Franco Mussida and Patrick Djivas
interviewed by Giacomo Perfetto
(English Translation by Scott E.)
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The "chat" with two members of PFM which I report in the following paragraphs was also possible thanks to the courtesy of Alfredo Mastroianni whom I hereby thank from the bottom of my heart for his kindness and understanding. To conclude this preface, it gives me pleasure to remember how all the "first hearings" of PFM's albums and the various concerts, starting from Treviso in April of 1974, I've lived with my brother Piero whom I thank for having brought home, a long time ago, an album called Storia di un Minuto. (Mestre, Italia, December 6, 1997)
Giacomo Perfetto: Why a ten year break between the last two albums? Patrick Djivas: PFM has always been a group of musicians, basically, and at a certain moment after almost 3000 concerts throughout the world, we needed to each do something for ourselves, to change the way of using music. We always had it in mind that we would get back together, one day or another, and this has finally happened without trauma and without any problems. GP: Is the release of the new album Ulysses and the current tour something sporadic or do you have in mind picking up the work interrupted ten years ago, continuing to work together, maybe a new album? PD: Absolutely. This is just the beginning. We intend to get back on the journey which was merely interrupted some years ago. GP: Does this mean that you plan a tour outside Italy's borders? PD: Well, as I was saying, we have a series of things planned that we can't make official because they are not all confirmed. Among these a new album which I am certain will satisfy all the fans of PFM who are waiting to hear that typical "mediterranean sound" of our progressive material. At any rate we think that things will be exactly like before and it's therefore likely that we will get back to playing around a bit everywhere. GP: Whose idea was it to get back playing together after so many years, and how was this idea born? PD: There wasn't one particular thing that triggered it. It was a natural thing. We got everybody together and we all said "why don't we meet again and play together a little?" And so we began getting together, playing something, listening again to old pieces, new pieces and so little by little this thing inside us began to grow. There wasn't a particular moment when we said "tomorrow we begin". It was all done through playing, as usual. GP: Are you planning the release of an official video, maybe as a promotion for the new album? PD: I can tell you that perhaps we will tape this tour, which we are taking around Italy, next January 26 in Rome and that it will be broadcast by Rai Tre. GP: Do you think a mega-reunion is possible with all the musicians who've collaborated with you? PD: I think it would be rather difficult, seeing the large number of people who came and went from the group through the years. It's one of those things that we would like to do, but that are rather difficult to bring together because of organizational problems. GP: Why aren't there any typical "folk" melodies from Passpartu in the tour? PD: You know, this concert lasts two and a half hours. We had to choose the material to play and we wanted to put in something from Passpartu. We will do it for sure in the next tour. GP: Keeping with the revival of 70s progressive music theme, do you see a re-edition of PFM albums or of solo albums of the various group members? PD: Really I think it's a bit difficult. Essentially because we won't have time. At least for a little bit there won't be any solo albums. We have such projects for the future as a group that I don't believe we'll have the time to spend on our own things. Regarding the re-edition of works already done, I think that's more of a company matter, in which we aren't very much involved. GP: Banco, Le Orme, Delirium, New Trolls have done it recently. Do you foresee re-recording old pieces, maybe a different arrangement? PD: No. I categorically exclude that. This isn't part of PFM's mentality. GP: With this new image of PFM, do you expect a big success in Italy?
PD: We took off with good will and we have been amazed and how things have been going. Since the tour took off, on the 24th of November in Torino, the shows have all been sold out, like tonight. The audience reacts everywhere as you've been able to see here at Mestre. We've noticed that the desire to hear a certain kind of music is spreading. GP: Did you all ever expect to arrive at middle age (50 years old!) knowing how to play in the way you've showed tonight? PD: Truthfully we've never thought about it. Being a musician isn't, fortunately, like being a soccer player where you need a certain kind of muscles because otherwise after running a bit you can't do it anymore, because you're out of breath. In America for example, this is very normal. In jazz there are people who play until they're 80 years old. I don't see why rock can't be the same. We don't feel our age at all, and I repeat, we've never thought about it. GP: Do you have in mind a 25th year celebration of a signature piece like "E' festa"? PD: Why not? We haven't yet thought about it, but it could be a great idea and we could easily organize something. GP: In this era of high-tech music, how was the idea of a concept album like Ulisse born?
Franco Mussida: Concerning technology that circumscribes the music or circumscribes the interpretation, we've never used it even in the past. "Clicking", devices activated at a distance, or other such things aren't part of our way of doing a show, and therefore not part of our music. We are a small orchestra, and we act like an orchestra and orchestra musicians. We need to hear each other, we need to hear when things begin, when they end, in order to be ready to come in at the right point. One of our characteristics is just that, of "listening to each other" and so that kind of technology couldn't enter into our music. GP: Who was "the judge" of your new work and how did you feel having to confront not so much the public but the critics after so many years? FM: I will tell you sincerely that I don't pay much attention to the judgements of critics even though the critics have been very favorable, not to say enthusiastic. The first signals that we were doing something solid came from us first, when we got back together and we began to put together the first pieces. After that, people external to the group who heard us, like Colombini (producer of Ulisse, n.d.r.) who in some way followed us in production, and then even people really external to the group like the technician who gave us a hand here and there. The first "judges", really, were those of us "in the family". GP: What was the first piece that you put together after reuniting, that is after the return of Flavio Premoli?
