Article by Vanessa Bocchi
There is a moment, before the storm, when the sky swells with electricity and the air vibrates with suspended energy. It is at that moment that Nularse was born – and perhaps it is no coincidence that it chose to be called that.
His new album, Guestsreleased in September, arrives after a long period of silence and transformation. A necessary time to find one's voice again, to change language without losing the underlying truth: music as a space of authenticity and as a human gesture, even before an artistic one.
I meet him — or rather, I listen to him — in a moment in which the word “relief” comes back often in his story.
How are you? How are these release days going?
“Well, a nice relief finally. It's been a while since I released an album: a release in every sense, personal and artistic. Guests is very introspective, I put in a period of suspension, almost a bubble in which – in the madness of the moment – I was happy to have some time to dedicate myself completely to the music. It was also a long, but natural gestation: the production and recording part was the freest, most fun.”
In this album there is a strong change: from digital to acoustic. Where does this choice come from?
“I've changed genre a bit. Before I was closer to electronics, to a solo project, always with a singer-songwriter base but with a more “produced” approach. Here instead I wanted to abandon myself to real instruments, dealing with musicians, something I wasn't used to. It was a new, but necessary, transition to digest. It influenced me both as a person and as an artist.”
You can perceive great attention to the construction of sounds, as if each instrument had its own voice.
“Exactly. I can't think of the guitar parts of my songs as secondary: they are fundamental. I can't conceive the voice alone, I consider it part of a larger body. For me the musical construction is one with the writing, and each element has the same dignity. It's a vision that today is a bit lost: the voice is always placed at the center, and the rest becomes a side dish. I can't do it, for me even the part instrumental must tell.”
Which listenings shaped you and which influenced you in Guests?
“I've been listening for years Caribou, Four Tet, Bonobo, Burialthat whole school of English organic electronics that drove me crazy. It's the matrix of my first two records. Then I met artists who taught me to reinvent the way of making music even with a certain apparent simplicity — like Andy Shauf, Giorgio Poi, oh Tame Impala. Andy Shauf, for example, it struck me: “The Magician” is one of the most beautiful songs ever, because it combines writing and production in a unique way. And Giorgio Poi, with his first album, made me understand that you can write in Italian with lightness and depth at the same time.“
Let's talk about the structure of the album. It seems like a story, not a simple collection of songs.
“For me, records are like books. “Ospiti” is a unique story, with chapters that hang together. The first and last songs, Lacune and L'ombra, are two emotional extremes: Lacune is more open, L'ombra darker and more collected. In the middle there is a path that culminates in “Io non mi socoso”: that song is the heart of the record. It tells of the awareness that, in reality, this thing never happens: you don't really know each other. It's a thought that returns throughout the writing. And the shadow is the tail: “it looks like me, but it's not me”.
Let's get into the heart of the sound: who played with you and what was it like working in the studio?
“It was very beautiful, as well as exciting. Ospiti was recorded a bit in the old way, closing ourselves in the studio in the Treviso area. There were five of us: Alberto De Lazzari (piano and keyboards), Francesco Inverno (drums), Andrea Lombardini (bass), Filippo Zonta (percussion) and me. Then there is a real orchestra which we recorded for three songs – Deserto, Io non mi massimo and L'ombra – an orchestra of strings of 17 elements, arranged and composed by Danilo Abiti. It was a huge but necessary job. I didn't want to spare myself in terms of emotion. The recordings finished in mid-2022, then Antonio Cupertino's mix and master completed everything.”
It's a discussion that goes a little against the grain, in a system dominated by numbers.
“Yes, but it's inevitable. I'm not interested in making music for numbers. I'm interested in purity, sincere expression. I know it may seem obvious, but I'm interested in the relationship I have with music. The desire to show oneself in a certain way often intervenes between heart and brain, but that's not my way. It's not a question of genre or audience: it's a question of truth. I think that today music lacks a bit of purity. It's always entertainment, of course, but it can be done in a different, deeper, more human way.”
There is a strong collective aspect in your story.
“Absolutely yes. I'm surrounded by musicians who, first of all, are incredible people. This is the true richness of music: it truly unites so much. It's what I say on the record: we are guests of our time, and that's enough.”
At the end of our conversation, Nularse remains silent for a few seconds. Then he says:
“I make music because it is my form of truth. Not for the numbers, but for those who really feel it. It is a shared need, a way to create and unite. And, ultimately, to stay alive.”
Nularse will present Guests live in various Italian cities: October 11th a Venice (Argus 16), 1 November a Florence (Circolo Vie Nuove), 7 November Turin (Off Topic) and December 13th Milan (GERMS – Place of Contamination).
A tour that, like his music, invites you to look inside yourself and get to know yourself anew every time.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
