It all started with a simple question:
“When are you coming to play in Padova” and a simple response: “I wish! What can I do to come and play
there?” That was five years ago... although
it seems longer. I was looking for good Italian music and came across Ilenia’s “Odori
non Chimici” [Odours not Chimicals] and the friendship started there... little
did I know then, that it would become a life changing one.
Ilenia’s musical career started long before
that first contact. Born in Rome on the 7th March 1979, she remembers being
captivated by her dad, Lido, sitting on the couch at home with a 12-string
guitar playing songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Giganti and
Modugno, and in the car to do the shopping: the same music on the stereo. There was no need for words, just music and
smiles.
“I remember the first time I picked up a
guitar,” she tells me “I thought ‘I will
never learn to do arpeggios, I suck.’ The truth is, I loved it to death and I
was annoyed as hell that I didn’t know how to play instantly.” Lido recalls
that she started to play when she was 11 years old “she used her right hand to
help her left to find the positions for chords,” he says “I remember that at 13
years old she used to take the guitar into the bathroom with her. I used to do
the same: like father, like daughter!”
At 14, Ilenia used to watch her dad and her
brother, Luca, playing and soon after that she wrote her first song. “I
remember that sometimes I used to
accompany Ilenia to one of the hills of the Olympic Village” recalls Samanta,
Ilenia’s younger sister “she was at High School then and she would always take
her inseparable guitar with her. Needless to say, she would play instead of
study! Ilenia used to play with me a lot when I was a child – a fantastic
memory for me are the pillow fights we had: we would pretend to be Bush and Bin
Laden and hit each other with our pillows!” At school she was quiet and shy: “I
really don't remember so much about Ilenia at school,” says Fabio, her
guitarist “I just remember her being pretty shy – would you believe it – and
quiet – incredible! I think it was a temporary personality that has slowly
given way to the new absolutely explosive one.”
Lido recalls that Ilenia sometimes came to
his gigs: “Ilenia and music are as one” he says “music is her life! She used to
come to my gigs with friends and look at me enviously because SHE wanted to be
on stage instead of me!” Later, Ilenia recalls sitting on the couch with her
dad and their guitars – but this time playing her songs and not those of the
Beatles – looks, smiles and talking… she says, herself, that these are details.
But they are intriguing ones and help us to understand who Ilenia Volpe is.
In 2006 Ilenia won her first award for
“Best Music” at the “Augusto Daolio” music awards for her song “Mondo
indistuttibile” [Indestructible World] which is also one of the tracks on her
album, Radical Chic Un Cazzo [Radica Chic, Fuck no!]. She played in many of the
clubs around Rome and indeed outside of Rome leading up to January 2008 when we
first met. I remember her asking me “What are you doing for New Year” and on
hearing that I had nothing organised telling me not to do anything “Come to
Rome” she said “I’m performing in January at Big Bang.” So I went, and we met.
I remember a fantastic concert and taking lots of photos and getting very
drunk. I also remember getting her to stop the car just a few hundred metres
from home so I could throw up… but, as she says herself, these are details!
Of those early days Ilenia says “I love to remember the beautiful fantastic people I have met along the way. The bad memories I try to transform into moment of relaxation and fun.” However, in 2009 she made a drastic decision to stop performing which would lead to an absence from the stage for over a year “Even today I don’t know how to explain what happened,” she tells me “I just remember feeling scared, very scared. I was scared I would I would no longer even have music. Distancing myself from the stage inevitably distanced me from the underground music scene: I no longer wanted to go and see live bands nor even play the guitar at home. In that period I just hung out with my closest friends and met new ones. Perhaps it was a little like recovering lost time.” During that period she was asked to guest on Moltheni’s album “Ingrediente novus” [New Ingredients], the track in question being “In centro all'orgoglio” [At the centre of Pride] “It was a great experience” she tells me “but did not in any way affect my final decision to return to playing. Now, when I think about it again, perhaps it was not a decision I made but a new state of mind.” She started playing again on the 23rd June 2010 at the Circolo degli Artisti, Roma, opening for Lillies on Mars: “It was an indescribable emotional experience. It took my breath away.”
