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"WE WILL WE WILL SHOCK YOU" - Interview with Paolo Cipriano by Adam Zacharias (Dubai - United Arab Emirates)
November 25, 2010 Khaleej City Times meets Paolo Cipriano from Italian band Supershock, who will play a couple of 'movie concerts' in Dubai this week
Far from your ordinary band, Turin duo Supershock match their psychedelic rock sound with classic silent films from cinema's early years. Formed in 2002 by Paolo Cipriano (vocals,guitar,flute) and Valentina Mitola (bass, vocals), the group have added Simone Zoja (piano) and Alan Brunetta (drums) to their Dubai line-up. Supershock play the Majestic Hotel on Friday, as headliners of the 'Megarocknation' music festival. They will perform the Metropolis movie concert, providing a live soundtrack to the 1927 sci-fi movie. They will follow this up with a Nosferatu movie concert at DUCTAC, Mall of the Emirates on Sunday. Appearing as part of the Italian Festival Weeks, they will provide a modern score for the 1922 German horror film. City Times spoke with Paolo.
What gave you the idea to combine cinema with your music?
Metropolis and Nosferatu are from the period of German expressionism. They were originally created with classical music soundtracks, which were very important because they gave the stories emotion. Today the films remain modern, but the soundtracks are old, so we've made rock soundtracks to ensure that the audience's experience in 2010 remains as extraordinary as it was in the 1920s.
Who responsible for the composition?
It's just me and Valentina composing. We spent a lot of time watching these movies without any soundtracks, and we tried to understand the motivation of the people involved, then translate this into music. We've created a connection between the sound and the images, and our lyrics link with the storylines.
What drew you to these two films specifically?
They have very important themes. Nosferatu is the first ever vampire movie - it's the story of Dracula,
but the producers changed the title to save on royalties. The theme is all about difference: a man who is not a man, but a monster. We're interested in this idea because it's still modern and universal. Metropolis is the first science fiction movie in cinema, and it's about the relationship between human beings, machines and the future.
How did you and Valentina meet?
We started when we were young; creating music came very naturally to us. We met in a music club when we were kids.
Can you tell us about the band's beginnings?
We started the band in Turin in 2002. For the first few years we just played rock concerts, and we were really inspired by two bands: the progressive rock of Pink Floyd and the 90s grunge of Smashing Pumpkins. In 2005 we started to tour Europe and the Middle East with our movie concerts.
Are you looking to create any more soundtracks?
We have created a soundtrack for The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, another German expressionist film from 1920, and also the horror film Der Golem from 1915. They show Germany in a very strange period. In the future I don't know if we'll do any more movie concerts - four might be enough!
Are you still making non-movie music as well?
Yes; we made a new album called Midnight in the Garden this summer and it's out now.
How would you describe Supershock's style of music?
I describe it as music with two faces. One face is psychedelic sound with evocative harmonies and instrumental music. It's progressive, and we like to improvise on stage as well. The other face is pure hard rock. It's stronger.
What response do you usually receive from audience members after a show?
They say it's the first time they've seen such a show, then they ask us when we're playing next!"
Khaleej City Times - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - 2010
"...If you weren't at The SanDisk Mega RockNation Music Festival on November 26, shame on you! All I can say is that if you weren't there, you missed out big time on one of Dubai's most compelling music nights! Not only was the place packed with a crowd of holistic energy, but the organizers went all out to bring in some of the UAE's hottest local bands…as well as international music artist, Supershock…But the fun didn't end there! Eye's performance warmed up the crowd to the graphic oriented psychedelic theme for Italy's supernova rock band, SUPERSHOCK! And man, I don't even know where to begin. The band's theme was one of music versus the 1927 sci-fi film, Metropolis. While the movie played projected onto the screens, Supershock's idea was to express the story of the relationship between humans, machines, and the future by giving the silent film a 'voice' through their lyrics and evocative harmonies and rhythm…I was completely enthralled by this experience as it was the first time I had seen both Supershock and the age-old silent film, and the intricacy of the two merged together is something I have never experienced before, but definitely want more of! Supershock is progressive and I couldn't picture a better headliner for the SanDisk Mega Rock Nation Festival…"
Off the Records - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - 2010
"...The passion with which they were playing and delivering their music was something you don't get to see from your regular everyday band. The audio visual shows delivered by the headliners SUPERSHOCK were orgasmic."
