Hi! Can you tell me about Marea? Why did you choose that name for the band? What kind of ideas does the band explore?
Hi! Marea means “Tide” in Italian, but I decided to use my language because I like the sound of it much better. I wanted a name for my project that could evoke in someone's mind the melancholy of a landscape like an autumnal seaside with desolate beaches and the different shades of gray of the water rippled by the cold winds...same melancholic and desolate sensations that can be found in the music itself. The sea is also a recurring dream of mine and the concept behind Marea is strongly influenced by my dreams and nightmares. Beyond melancholy landscapes and dreams, the other ideas behind the concept of Marea were spiritism, introspection and our deepest fears towards what is still unknown such as the depths of the cosmos and the afterlife.
The Silence of Rust was released on May 17th. How does that make you feel? Do you feel that you have put the album out to the masses without any desire to change anything now?
The recording/mixing/mastering of the album took a total amount of time of almost 6 months from when I entered the studio, because I wanted the album to sound exactly how I imagined it and Carlo Meroni of ADSR Decibel Studio did a great job in trying to make my wish come true. I have no regrets except smaller things such as changing a drum pattern on a couple of riffs or adding a few more vocal lines on the last track of the album. But these are just whims, I can tell you I’m 100% satisfied in how the album and the sounds turned out.
Can you tell me more about The Silence of Rust? What were the ideas behind the album?
The main idea, before the name and the concept, was to finally release something under my own name, a lifelong dream that I have postponed way too long since I started playing the guitar and writing my own music almost 20 years ago. I wanted to create an album full of all the elements and emotions that the music I listen to has been able to give me over all these years, so I wanted my project to sound dark, desolating and aggressive at times but also atmospheric, melancholic, nostalgic and even hopeful. As for the album title, I decided to call it that way because rust is a process that evokes in my mind feelings of decay comparable to the emotions that black metal music can give me. I have always found the way in which rust silently affects and corrupts metals, taking away their shine, very fascinating but also sad and desperate. Furthermore, rust is represented on the cover artwork where, on an abstract representation of the seabed, you can see sunken, broken and rusty stars giving off their last faint light.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Inspiration usually comes from my own personal experiences, dreams, books, movies, nature… and other’s music of course
How would you best define Marea's sound?
I think the best way to describe my sound would be atmospheric Black Metal heavily influenced by the melodic and melancholic Doom of bands such as Novembre, Katatonia and Anathema. Adding to this also a little bit of Post-Rock/Shoegaze.
Are you on hiatus now, just relaxing and looking for album feedback, or have you started composing new material immediately?
Studio recordings for the next album have already begun. I guess we'll finish them around next autumn, but the actual release of the second album is still far away. I'm in no rush and I'll do my best to make it a good job both musically, conceptually and visually
Who are your main musical influences? How much of an impact have they had on your sound?
My musical influences cover a wide variety of styles of Black Metal, ranging from the classic of bands like Ulver, Darkthrone, Burzum, Taake, to the Atmospheric of Agalloch and Drudkh to Depressive like Hypothermia, Trist, to Gothic/Doom and also Post-Rock like Explosions In The Sky or Godspeed You!Black Emperor. I also like the Post-Black Metal of bands such as Altar Of Plagues, An Autumn For Crippled Children, Deafheven, Amesoeurs, Heretoir and Lantlos. There are also a lot of bands from my country that I fell in love with when I was a kid and I still love nowadays and that have had a huge impact on my way of writing music: Arcana Coelestia, Tenebrae In Perpetuum, Klimt 1918, Novembre, Forgotten Tomb, Locus Mortis, Giardini di Mirò, Il Rumore Del Fiore Di Carta, Beatrik, Urna, Spite Extreme Wing, Janvs, Enthroning Silence, Room With A View…Marea would just not exist without the influence and inspiration of these italian bands
Is there a particular well-known musician that you would like to collaborate with on one of your upcoming albums?
There are so many artists that I admire and respect but I do not wish to have other musicians on my albums as of now. My project is very personal and it would feel weird to me if I would let someone else sings on my tracks… My music is also very eterogenic that I don’t feel the need to add another element of variety such as guest musicians.
What is your personal strategy for getting your music heard by a larger audience?
My label Masked Dead Records is doing a very good job in the promotion of my album, having contacts with some of the greatest italian webzines. I ‘m also very grateful to the CEO of my label for giving me the freedom of choice regarding the possibility of a collaboration with an external PR (Grand Sound Promotion). I’m new to this industry and I wanted to experience firsthand also what it means collaborating with a PR company and see any benefits it could bring to my project. Depending on the results, I will decide if I would want to work again with PRs for future projects.
Do you have any hobbies besides music?
Yes, I have many other hobbies besides music and also many commitments having a full time job and a 2 years old child. Actually, music occupies a very small part of my life (even though it plays such an important role). Despite the name of my musical project, I am a lover of everything related to the mountains and I often go there to walk in the woods or go hiking. I also love cinema and especially horror/thriller movies. Dramatic ghost stories like The orphanage, The others, Marrowbone, Martyr's Lane (as well as the works of Lars Von Trier) also have a great influence on my music itself.
Are you all supported by your families in your dedication to music?
I’m not supported by my parents and that’s ok. Music is a passion of mine and I don’t feel the need to mix it with family. I think my parents barely even know that I have a musical project. My girlfriend supports me morally because she knows that creating my own black metal album was a dream of mine for a long time, but her musical tastes are very far from extreme metal.
How is the metal scene in Milan right now?
I’m not very much into my local scene and I rarely go to metal clubs. But I can tell you that lately there are a lot of great black metal live shows near where I live so I think my area is probably one of the best in Italy to look for some good extreme metal shows
Thank you for answering my questions. See you on the road!
Thank you for your interest in my project and thanks to anyone who would feel like to give a listen to my music.