, what do you think about bands who just repeat again and again the classic 80s italian HC formula without adding nothing of new/personal? What's also your opinion about those who simply rip off popular yankee bands?
A- Basically I think here we can find the gap between expression and creation. Many bands keep on playing the same old things simply as a means to express feelings, thoughts, despair and so on and keep the focus on it more than on music itself, personally I think it’s always good but not so easy, I like even bands playing stuff someone else played 10 or more years ago but first of all I must feel sincerity coming out of their sounds and not third hand tunes: so something personal has been added. In many other bands I can find some kinda of “musical mind” who expresses his/her individuality playing and so rearranges everything heard before ‘cause nothing would exactly fit to what he/she has to say……nothing is completely new but we can make our own version of it. Then I know there are stupid wannabe trends in punkhc but they’re stupid wannabe trends and nothing more.
B- Revivals are boring and so stupid…we don’t play some old school tune added with modern arrangements and sounds…ok, maybe it seems this, but the riff-o-rama of Diego flows out from various sources and for me it’s fresh and original: not just an update or a deja-hearing nostalgic project.
Perro: If I understood well, your ep is born from a cooperation through various labels. How's born that collaboration? Is it hard to have three labels involved in releasing one 7"?
Perro: If I understood well, your ep is born from a cooperation through various labels. How's born that collaboration? Is it hard to have three labels involved in releasing one 7"?
A- The cooperation was born ‘cause we need mainly help with distribution since it was our first experience and we didn’t feel so prepared to face it alone. So we get in touch with those two guys (MarcoZas! from Oulx and BorisHeroine from Forlì) and here two different stories must be told……With Marco we were friends already before, not so close but we met many times until we decided to do it together, then we started to keep in touch more often and our relation evolved, he got really involved in the thing and supported it with great rapture, he’s always interested in our projects and sometimes comes with us at gigs, festivals…a constructive experience and I’m sure more will come. BorisHeroine: we received a letter from him where he said he had heard our master and he was interested in coproducing it: we thought this was good. We met him once in Turin when we played with his band LaQuiete so we don’t know him very well but that’s the story: when we got the records, it was the mid of July, we sent all his copies to him through MilaAgipunk and we got the money in December when we played at Confino squat in Cesena, near his town; well, the problem is not delay, we know well that money and d.i.y. don’t walk hand in hand, but in those months, after a lot of mails and phone calls, we never heard anything from him but a confused story about missing money orders, furthermore never our 7” was mentioned among future or past Heroine productions anywhere (actually I haven’t take a look at his website in the last months) and never heard from him anymore. We just think all this is quite ambiguous and not much correct.
Maybe next time we’ll be wiser in choosing our partners (in crime); coproduction itself is not hard, hard to find are people really involved in doing the thing together, able to give/get trust, then thing could only get easier.
Perro: Your lyrics seems to me very personal and sometimes it's hard to understand what's the point. But generally they have a very negative/pessimistic attitude. Is pessimism the only way to be realistic in this world?
Perro: Your lyrics seems to me very personal and sometimes it's hard to understand what's the point. But generally they have a very negative/pessimistic attitude. Is pessimism the only way to be realistic in this world?
B- There’s no point to understand and they’re not only filled with negative thinking. States of mind, sensations: I just try to overthrow anxiety and sorrow.
A- I think negativity is deeply radicated, in different ways, within us all and obviously pessimism finds room in words/music coming from our inner-selves.Pessimism is not the only way, being realistic means first of all knowledge. Then pessimism or others may come…
Perro: About the phrase from the song "Indelebile": "go away because you hide me the sun!". Where have you taken it? If I remind well is from the greek philosopher Diogene...
Perro: About the phrase from the song "Indelebile": "go away because you hide me the sun!". Where have you taken it? If I remind well is from the greek philosopher Diogene...
B- I took this phrase from the writing on the guitar of a dear friend of mine. I dunno the font… maybe it’s not a quote taken from other sources, maybe it’s my friend’s thinking after reading some Stirner’s book and seeing some Magnum Ego Algida’s spot (the one with the hippies on it). The entire song is a dedication to him. “Indelebile” ends with a dawn and it’s the last song of the ep. The first song starts with a rude awakening in an early morning…the circle is complete.
Perro: If I'm not wrong the title of the ep is about the burning of the Torino's Dome. Why have you decided to use that events as a title? If I will burn S.Pietro will you use it as title of your next release?
A- Once for all: that’s not the title! it’s just the note of the print, it’s a part of it.It was just a church burning, from those flames someone got nothing but fear (cats, rats, bigots), someone felt it so romantic, for someone it was a dreadful icon burning, for someone just a great show. But Cristiano took from it the inspiration for some works and when we saw‘em while we were looking for the right artwork, this was the one! Sorry but on the cover of our next release we should put the burning of the A.S.T.(acciaierie speciali terni) steel-plant occurred on the 24th of march, during a 3days HC festival here in Turin (take note: A.S.T. is in front of Cascina squat where the night before played 10 bands from all over Italy!!) then we could use your portrait for cover (once you’ll get S. Pietro burnt down, sure!) but probably we won’t. We decided to quit with arsons.
B- A great show! Similar to our gigs…
Perro: From some reviews I read it seems that your debut 7" has been received very well both from the local and overseas scene, did you expected such a good reaction with the first ep?
A- We didn’t know what to expect, in the first days probably we didn’t even care, we were so proud of it… after all these years this was exactly the idea we matured of what a Confusione record had to be and with the help of some people (first of all Cristiano and Tino V°piano) we got it. Then came the spreading season and with the help of Mighty MarcoZas! our record arrived quite far away all over the world. Many zines and labels spoke very kind words for our 7”, sometimes even too enthusiastically to me, often drawing us near to the Italian 80’s thrashcore bands although we never meant it (see answer #2); I got so influenced by those words that when I read on a Yacopsae t-shirt something like “death to the 80’s thrashcore hype” for a moment I felt hurt. Anyway that is great, alluring, supporting and helping with keeping it up, thank you all.
B- For me Yacopsae are right on this: it’s just an hype. Even if we are invited at the bandana thrashcore festival…but it’s not a movement, it’s a mode.
Perro: Who are the five person from italy/world that make you sick every time you see or read about them?
Perro: Who are the five person from italy/world that make you sick every time you see or read about them?
B- If juventus was a basketball team the question would be solved.
A- They’re more than five and I try to see/hear/talk about them the lesser I can, it’s quite easy, problems rise when we have to deal face to face with sickening people everyday, that’s quite hard.
Perro: Plans for the future?
Perro: Plans for the future?
A- We have a “slow-motion” plan about a split 7” with a u.s. band (maybe Carcrash?) on George’s label, NuclearBBQ, from California and nothing more, we have new songs and we’re thinking to start recordings then……we hope to play a lot around and maybe in September we’ll be touring Germany and that would be great! Thanks Raffa, best luck to you and Perro Maldito. Cheers.
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