Nik Uzi - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - 2010
"…. the Turin-based Supershock have created their own score for the celebrated science fiction classic, firmly stamped with their distinctive rock style. Get ready to experience Metropolis in a more intense way than ever before, as you watch the projected classic film and see and hear its powerful new soundtrack played live in front of you. Featuring Paolo Cipriano and Valentina Mitola (with the collaboration of Alan Brunetta and Simone Zoja), Supershock have performed over 200 shows throughout Italy and France and they are now ready to rock Dubai…"
Khaleej Times - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - 2009
" ….La musique, elle aussi expressionniste, fait penser aux " Pink Floyd " dans le film " The wall " avec cette même attention de coller aux images, plus qu'une illustration, le désir de communiquer la force envoûtante, si particulière à l'opéra, en l'occurrence à l'opéra rock. Envoûtement, fascination, invention, en attendant le bien, c'est l'art qui triomphe "
Claude Kraif - revue-spectacles.com - Avignon - France - 2009
" …. Une fille, la bassiste, et un garçon, le chanteur/guitariste, entrent en scène sans artifice. Un léger halo de lumière vient éclairer les deux musiciens qui se mettent à jouer dès les premières images de Métropolis. Les vibrations d'un rock répétitif envahit la salle et montre à quel point la mise en scène de Fritz Lang est moderne. On croirait voir un clip du dernier groupe à la mode… le supplément d'âme en plus "
Lionel Grenier -culturopoing.com - Avignon - France - 2009
"…Non di una semplice sonorizzazione stiamo parlando, ma di un vero concerto di rock e cinema, dove i fotogrammi che scorrono alle spalle del gruppo suonano un altro strumento, perfettamente coerente con voci e chitarre, e necessario all'energia unica di un live in cui la musica sgorga naturale dalle immagini e le immagini reagiscono quasi chimicamente al contatto con le note, sprigionando una potenza sopita. "
Giorgia Marino - Valenza Alchemica - Italia - 2009
"…La qualità della composizione e dell'esecuzione è alta (sovente ho ceduto alla tentazione di chiudere gli occhi per meglio gustarmela), almeno quanto il contrappunto innescato vivifica le immagini, portando in superficie significati in acquatto tra le pieghe dei significanti. I Supershock cercano il brivido e lo provocano. E il filo dell'inquietudine non s'allenta. Le sette suite che scandiscono il loro voyage sono costellate da momenti di potente sinestesia, in cui si oscilla dall'ironia che esacerba i passaggi grotteschi della pellicola alla commozione cercata nell'unisono tra i picchi lirici del visibile e quelli dell'udibile. Non di meno potrei dire del disco Caligari, lavoro in otto movimenti con affondi e altezze che guardano negli occhi quelli golemici… "
Shocking Rock Golem - Intervista ai Supershock e a Pier Giorgio Tone - Cineforum 487 - a cura di Jonny Costantino - Italia - settembre 2009
"…fra dischi, concerti show case ed innumerevoli collaborazioni artistiche, il duo indie rock piemontese ha incominciato a farsi gradualmente conoscere grazie anche alle acclamate esibizioni in teatri di prim'ordine e alla presenza fissa nei cartelloni di importanti festival musicali e cinematografici italiani. ...fin dai primi secondi del brano iniziale, The edge of time, l'ascoltatore viene letteralmente rapito da atmosfere in bilico fra i Pink Floyd di The Dark Side of the Moon e l'oscuro Nick Cave di Murder Ballads. E non è un caso che con il procedere dell'ascolto emergano gli echi di Cure, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins e, sì, addirittura Led Zeppelin. Come d'altronde non è un caso che questo disco rappresenti l'ennesima conferma del talento di una band di cui sentiremo ancora parlare…e a lungo."
Umberto Poli - Guitar Club - Recensione album "Caligari" dei Supershock, edito dalla Casa Editrice Le Mani - Italia - maggio 2008