Get Familiar: Lamusa Ii
Ahead of his performance at Vic Crezée's Rataplan at SkateCafe in Amsterdam, we had the chance to ask a very candid Lamusa II a few questions. Read on, get familiar.
Lamusa II, seeing that your father is a painter, we assume you come from a creative background. Can you tell us a little something about your upbringing in Italy and how it has influenced your art?
Yes, i can confirm that my father was a painter for a long period during his youth till when he switched his career into architecture. He introduced me to the bass guitar, which was the very first instrument i played and it’s still with me. I grew up playing in bands making psychedelic music/folk/new wave and i used to play bass guitar and keyboards. When i was 18/19 years old i bought with a friend of mine a big ELKA organ with built in drum machine and effects and this was my first approach towards synthesisers, after that i started collecting them, together with drum machines, old pedal fx and reel to reel recorders. Here began my experimentation period.
What made you decide to move from Italy to France and how does the music-scene differ?
I moved to France after the Red Bull Music Academy around 2015/16, as a participants we had the chance to record at RBMA studios around the world and i decided to go to Paris for a month and make some music there, I’ve always been fascinated by this town and “let’s give it a try” i said!
The music-scene here in France it’s very inspiring I have to admit, having friends which are musicians and other with record shops is something that always drives you toward something you’ve never expected, that’s a lot for me!
Italian scene it’s special and it’s beautiful to see these days many Italian talented artists playing around in good festivals, clubs and wherever it is, i think it’s just a magic moment for our music.
We see you have a very distinctive way of dressing. How important is fashion to you and what is the importance of your appearance for your live shows?
I’ve been always so curious and interested in fashion since when i was younger, i remember asking old pictures to my parents to see what they used to wear when they were in their 20s and trying to interpret the atmosphere hidden in those photos, i’m still doing this now...
I think ideas aren’t naked at all, every time you speak, every time different words are used as a dress. In the live show It’s like a medium between my music, me and the audience.
For your Massimo Del Corpo project you use a different approach in the way you make music. Can you tell us a little bit about this alias / project?
Starting from Massimo’s first release ‘Anima Di Gomma’ on Séance Centre a label based in Canada, it was recorded over the course of one week, at night, the process with this alter-ego is very minimal and direct, using only two or three instruments at a time like ARP Odyssey, bass guitar, electric guitar and processing those instruments using analog delay and spring reverb trying to build atmospheric pieces which evolve patiently from overlapping of effects and percussive metallic patterns, they are mostly experimental and ambient compositions.
What are some of your upcoming projects? Can we expect another Marie Davidson collaboration?
I’m working on another album for Hivern Discs which will be released in 2020 i guess.
About Marie Davidson, we are always in touch updating each other on how things are going, i hope there will be a chance to meet her in person again and work on something like we did in Montreal back in 2016, much better than file sharing I would say.
What can the people expect from you for your ADE performance at Skatecafe?
I’m very excited, it’s my first live performance in Amsterdam, It will be an electronic music performance with hypnotic/krautrock influences, I use synthesisers, drum machines, midi sequencing and pedals fx. Sounds and texture could remind you artists like Richard Wahnfried, Klaus Schulze and Cluster.
Here is a live performance from Saturnalia Festival ’19, Paris FR:
