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Rating: A name like Area doesn't need any introduction. Among the historic bands of Italian music, Area have been back on the road for a couple of years, ready to present both old classics and new experimentations to their audience. The long Reunion Tour has recently materialized into a beautiful celebratory box set, "Live 2012", ideally divided into two distinct parts: the first CD features the historic tracks, and the second contains the various unreleased pieces presented on stage, the embryo of a new project that might be developed in the future. What initially might have seemed a questionable choice, namely to present their historical repertoire instrumentally, has proven to be absolutely successful, confirming the credibility of the current course of the group. "Live 2012" was also an occasion to have a chat with Ares Tavolazzi, the ensemble's historic bassist: as you will see, we really talked about everything, from Area's upcoming concert commitments to the crisis in the music market, also indulging in some reflection on the recent Sicilian elections. Happy reading.
RR: The return of Area takes place in a rather specific context: on one hand, there has been a rediscovery of some sounds from the seventies, just think of the return of some names from the progressive scene of that period, and on the other hand, there are socio-political similarities. In the seventies, you operated in a specific context, which was that of the extra-parliamentary left, the Lotta Continua festivals, etc. Today that context no longer exists. Today, who is the listener of Area? If you go to the concerts, you see that on one hand there are the old fans, people who followed you back then, but on the other hand, there has been a generational turnover, people in their twenties and twenties-five who weren't there at the time but who might be interested in such a peculiar experience as the Area project was.. AT: Yes, let's say that the audience is divided into different parts: there are those who were there then, then there's the middle age of thirty-year-olds and twenty-five-year-olds who have heard about it and have benefited from it afterwards and are also curious to see what this thing is, and then there are many youngsters, many sixteen to seventeen-year-olds, musicians, who are naturally attracted by the originality of the music, by the signals that music sent out and which they now have the chance to listen to again through the internet. RR: Speaking of your music in general, you have always had a rather jazzy approach, with significant emphasis on instrumental parts, but the lyrics also had their own weight, just think of how many of them were conceived and the long discussions with Gianni Sassi. With Demetrio's death, there was a deliberate choice not to take on a new singer, and the albums following his passing, "Tic & Tac" (1980) and "Chernobyl 7991" (1997), are practically instrumental. On the other hand, isn't there a risk, even when thinking about live concerts, of appearing incomplete? More or less the lyrics had a specific weight.. AT: No, there is no such risk. Area was a group that made music, Demetrio was also an instrument of the group besides being a singer who at that moment brought the word through the lyrics. Now there are no lyrics, but for the past thirty years, we have continued to be musicians, so the message each of us has sent over the last thirty years is not through words but through gestures, through music, through sound... RR: It passes with or without words... AT: Something else passes, also because a certain type of text at this moment would... RR: Could it seem anachronistic? AT: Yes, it wouldn't make sense.. RR: Well, but up to a certain point. I think of albums like "Arbeit Macht Frei" or "Caution Radiation Area": they are albums now thirty-five or forty years old, but many of the themes they tackled continue to be quite relevant. I think of "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)" and the current situation in Gaza these days.. AT: Certainly, certainly... RR: ...or the world of work today... perhaps Area continues to find success among young people precisely because even though these are songs written forty years ago, it does not seem that some of these albums are forty years old... AT: No, absolutely not... RR: ...they could have been released now or five or six years ago... AT: Absolutely, but this has already been said, what sense would it make? RR: Why insist on it, then? AT: I am a musician... yes, I read books, I am interested in these issues, but I transform everything through sound and I can't do otherwise...Gianni Sassi is no longer here, a certain way of creating tracks isn't here anymore because there's no Demetrio, who is irreplaceable, I would dare to say. Why did we never recruit another singer? Because Demetrio represented not for what he represented, but for what he was, for the technical level and originality and uniqueness of his way of being a singer.. RR: Speaking of the various reunions over the years, this is the second one. There was another one in '93 which lasted till 2000. You were part of the reunion during the very first years, around '93-'94... AT: Yes, an attempt was made.. RR: Yes, then the group went on only with Capiozzo and Fariselli... AT: Yes, for me personally it wasn't the case to continue.. RR: If you watch your videos from that time, for example, there are videos of you on Rai in '94 or in concert at the Bloom in Mezzago, still with you in the lineup, you can see that these two reunions are quite different. In this one, perhaps also thanks to the presence of Paolo Tofani, great importance is once again given to synthesizers and computers, whereas in '93-'94, there was perhaps a simpler attitude, perhaps the sound was more stripped down.. AT: Sure, absolutely... it was more instrumental, closer to each of our instruments... research changes, we invent nothing, we are the product of the inputs that come to us, for in those days I was so, and now twenty years have passed, and I have been through different inputs through jazz, improvisation, and other experiences, and what I bring now even in the old Area tracks is something else entirely. My way of playing that music is different... I wouldn't want to be misunderstood... this group isn't a revival group. It is a group that goes up and performs some themes from that period because they are beautiful and original, and people want to hear them, but then what happens inside is who we are now. This is the difference between this group and everything else... RR: And those who are still playing the same old hits from forty years ago? AT: Exactly, in the same way, a bit pathetically in my opinion. I don't feel pathetic because I have a varied and in-depth musical background that I have crossed over these years, so I don't have this problem. I am a musician, and I continue to make music; beyond Area, I also do other things, I couldn't not do other things. For me, Area is something I am doing... RR: About your tour, it was a long tour, even with guests: there have been Maria Pia De Vito, Mauro Pagani, Eugenio Finardi. Have you considered