The musicians who play with Ilenia are:
Roberto Fasciani (bass), Fabio Staffieri (guitar) and Dario Mattia (drums).
“They are three amazing guys, each completely different from the other but with
one common characteristic: sensitivity. I also love the fact that they don’t
usually go to other gigs, except when they are playing themselves in some club
or other: it makes them totally ‘pure’ and spontaneous.” So how did the
collaborations come about?
“Back in 2009 I was working in a music school,”
explains Dario “when one day I was walking aimlessly around the school holding
two drumsticks in my hand when suddenly I heard a voice shouting ‘DRUMMER!’ I
turned around and saw a man pointing at me. I said ‘Yes, I am’ and with a smile
on his face the man told me that his daughter had a band and was looking for a
drummer and then asked me if I would like to play in her band. I thought it was
a wonderful way to start a band, so I said “Ok!” Three years have now passed by
and I’m still playing with her. The greatest thing about playing with Ilenia is
that her personal and musical lives are not split – you can tell the way she is
feeling by the way she sings, and vice versa. Perhaps these are her greatest
assets: simplicity and transparency.”
Fabio started working with Ilenia a couple
of years ago, but as already mentioned, he has known her for a long time as
they went to school together. “I lost contact with her though,” he says, “and then we made contact again 20
years later thanks to a very popular social network! We found out that we were
both musicians and after a short audition which ended with the explosion of my
amp – no joke – we started working together. It’s a really good rock story,
isn’t it?!” He laughs. “Anyway, Ilenia is a really kind boss. We have a lot of
fun together and I’m sure that will continue for a long time to come.”
Roberto is the new boy and has only been
playing with Ilenia for a year and a half. “Fabio is on old friend of mine” he
explains” and he contacted me to ask if I wanted to try out with them. Of
course I agreed because I had already met Ilenia and had seen her play at a
concert a year before – the last one before the famous year of absence. We got
on together immediately – something that’s not always easy to find when you
play with new people – we all felt something good – chemistry, or whatever you
want to call it – it helps a lot given that our energy is then transmitted to
other people leaving them with thoughts, memories and emotions. There’s no
explanation for something like this, it just happens, and then the music comes
freely and pure and this makes a great difference. We’re all very lucky to have
found each other!”
Towards the end of 2010 Ilenia was asked to
provide vocals to several tracks on the new album by Operaja Criminale. “Andrea
contacted me to ask if I would record voice on their new project” she explains,
“he sent me some of the songs to listen to and I accepted the offer
immediately. The resulting collaboration is a great success.” It was during those recordings that she
finally met Giorgio Canali: “I had a great feeling with him immediately,” she
continues “either intentionally or not, he knew how to manage my indiscipline
perfectly, feeding it with a very ‘anarchic’ recording method. It’s not easy to
find someone who doesn’t want to change you.”
A proposal was made for Giorgio to produce
Ilenia’s first album, and in February 2011 the group found themselves in the
studio at Bassano where I was also lucky enough to be present to take photos. “Giorgio’s a legendary figure in the
underground music scene in Italy” says Fabio “I was excited because we were
going to record the album together. Often bands record separately and music is
beginning to lose its humanity. I think we have produced something full of passion,
humanity and sweat: I just call it Rock’n’Roll!” Dario tells me that things
weren’t quite as he expected them to be either, he was used to a different type
of producer: “It wasn’t difficult to get into Giorgio’s mood though,” he says
“we would go into the studio and basically do what we wanted. Ilenia really
couldn’t have found a better producer. And then after recording: Mezzo e mezzo
[a drink typical of a bar in Bassano] and Gin and Tonics!” Roberto agrees that
it was a great experience: “I’d never recorded live,” he says “but now I think
everyone should do it: the music comes out better! Giorgio should be an example
to everyone: he values you and helps to bring
out your best without interfering. At worst, he would say: ‘it came out
badly or ‘you can do better or sometimes ‘questa fa cagaaaare!’ [this sucks!]”
he says laughing.
