Interview with Damiano Mercuri

 

Damiano Mercuri is an italian artist, known from the band Rose Rovine e Amanti where he plays neofolk music with rock and classical influences. He plays also early European music - medieval, reneissance and baroque.

There was your concert in Warsaw in 2008. How do you mention this event?

It was very very good to me and I guess for the audience too but it was a classical gig. It gave me the possibility to enter in contact with Warsaw and many good and great polish guys. I also been invited to play in a club for few friends and it was very enjoyable.

Please describe us your latest albums: “Demian” as RReA and “European Music And Ballads From Renaissance And Baroque Era” as Damiano Mercuri.

Demian is a evolution in the RREA sound, its more rock and aggressive without deny neofolk roots. On a conceptual way it deals with the human dual nature the eternal fight between the angel and the beast wich is into each man.
The latter is a renaissance and baroque CD of classical guitar. In the last years I’ve been involved a lot in this genre and so I recorded some stuff which the Eastern Front published.

What’s your actual opinion about “Schwannenspiel” material? It seems that you were not glad that these recordings have been published…

That CD was released without my permission. None asked me to record the gig and to produce a bootleg. In that gig (in Germany) I was there only as ghost artist to cover the real band which had to play: Von Thronstahl.
In Germany VT is not allowed to play so I went there friendly to put RREA name but it was a secret gig for VT. I wasn’t there with a proper line up and I did no sound check before the show as you can listen to the material - it’s totally rough and awful and I’m sorry if someone waste money for such rubbish.

Tell us about cooperation with Emil Ivanov Saparevski. Was that you who chose his drawings as illustrations for RReA songs or maybe it was an idea of Cold Spring label?

Emil is the producer of a great Bulgarian act called Kayno Yesno Slonce and I entered in contact with Emil to ask them in my compilation “Credo in unum Deum” since they are orthodox.
From there we remained in relationship with Emil and when I went to Bulgaria to play he proposed me to design my next booklet and when I saw his pictures I loved so much that we did the artwork. I’m very proud that the Demian’s artwork is full of great art and I love his Bulgarian-mediterranean spirit.

Damiano Mercuri...

Ciąg dalszy...

There is a small, limited and interesting thing in your discography – B Machina* / Rose Rovine e Amanti split. Could you tell us something more about this album?

It was a sort of joke I guess... I’ve been asked to be in such limited release and the graphic was very smart so I joint. It was very very fast.

How important is rock music for you? There are some rock elements in Rose Rovine e Amanti music, so do you agree with Josef Klumb who made such distinction: “Johann Sebastian BACHS Musik ist göttlich, vertikal. Rockmusik ist weltlich, horizontal. Ich liebe beides, aber alles im entsprechenden Rahmen.” (Johann Sebastian Bach's music is divine, vertically. Rock music is worldly, horizontal. I love both, but everything in the appropriate context.)

Yes, Josef is totally right but you see the both musics are mirrors of two different ways of living, thinking and prayng. In the past Europa was really close to the sense of trascendental looking for God. The modern contemporary Europa is rolling fast and foolishly so none of us could feel and compose like in the past. We’re into a crazy night train without destination, we don’t know what’s is right and wrong no clear direction, no symbols to follow.
I love rock music and it’s comfortable with my rotten nerves and the chaos I live in the dirty Rome.

It is well-known that you are Roman Catholic and that there are religious motives and inspirations in your music. So my questions are: do you identify with so-called “tradition movement”? What do you think about two important decisions of Benedict XVI – motu proprio about Tridentine Mass and controversial lifting an excomunnion from SSPX bishops?

I’m honestly not the person to ask... I’m just a trobadour or minestrel. But if you ask me I think the Roman Church should talk more about Christ and less of other things. We’re living the dark age of the spirit and the Roman Church is too full of corruption and false priests, business men, banks affair and so on. The first thing is to bring more discipline into the Vatican and restart talking about Jesus. All in all I think tridentine rite is good but we need able priests for this...

Tell us about your artistic plans for the nearest months and 2010. Will there be a new RReA CD or your solo recordings?

Actually I’m in confusion... I got lots of material and a new CD already finished but still I don’t feel to start the production. I want to understand better what musical direction is better for me. At the moment I’m studing and practising and making experiments.
Let me thank you and the readers for the interest in Rose Rovine E Amanti Let me salute holy Poland and his friendly noble folk.

Sincerely yours Damiano