FM: In truth, the others had already gotten together with Premoli, and the last one to decide to "carry on with things" was me. Not that I alone decided to "carry on with things", but that I was the last one to show up and together we decided to continue. GP: How was the idea of a reunion born... FM: Well, the idea of a reunion had been in the air for some time. Franz, whom we call "the depository of Rembrandt's spirit", had made a move many years ago trying to "jump start" this thing. I wasn't available, for many years I wasn't, because I had many things to do, like starting a school, occupying myself with music and difficulties, making my albums and a bunch of other things. Lately, in the last two years, I found some space, I've accomplished the things that I wanted to accomplish, and so I too joined the group and in this way this situation was born. GP: Let's speak of Mauro Pagani. After his fleeting appearance at the concert in Milan last November 27, may we expect his return to PFM?? FM: I'll tell you that Mauro is someone who has given much to PFM in terms of energy and also in terms of lyrics, but from the musical point of view and from the compositional point of view he was a bit cramped inside the group and, truthfully, in a certain sense it was always Flavio and me who kept him restricted. At a certain point he said "I want to express myself in a different way", he did it and continues to do it. We are still great friends with him, and there aren't any problems. We are continuing our road as artists and he is continuing in another direction. GP: There are rumors of an "anthology" concert for next year... FM: We still have to do a studio album, and after this we will prepare a huge concert which we will do live, in which we will put our history. But first we need to do another album. GP: Since the return of Franz Di Cioccio behind the drums, don't you need a full-time singer (like Bernardo Lanzetti)? FM: No, because we've found an optimal equilibrium in the voices and in the instruments. With the addition of these three musicians, who are Roberto Gualdi on drums and percussion, Stefano Tavernese on guitar and violin, and Phil Drummy on wind instruments we've kind of covered the things that we needed to cover. When Franz sings, Roberto backs him up pretty well. GP: In 1980, (as Franz Di Cioccio said at the time) "PFM is aware that people don't whistle our songs" and you released an album (Suonare Suonare) which has lyrics that leave those used to a certain PFM sound a little bit surprised. Are there pieces from your last phase of production (from Suonare Suonare to Miss Baker) that, I'm not saying that you disown, but that you wish you'd never played?
FM: Recently I heard again on the radio pieces like "46" from "PFM? PFM!" which are still today very nice pieces. We had a rapport and an approach to the world of the song that was a little more conventional, but we've never been conventional with a song. There was that moment in which, as Franz says there was that desire, that then wasn't a desire of everyone in the same way, but in a group you need in some way to keep up with the things going on, everyone together. GP: The PFM sound has infused the work of different artists like Paolo Conte, Lucio Battisti, Ron, Gianna Nannini, Alberto Fortis so on. At a certain point you go back to collaborate with Fabrizio De Andre, after the experience of years before with the recording of Fabrizio's LP "La Buona Novella". This collaboration opens the way to the various collaborations of the groups and singer/songwriters of the 80s. Do you see any collaboration with Italian artists in the future? FM: At the moment I'd say no. With Italian artists I don't see why. Perhaps with international artists it could be. Don't ask me more...I just said it could be. GP: In those years when you weren't seeing each other, did each of you know what the others were doing? FM: Besides Giorgio "Fico" Piazza (first bassist for PFM, ndr), who is a sales rep for children's clothes, we've all more or less stayed in the business. I knew what the others were doing. I knew that Premoli was busy with advertising jingles, and I saw the others' names appear on italian television. I can say yes, we all knew what the others were doing. GP: One of the pieces tonight, which was also an encore, is "Maestro della Voce" dedicated to Demetrio Stratos, the voice of Area, prematurely lost in 1979. What kind of rapport was there with Demetrio's Area, which represented a kind of "progressive" that was different from Premiata's? FM: Well, above all there was a very strong musical feeling, especially with Demetrio who at a certain moment "risked" becoming an actual member of PFM as a singer. Perhaps this is something that is not known, but there was a moment when we were about to get together. So, there was a great feeling both musically and with the people, especially with "the person" Demetrio. From the musical point of view they were very strong, so that then Patrick (Djivas) who was with Area came with us. GP: What rapport was there with the myriad other progressive Italian groups of the day (Banco, Rovescio della Medaglia, Il Volo, Aqua Fragile, Le Orme among many others)? FM: There was a rapport of great respect because everyone at that time was contributing to the development of a musical style and to a way of making music that went totally beyond what used to be the exigencies and the logic of the conventional record market. And so on our part, for all those who were moving in a different area from the conventional, there was great esteem. We esteemed all those who based their artistic journey on creativity, experience and experimentation. GP: We've rumors heard of an English version of "Ulisse" with lyrics by Pete Sinfield...
FM: It's true, we've spoken about it. The first thing to do with Pete is manage to get together and see each other in person. We have to manage to sit down at a table, talk, discuss, eat something and then we'll see...
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