The resulting album, Ilenia’s first, is
entitled Radical Chic Un Cazzo and comes out on the 24th February 2012 (Disco
Dada). It opens with the fantastic “Gli incubi di un tubetto di crema
arancione” [Nightmares about a tube of orange cream], followed by the first
single and video to be released from the album “La mia professoressa di
italiano” [My Italian teacher] (13th February) and the
aforementioned “Mondo indistruttibile” [Indestructible world].
The fourth track “Indicazioni per il centro
commercial” is famously inspired by a dream about Kurt Cobain: “I’m in my car
on the Rome ring road” she says “looking for a shopping centre. As happens
often, I get lost, so stop to ask directions from some guy at the petrol pumps.
The guy answers in a broad Roman dialect ‘A ‘na certa gira a destra’ – angry at
the uselessness of the reply, I move off. However, looking back in the rear
view mirror I realise that the guy is none other than Kurt Cobain.” The
resulting track is simply stupendous.
“Prendendo un
caffè con Mozart” [Having Coffee with Mozart] comes next, and then Ilenia’s
cover of “Direzioni diverse” [Different Directions] by the Italian group Il
Teatro Degli Orrori – a brave decision to include it knowing that die-hard
Teatro fans will either love it or hate it. In fact the track has already
received some fierce criticism as well as well- deserved praise. The innovation
of Ilenia’s version yet respecting the original is surely what producing a
cover is about – not blind copying.
“La crocifinzione” [a word composed from ‘crucifixion’ and ‘fiction’] is one of my favourites on the album, starting with Ilenia’s melodic voice and gentle guitar but exploding midway through, much like Direzioni diverse. It was written for a collaboration with the author Michele Monina who wrote to Ilenia some time ago to ask her to participate in his multimedia project “Anatomia femminile” [Female anatomy] with each songwriter assigned a particular part of the body. “I was assigned the belly” Ilenia explains “and the song talks about abortion: but it does so in a brutal way, cruel and sometimes sarcastically.”
“La crocifinzione” [a word composed from ‘crucifixion’ and ‘fiction’] is one of my favourites on the album, starting with Ilenia’s melodic voice and gentle guitar but exploding midway through, much like Direzioni diverse. It was written for a collaboration with the author Michele Monina who wrote to Ilenia some time ago to ask her to participate in his multimedia project “Anatomia femminile” [Female anatomy] with each songwriter assigned a particular part of the body. “I was assigned the belly” Ilenia explains “and the song talks about abortion: but it does so in a brutal way, cruel and sometimes sarcastically.”
The other
tracks leading up to the finale are “Le nostre vergogne” [Our shame] – an old
favourite, “Il giorno della neve” [The snowy day] - a wonderful instrumental
which gives me goose pimples every time I hear it and “Fiction” – the second
cover on the album – a powerful tribute to Umberto Palazzo’s Santo Niente. And
then there Is the finale itself: “La Preghiera” [The prayer] which Ilenia wrote
with Steve Dal Col, guitarist with Giorgio Canali and Frigidaire Tango. I
originally has some doubts about the version of this song included on the
album, but on first hearing the complete album it was clear that the right
decision had been made. It is almost as if everything which has gone before has
been leading up to this. “Steve’s version is much rawer and is in-line with the
mood of the album. I love his sound, often characterised by the use of the
e.bow.” I cannot help but agree.
