COMPLIQUE - AN INTERVIEW WITH NoRA,ANDREA AND DAVIDE (DESOLE ENGINEERS)
EDITOR'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCHANGE DONE OVER EMAIL
Jack: What inspired each of you to start working and/or creating in the field of music? Any inspirations/influences?
Davide: Nirvana
Andrea: It may sound weird, but they’re exactly the ones that have pushed both of us to do what we do everyday.
Jack: How did you meet the Gorillaz and end up on the track “Désolé”?
Davide and Andrea: Simply, they contacted us via phone and after agreeing on the job to do, they came to the studio.
Jack: What did you think when you first heard the song, and what was the vibe you got from it? How did it make you feel?
Davide: The song felt immediately very interesting, relaxing and energetic at the same time.
Andrea: I agree, we both felt immediately immersed in the right mood.
Jack: Tell us about the recording and engineering process for “Désolé.” Did Damon give you any sort of instruction for what to do? What was the session like?
Andrea: The session was technically easy, no one requested anything strange. Basically, they let us do our job and we really appreciated it; it’s exactly when everyone does its work that you achieve the best.
Davide: The only thing Damon asked was to turn up the volume more and more in the control room. For sure, seeing Damon and Fatoumata work has made us understand a lot, for example that the priority is always the human connection, even before the music.
Jack: What inspired each of you to start working and/or creating in the field of music? Any inspirations/influences?
Davide: Nirvana
Andrea: It may sound weird, but they’re exactly the ones that have pushed both of us to do what we do everyday.
Jack: How did you meet the Gorillaz and end up on the track “Désolé”?
Davide and Andrea: Simply, they contacted us via phone and after agreeing on the job to do, they came to the studio.
Jack: What did you think when you first heard the song, and what was the vibe you got from it? How did it make you feel?
Davide: The song felt immediately very interesting, relaxing and energetic at the same time.
Andrea: I agree, we both felt immediately immersed in the right mood.
Jack: Tell us about the recording and engineering process for “Désolé.” Did Damon give you any sort of instruction for what to do? What was the session like?
Andrea: The session was technically easy, no one requested anything strange. Basically, they let us do our job and we really appreciated it; it’s exactly when everyone does its work that you achieve the best.
Davide: The only thing Damon asked was to turn up the volume more and more in the control room. For sure, seeing Damon and Fatoumata work has made us understand a lot, for example that the priority is always the human connection, even before the music.
Jack: Nora, you have an “electronics” credit on this song. What does this credit mean exactly? Did you play any keyboards or synths on the track?
Nora: No, I have not played an instrument. I have to say I would have loved it a lot, but that day I was focused on translating and make everyone at ease, bettering the mood of the day and the human connections. In fact, if you check the vinyl version of album I’m not credited for any “electronics” there.
Jack: If you look in the liner notes, there is credit for a mysterious drummer named “Zither.” Do you guys know who this is or if this person even exists and isn’t just an alias?
Andrea and Davide: we have no idea; you should ask them!
Jack: What’s next for each of you? Any plans to work with Gorillaz or Damon Albarn again?
Davide: We hope we can go on working as we always have, regardless of the artists, well or not known. As we said, human connection comes first always: every artist has his/her life experience and it is always amazing being able to know, share and appreciate it.
Andrea: Clearly, if Gorillaz would like to come back to EDAC studio, it will be a great pleasure for us to cooperate again.
Jack: For those of our readers who aren’t familiar with your work outside of Gorillaz, what do you wish to tell them? Any specific songs or highlights you want to share?
Davide: We lived lots of significant experiences, but we can say we could write a book about every one of them. For example, working with Nic Cester, JET singer, on his first solo album has enlighten us on his attitude towards music. Another great experience was starting to work with Fatoumata Diawara, even before her feat with Gorillaz: everytime she enters the studio, she brings in such a positive energy you can rarely get in touch with.
Andrea: Obviously, we could list a lot of experiences, but the most certain thing is that every artist we have worked with has given us something important we will always carry with us and share with all the other people we cooperate with and will do.