03: Operaja Criminale (Roma)

Summer, a couple of years ago, two friends meet in Rome: Matteo Scannicchio and Andrea Ruggiero. The pair had known each other for some time, having performed in the same musical circles. Both want to do something new, something different, so they meet, have beer, share ideas and  form Operaja Criminale.

Giorgio Maria Condemi (Spiritual Front, Bottega Glitzer) and Cesare Petulicchio (Bud Spenser Blues Explosion) joined the pair to record their debut album “Roma, guanti e argento” (Rome,  gloves and silver). “We had known them for some time too,” says Matteo “both incredible musicians with a personal sound and perfect for Operaja. We didn’t want a bland flat sound, rather individual sounds which would coexist. We then involved Ilenia Volpe for the same reason. We wanted an unconventional female voice, not clean or delicate or ethereal. We wanted a wild contemporary woman. Who better than Ilenia?” Indeed. Riccardo Dal Col was the last to be involved in the recording of the album: a young (not yet 20), talented drummer. He was asked to record “Tremore#3” with the band.

I first met Operaja Criminale at a recording studio in Bassano del Grappa in December 2010 where they were recording the album with Giorgio Canali as producer. With Giorgio at the helm it’s no wonder that the experience was a mind-opener for the group. “We arrived in the studio with clear ideas about the sound we wanted” explains Matteo “but Giorgio soon changed that: he removed the rust and the excess, he reshuffled the cards, so to speak.” One thing the pair was not sure about was playing without “click” but Giorgio wanted them to record directly. “He said that if we wanted the album to be ‘human’ and ‘instruments’ there had to be no external support. We were hesitant to agree but listening to the album now we are absolutely certain he was right!” says Matteo.

The first single from the album is the track “E.C.G.”,  a video of the track was released on the 9th January. Having already worked with the young Rome-based film maker, Paola Rotasso, the video was a natural evolution of their collaborative efforts. Matteo recalls that the lyrics of the song were written on the back of an ECG recording without him realising it and since the name of the track was also to be ECG it was an amazing coincidence. He explains the song’s meaning: “It’s a sort-of conversation with the heart as a basic tool for proper functioning of our bodies. Should we listen to our heart when it tells us to slow down or not care and carry on anyway, pushing our bodies and minds? We wanted to represent this idea in the video: Carlo De Ruggeri and Giorgio Canali were just perfect for these roles.”

So far the album has been received well by the critics: “It’s rare that people really listen to an album,” says Matteo “but they have also used great adjectives to describe it. We wanted to talk about real things: intimate, visceral, explosive. It seems our efforts have been appreciated and shared and we cannot deny that we’re really pleased.”

Operaja Criminale are part of a collective of young artists and musicians in Rome called “Heroes”. “They are all extraordinary people,” says Matteo “they are making things happen and believe in a cultural revolution.” Twice a month they organise concerts at “Le Mura,” an intimate club located in one of Rome’s most lively areas: San Lorenzo. They are promoting real underground home-grown music from Rome with the desire that one day it may also become mainstream. These concerts are rapidly becoming important appointments on the social calendar: “I know things will progress from here to the benefit of everyone involved” says Matteo. He believes that the music scene in Rome is prolific with infectious music. He says there are lots of pubs and clubs with many buildings having been transformed from industrial use to music venues, theatres and exhibition spaces. “Rome is pretty much like any other European capital,” says Matteo “and for this reason things here don’t go unnoticed: bands on the scene in Rome often get noticed in the rest of Italy and we’re lucky to be one of those bands.” He says we are in a crucial historic period – not because the world is going to end – but that people are more sensitive, the arts are being enriched and renewed and it’s a time for change: “There are blank pages to be written on, the scope is enormous, it’s similar to the great cultural revolutions for the 19th Century although different in context. Not forgetting that the technological revolution of recent years resembles closely the industrial one.”

Opportunities outside of Italy would also be welcomed by the pair: “I don’t believe that there are linguistic limitations” explains Matteo “the audiences don’t make much distinction between whether you are German, French, Italian or Spanish… it doesn’t affect the quality of the music you produce.”

Roma, guanti e argento will be presented in Rome on the 27th January at Le Mura with some guest appearances. It will undoubtedly be an unforgettable and enjoyable evening. A tour is then scheduled from March starting in the South, returning to Rome and then heading to the North. It’s beginning to look like this will be a great year for Operaja Criminale.

Contacts details and links for Operaja Criminale:

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Operaja-Criminale/148817255182771
in streaming on let love grow: http://www.letlovegrow.it/2012/01/13/streaming-operaja-criminale-roma-guanti-e-argento/ 
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/operajacriminale
contact: operajacriminale@libero.it
info and booking: +39 392 5260125

 

This video is recommended by Operaja Criminale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHLI69A7-oM&feature=related

We like this video: it's a classic, but we believe it's a good place to start.