So far, the
album has received mostly good reviews in the Italian music press – except for
one, which describes Ilenia as an Italian “riot post girl” (sic) – the fact
that the author probably doesn’t even appreciate the humour of his bad English
being somewhat ironic. “It’s great fun to read the reviews because for a moment
I can see the album through someone else’s eyes” says Ilenia. “The story of the
riot girl makes me laugh,” she continues “because it’s absurd that in music, as
in many other fields, there is a distinction between men and women. It’s a
little like when you read the newspapers and they write ‘Rumanian man kills
daughter of Italian businessman’ - pure madness. From this we can deduce that a
female singer who screams is a ‘riot girl’ yet a man who screams is a ‘singer
who screams’ – in my opinion, a musician is a musician is a musician.
Fullstop.” I couldn’t agree more with Ilenia on this – sadly “al femminile”
[female] seems to be added to anything and everything when a woman is involved
here in Italy – art ‘al femminile’, photography ‘al femminile’ and rock ‘al
femminile’ being just some of the many culprits.
Working on the video for La mia
professoressa di italiano was a great experience for all involved, it would
seem. Dario, or “clapperboard man” certainly agrees: “Ilenia is able to create
perfect teams and the perfect mood – perhaps she doesn’t know how she does it,
but she does. Making the video was an amazing experience and we had a lot of
fun. Lots of people made themselves and their skills available for the day. As
‘clapperboard man’ for the day, I got to work close to the camera – so now I
have a second skill if nothing else comes from Ilenia’s album” he says
laughing.
Samanta plays a typical nerd that each
class has: “Really not nice – in fact my total opposite” she says “It was great
fun. The best part was that I also got to wear my ballet shoes after all this
time. I experienced a lot of emotions all at once and it was fantastic shooting
a video with my sister: very Rock’n’Roll!”
“The team were extraordinary,” continues Ilenia
“captained by Luca Nestola, the video director, and coordinated by Elena
Muratore, production director. It was a fantastic atmosphere inspired by
friends and friends of friends. It was only the dogs and cats and dishwashers
that were missing to create the perfect family atmosphere.” She laughs. The
video is released on the 13th February.
Of course, Ilenia’s musical activities do
not stop with her own project. She has recently collaborated with Davide
Vettori and Tommaso Mantelli: “An amazing experience! They are both adorable
people with incredible talent. I don’t know when the album will be released but
I hope soon!” Additionally, she is one of the two guitarists with the Rome based
MUG who also have an album to be released in May this year. I asked Ilenia how
she manages to find time for everything: “I reduce my sleep time so I have time
for everything” she laughs “I will always find time for music, friends and
family in my life… but my current job, I hope not!”
I said at the beginning of the article that
meeting Ilenia was a life changing event for me. I believe that whole
heartedly. Without her inspiration I would not have found my passion for
photography. She is without a doubt my muse and my inspiration and I would not
be where I am today without her unwavering support and encouragement. I will
however, leave the final words of this article to Lido:
“Ilenia has learned a lot over the years
from a musical view point – she is now much better on the guitar than her
father and has become more and more determined, confident and…. Rocckeroll!”
(Laughs) “I would just add one final thing: Over the last few years she has
lost a lot of my guitar cables, microphones, and even a case with all my
materials for my evenings… but so far, luckily, not my Fender!!”
Contacts details and links for the Ilenia Volpe:
facebook: www.facebook.com/ileniavolpe
soundcloud:www.soundcloud.com/ileniavolpe
youtube: www.youtube.com/ileniavolpe
myspace: www.myspace.com/ileniavolpe
blog: www.ileniavolpe.blogspot.com
blog: www.ileniavolpeblog.blogspot.com
website: www.ileniavolpe.com
myspace: www.myspace.com/ileniavolpe
blog: www.ileniavolpe.blogspot.com
blog: www.ileniavolpeblog.blogspot.com
website: www.ileniavolpe.com
Ilenia Volpe recommends this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1vxJb6MQ34
"it's the best song I have ever listened to"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1vxJb6MQ34
"it's the best song I have ever listened to"
