exclusief interview met: |
Fabio D’Amore (bass player of Serenity)
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“Combining complex and catchy is our best skill.
Serenity is headlining the FemME Club Tour. Time for an interview with Fabio, the bass player, in ‘De Verlichte Geest’ in Roeselare (Belgium). This is the second part of their tour for the new CD ‘Codex Atlanticus’ that was released in the beginning of 2016.
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Danny: “Hello Fabio, let’s start with the new album, ‘Codex Atlanticus’. It’s all about Leonardo Da Vinci. Is every song related to him?”
Fabio: “Definitely, although it’s not a real concept album. There’s no time line between the songs but every song is talking about him. And we build up different stories about different times of his career. We try to think about what he was feeling and what he was thinking about many different topics.” Danny: “Can you give some examples?” Fabio: “Yeah, for example ‘Follow Me’ is talking about a young da Vinci who is making statements against the church, as you can see in the video that we shot. He wants his students to follow him and his believes. Although he’s raised as a catholic, he was working against the pope’s will. So they were not accepting him and what he was doing. This was one of the first songs we wrote. For example, the complete opposite is ‘My Final Chapter’ about an old da Vinci, a dying one. He’s writing a kind of a symposium to nature, about what inspired him about the splendor and magic of nature and the sensations he felt during his creations inspired by nature.” Danny: “You write the lyrics?” Fabio: “Yes, I wrote the lyrics for four or five songs.” Danny: “So you all studied Leonardo’s life?” Fabio: “Yes, we had to do a huge investigation but we are all history lovers and we all like historical subjects. If you want to do a specific study or write a rock opera about something you need to investigate the subject very well. “ |
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Danny: “And ‘The Perfect Woman’ is about the Mona Lisa?”
Fabio: “Indeed and the lyrics were written by our previous keyboard player, Mario Hirzinger, who founded the band. It’s also about the sensations he got when creating La Gioconda. The song is sung by Amanda Somerville, known from Avantasia.“ Danny: “Clem (Clémentine Delauney) is gone. Was that a big change for the band? ” Fabio: “Well, we miss a friend, that’s for sure. And we miss a bandmate. But it was a spontaneous decision. We had a period, we were a co male-female fronted band, but we all decided it had more sense to continue like we started. The band was meant like this. We tried something else, because in life, you always want to try different things but the real nature of the band is the way you know it now.“ Danny: “The song ‘Sprouts of Terror’ is one of the heaviest songs I heard from Serenity. Is that a new direction for the band?” Fabio: “yeah, that’s true, but it’s just one song. I had to push a lot, while singing this song, because I’m singing all the verses. It’s quite trash metal oriented, but I like it.“ Danny: “You’re from Italy but you live in Austria?” Fabio: “Since two months, yes. There’s also a German in the band.“ |
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Danny: “That’s no problem to rehearse?”
Fabio: “There are no rehearsals. Haha, that’s the point. This band decided from the beginning, we shall not rehearse.“ Danny: “Iniquity, it’s a song in ¾?” Fabio: “It’s the first single. And it’s in ¾, indeed. It creates a cool atmosphere. “ Danny: “How important is Jan Vacik for the band?” Fabio: “He’s very important. Especially on the last album, as producer, he shares a lot of ideas with us about the production and about writing material. He did the recording of the first four albums too, but the production of the third and the fourth were done by Oliver Philips (Everon).“ Danny: “And who is Lukas Knoebl?” Fabio: “He’s the orchestral arranger. He’s a friend of ours. He’s the guitar player of Illuminata. The result of his work with the orchestra and violins was outstanding. It was the first time we worked together but it won’t be the last.“ Danny: “Who did the artwork?” Fabio: “I cannot pronounce his name, it’s a Hungarian. (Gyula Havancsak). His work is amazing. We were stunned. It’s a painting of Leonardo in his lab. It’s really picturing the whole album.“ Danny: “Is there going to be a big gap of time again for the next album?” Fabio: “No, we are already working on it.“ Danny: “Can you situate ‘Sprouts Of Terror’ in the Leonardo history?” Fabio: “It’s talking about war. Leonardo was asked to create war machines to defend his city. It was asked by the duke. “ Danny: “The band seems to be able to combine complex music pieces with catchy melodies?” Fabio: “Yes, that’s the best skill of the band. “ Danny: “I once said to Georg that he sounded like Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica but I now realize that it’s vice versa. It’s Tony who sounds like him.” Fabio: “He will be pleased to hear that. ;-) But I think they should do a duet. Tony is such a good singer as well. I had the pleasure to tour with him for two months in the US. I know him and he’s a nice person. So why not sing together for once.” Danny: “OK, thanks for your time and success with your gig.” Fabio: “I just want to add a special thanks to our Belgian fans and to anyone who supported us at the beginning of the year and at the festivals and see you all again next year!’” Danny Focke, 18/11/2016 for Keys & Chords |
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