It is difficult to pigeonhole Måneskin: they do not recall the Beatles, but not the Rolling Stones either, they fundamentally resemble no one but themselves, even though the comparisons have been many and often reckless or inappropriate. It is pointless to look for a common denominator to understand who they “remind us of”, because if in a few months they have managed to break through in the Italian music scene, earning platinum records, the reason is to be found in a single word: talent. Their image too, from the heavy make-up to the striking and swaggering outfit, only serves to emphasise their uniqueness. Merits made all the greater by the band members' birth years, from 1999 to 2001. They are the millennials, ready to break through and take it all.
Concert photos Zurich, 12 February 2019
We know you from the interviews, and in your videos there is a general enthusiasm that often leads your fans to ask you: “But what are you doing in Italy? You are artists who could break through in the United States…”. What do you think of these considerations? Damiano “I wish! Joking aside, the first market we stepped into is the Italian one, and we must try to consolidate our experience here before looking elsewhere. We have big dreams, but everything must run its course. The American record industry is the top for a band, but our thought is first and foremost to improve and to have certainties to build on.”
So, is the greatest priority right now to confirm your success by giving the audience what it expects, or rather to keep surprising those who listen to you, by experimenting? Victoria: “Mainly we try to surprise the audience by trying to be ourselves, producing our music without neglecting the satisfaction we must have for what we do. Ethan and Thomas: the goal is also to push past our limits, to broaden our way of communicating while seeking to appeal to an ever-wider audience. We also try to range across different musical genres, without limiting ourselves to rock or funk alone.”
Speaking of rock, I noticed that among the images of your video “Fear for nobody” there is the destruction of musical instruments. They are symbolic images of rock: is it a tribute you wanted to pay to the greats like Hendrix or the Who, or is it something more personal? Victoria and Damiano “it is a personal take on the fact that, by editing the video in reverse, we want to show that behind a destruction there is a construction. The video is a journey in which we also symbolise shaking the dust off one's clothes and dressing again in better clothes, as an overcoming of one's own fears. Aspiring to something greater.”
The greatest ambition could be embodied by your muse Marlena. Of this inspiring role, do you have in your imagination a face that represents it? Damiano “Actually, everyone has to interpret her in their own way: for us she is freedom, beauty and passion, but she has no face. Whoever listens to our songs has to imagine a muse to idealise personally, otherwise the symbol of freedom would make no sense.”
And so, will the Muse you bring to Zurich hold surprises for the Italian-Swiss audience? The whole band “of course, but avoiding spoilers, we can assure you that we have the right aspiration to give the audience an engaging concert. We are just back from several dates in Italy and we are thrilled with the feedback the audience gave us in various Italian cities. The live dimension is the one that represents us most and gratifies us: dealing with a completely different crowd is certainly stimulating.”
And most likely, at the end of the concert, the road for Marlena to return home will also pass through Switzerland…
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