involving them in a bigger project, such as writing new songs together, or for the moment, will it be limited to appearances, like old friends reuniting on stage? AT: No, I would say that for now, there is no such intention. Finardi has been a guest; there was never any kind of project about him.. Maria Pia has always been a guest, and she seemed the most suitable person to represent some things, some lyrics from that period.. for now, we don't intend to.. we would like to have guests, but more than vocal, musical guests were considered, thinking about musicians from the European or American area, but we still have to decide.. RR: Speaking of future projects, I've read your press release about a collaboration with Legambiente next year and a trip to Japan... AT: Yes..you're talking about Bari (the participation at the Medimex in Bari in collaboration with Legambiente, ed)? Yes, we have carte blanche.. in this project, we will invite artists who are closest to us.. For the trip to Japan: March/April, because there are a lot of requests since Area is a very well-known group in Japan since the seventies. Japan has always been very receptive to this kind of music.. RR: Besides, there are even cover bands of yours in Japan.. AT: Yes, there are some very nice ones, and there is even a Japanese alone with a guitar who must be seen, who goes "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)".. we are indeed very happy, I believe we will have a very good reception.. RR: The last album made with Area's historic lineup, "Gli Dei se ne vanno (gli Arrabbiati restano)", was born as a somewhat disenchanted reflection on '68. if Area today were to write a sort of "Gli Dei se ne vanno, part 2", a reflection on the following decades, what could they say? More or less, the seventies were years when there were aspirations, there was the triumph of ideologies that then crashed with the eighties and nineties. Today, however, as mentioned before, a situation is emerging that shares many points in common with those years, just think of the various social tensions. A group always very attentive like Area could draw inspiration from this to take up that theme again... thinking also about the trip to Japan just think of Fukushima last year and "Caution" which is an album of '74.. AT: Right now, the problem with people and even in passing messages is that there is no reaction... RR: There is a certain apathy.. AT: We are flattened.. RR: Worse than in the eighties? AT: Absolutely, absolutely, because in the eighties an act could trigger reactions of a certain kind... now an act lasts as long as it lasts, and the next day it has already been absorbed by the media.. RR: It just doesn't matter... AT: Certainly, so if I were to think about a work now, the word is "wake up", "let's wake up", "let's react".. we take everything for lost, for granted.. RR: There's a lot of fatalism, "it has to go this way".. AT: Yes, now there is this.. last night I watched a documentary about the elections in Sicily, and people say "I don't vote anymore because what's the point of voting?". Already this "what's the point of voting?" is tragic, it’s dramatic, so this could be something to work on, but then this too will end up in the pot.. there are wars everywhere, we all know it, but there are wars, they are increasing, we should talk about this, but what's the use of talking about it? The drama of all this moment is this.. RR: "Why should I bother?"... AT: No, I do it too.. RR: "I do it, but I know that.."... AT: This is, I find myself having this, and I find it terrible.. on me, I find it dramatic.. RR: A slightly different topic. Based on what your experience was with Cramps, which seemed more like a cultural association than a record label in the strict sense, and also talking to other musicians, today, a major is seen more as an obstacle than a company that can give you real support. A lot of weight is given even by big names to self-production. How do you and Area, and you as a musician in general, position yourself regarding this? AT: Well, we are self-producing. We have made attempts with a major I will not name, but... this flattening we talked about before... there was no interest.. RR: Were they expecting dance on stage? AT: Yes, it was like you brought them.. RR: The Spice Girls..
AT: Yes, no reaction, "yes, let's see"... but you know what I say? We'll do it ourselves and that is what we are doing...RR: Let's talk a bit about the new album. The first part is dedicated to historical material, while the second CD, "Geometrie", contains experiments you've tried on stage. I would like to ask how this part of the show was born and if you would like to talk about the track "Aten", a reinterpretation of a piece by Wayne Shorter ("Nefertiti", ed). AT: "Aten".. I'll get to that right away, it's another name for Nefertiti. Since the track is "Nefertiti".. RR: But it's not the original.. AT: No, no, within the track I do there is "Nefertiti", there's the theme of "Nefertiti"... I... how can I say... do a deconstruction, can I say?, of the track through improvisation but maintaining the harmonic structure and so I thought that Nefertiti had also other names, and I gave this name to the track. As for the second part of the CD these are things we've been experimenting with over the years, especially in theaters, because in the summer it's a little difficult acoustically.. there's a double bass, Paolo uses certain instruments.. it's all very acoustic, so the ideal place to do this is the theater.. we're still working on it. This is a taste, it's the beginning of something that will likely develop and blossom into something else. RR: The last question: I know you teach. Have you ever encountered young musicians who have a particular talent or who could in one way or another carry something forward that is new but somewhat comparable to what the Area experience was, or in any case to a certain kind of research whose aim isn't necessarily selling CDs? AT: Certainly. Italy is, and I am mainly speaking of the jazz field, which I have known well over the past thirty years, an incredible talent incubator. There are very young musicians, pianists, double bassists, saxophonists, very young and very talented, but they have no opportunity to express themselves because there is no work here in Italy at the moment. And there is no work also because, and I must say this, all these schools and even some three-year conservatory courses in order to make numbers take in everyone who arrives without selection, so there is a lot of people out there playing mediocrely who nevertheless, through Facebook, the internet, and invitations, get to play in venues for free or for very little. And what happens? It turns out that the venue manager doesn't care about the quality of the music... RR: Just fill the place for me... AT: Just fill the place. So what happens? Those who do research stay home or go abroad.. RR: And those who do Ligabue covers fill your place.. AT: Exactly, and the average of the music is the one that has more expansion, alas, because this is a missed opportunity, yet another missed opportunity.
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