Can you please
tell us something about the man behind Zr 19.84?
My name is Riccardo, I was born 21 years ago - I live in Milan, a fucking
chaotic city that I hate…or love…I don't know! I'm very quite,
sometimes moody. I'm a student of psychology and also a worker…It's
a very "common" life!!! Music is my first passion, followed
by writing, reading, thinking but not speaking!!! Other things that I
love are: absinthe, Current 93, Coil, Psychic TV, old records / photographs,
my dog (a boxer) and silence. Sadly, in the things that I hate, you can
find "the English language" so, apologies for the errors that
you might find. Sorry!
What does the name stand for?
Zr 19.84 is a contraction of my name, an impersonal acronym that represent
a part of me…maybe the darker side, maybe the emptiness inside myself.
It comprises both the year of my birth and my initials, two simple "labels"
that I'll keep with me until the last day of my life…
So, Zr 19.84 is nothing more than me…
"Adieu!" is your first regular album with this project. Can
you please tell us something about it's "materialization"?
"Adieu!" was written between the end of 2004 and the beginning
of 2005. This album was born from a very strange period of my life, a
very confused period…filled with hate, regret and some important
changes. It can be considered as a portrait of those days, the soundtrack
for an "inner war"… obviously against myself!!! I decided
to release it to leave behind the feelings of that period. So I sent some
copies to few interesting labels. Simon of Apocalyptic Radio was very
interested in my work, so I let him release it, and he done a beautiful
work, absolutely amazing. THANKS!!!
How can we image this process. Are you a hunter and collecter according
to the samples and the musical sources?
Yeah! I love old records, I've a lot of dusty 78 rpm vinyls in my
collection. These are real pieces of art, feeble screams from the past
- Russian, Italian, German and other old songs have a peculiar feeling
unfindable elsewhere. The persons behind these old, forgotten songs might
be dead, but their feelings, ideas, obsessions are alive inside their
music, words, voices. It's simply beautiful. Amazing. Maybe romantic…
Wich equipment do you use?
I'm not a musician (but I've done a record… GREAT!!!) and without
some editing programs and a very old personal computer (Pentium II…)
, mixer, microphone, synth and a turntable my music won't exist…It's
very sad, I know. I've also a 12 strings acoustic guitar, a didgeridoo
and some percussions but with a simple 2 channel dj mixer is hard to record
an acoustic instrument! I must buy a new mixer, and a new pc!!
Can you please tell us something about the context of the album? What
"message" do you want to give the listener?
First of all, I have to say that this album wasn't created for a large
audience. It has been created as a sort of exorcism…it's the rage/sadness
of a fucking period of my life translated into music. In fact, the original
- demo version sounds a bit different from the album that you can hear.
The original is more rough, violent and filled with hate. There isn't
any particular message inside these ten pieces. Nothing more than hate,
sadness, regret, longing…the sound and speeches of WWI & WWII
can sounds good for all the wars that we fight inside ourselves…
War is Hate. And, sadly, hate is a part of our nature. War is Death. And,
more sadly (or not?), death will be our future. Tragic?!
What do you think, why does so many industrial/ neofolk-projects deal with
WWII? Is there still a need to process this part of history?
It's absolutely a trend in this kind of music. Obviously it can be approached
in different ways. I've explained why I need some sounds in my songs. But
I will not use these sonorities for all my future songs or records. I don't
think that these themes or sounds are peculiar in this genre as the guitars
and blasphemous screams in Black Metal…These are only clichés.
Sometimes really well done, sometimes ridiculous!!!
What side projects you're involved in? What musical output can we expect
next time?
I'm not involved in any relevant side project now. Maybe I'll do some collaborations
in the future but I'm not sure of that…it's only an hope! The next releases
will sounds a bit different from "Adieu!". Some are very closed
to industrial / power electronics - created with mechanical rumblings and
lots of distorted drones ( is the case of "Soviet Werknoise" ).
Others are more into isolationist / drone ambient or classic neo-folk with
guitars and percussions. I'm also working at two new releases: one will be
a sequel to "Adieu!" and another very experimental, a sort of mixture
between neo-folk sonorities and acid-house muzak.
Please give us some information about the Italian scene. Which bands, internet
portals etc. one should know? Which albums can you recommend?
The Italian scene is filled with good projects not only in the industrial
/ neo-folk scene. I love bands such as Ain Soph, Spiritual Front, AIT!, Kirlian
Camera, Calle Della Morte, Testing Vault, Alio Die, Ianva, Teatro Satanico
Charles Manson and so on…some of them can be considered pioneers of this
kind of sonorities. But I have to admit that I never find a real cohesion
in the "inner circle". Although you can find several important sites
and labels that promote this kind of music: portals like www.neo-folk.it,
www.occidentalcongress.com
and so on are a gift from god for those into the brown / grey area!!!
Thank you for your answers!
Thank you for your support and your kindness Ullrich!!! All the best and keep
in touch!!!
Ciao!!!
R.Z.
all pictures (C) zr19.84
