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spiritualfront2012 simonesalvatori 02Interview with

Simone Salvatori (vocals and guitar) from Spiritual Front

Beginning of May 2013, the Italian band released the new album ‘Open Wounds’ via Trisol music. During my April visit to Rome, I also met my friend Simone Salvatori, front man of SPIRITUAL FRONT. During the time we spent, we talked about the new album, future plans, music in general… and porn! Just read below…

Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: Quite obvious question, but, however, it worried all fans without exceptions: Where are the brand-new songs? We know that on 3rd May a new album was released, but there is old material in a new sound. Tell us more about it.
Simone Salvatori [Simone]: It’s a songs rework, because for many years, many labels and fans ask me to reprint the first albums. But didn’t like them at all because of the production, because of many things and many aspects about it. But after many requests, I decided to enter the studio and rearrange all the songs with new instruments, new arrangements, new studio and spiritualfront2012 07new attitude too. I am very… I am quite happy about this. They sound old school but with new sound, a better sound. We already started to arrange new songs. We are still in process. We have like 10-12 new songs. We have to choose amount them.

RoD: The new songs of SPIRITUAL FRONT, which are actually old but reworked, lost some decadent plaque, which was in the old songs. What happened? You've become more positive? Changed your look on life?
Simone: I think I was more positive when I did write ‘Rotten Roma Casino’. It was a mistake. There was many compliance about written ‘Rotten Roma Casino’, about sound, because many old fans thought that we want to turn into something more pop, that decadent part was missed, whatever. But it sounded exactly the same, just the production of the record was clearer, the sound was more pop. Starting point was exactly the same.

RoD: You have already announced the date of the concert in Minsk - the end of September. Do you plan to visit Ukraine or Russia in this time? We are always happy to see you in Kiev and assure that you have got more fans since your last visit.
Simone: Thank you very much. It depends from the Ukrainian promoters. ;)

RoD: And what about Russia?
Simone: We should be back in Russia. We wanted to come back in September but it was too close considering the last time we played there. So I like to finished not reworked but a new spiritualfront2012 simonesalvatori 03album and go there again. I hope next year.

RoD: You have such big Russian fan club and it's mostly girls. What do you think, it’s because you have 4 beautiful man in your band, or they really like your music or all together?
Simone: Just because they like the music. Not because of sexy man, we are not sexy.

RoD: I do not agree, but ok.
Simone: Giorgio is sexy ;)

RoD: Tell us something interesting about your Russian fan club. Do you have such in other countries? What is characteristic of each fan club?
Simone: No, Russian is one so big/young. Because we have fans around all of Europe. I was surprised about Russian fans, because there was a lot of girls and young girls. Consider to other that are over age and over, over age in other countries. The Russian ones were very, very young, many teenagers. I don’t know why. And I was surprised. The second time we were there was definitive better than the first one. I don’t know why. Maybe because we started to play more pop and positive things ;).

RoD: All of your videos are like little movies. You have a few permanent directors, but tell me - who comes up with the story? Directors are only working with idea or offer something own ideas? And who are interested in working?
Simone: If you are talking about ‘Song for the old man’ or ‘Darkroom friendship’, we have worked with the same director Carlo Roberti. Usually I go to him with an idea, the most of the times it comes from movie. ‘Odete’, ‘Sad almost the Winner’ there were a slot of short remakes of ‘Odete’ and ‘Like to be strongest’ which was Fassbinder’s movie in 1976. I grow up with 80s video clips. Most of them were something like a story or short story. I found this very spiritualfront2012 09fascinating. It was not just to display of beautiful girls or beautiful boys, ‘Darkroom friendship’ was more in this direction. Short story or something like this is more interesting.

RoD: And work with which video has made a most fun for you?
Simone: ‘Song for the old man’, because I ride horse.

RoD: Are you really a good horse rider? How long? Do you enjoy horseback riding?
Simone: I did it several times when I was younger when I went to Tuscany for holidays. Several times, some times. I am a big fan of Western movie, it was a chance for me to start ride a horse again. I wanted to do more, but it was enough. I started to take lessons before the video shooting. I wanted to be more confident with; if I would start to ride a horse just in day of video recording, no one would have believed it. The lessons helped me to show myself more relaxed.

RoD: Yes and you have done it. And in this video we have seen a boy, who is remarkably similar to you. This is your relative or Carlo had so well-matched cast? About your sister as a mom we already know.
Simone: It was an incident. If you would see a picture of me as I was a kid, I looked like that. I was very funny and nice. He looks like me.

RoD: Tell us about your favourite musician. Or group. Do you have a "teacher" in the dark and Neo-folk scene?
Simone: You mean inspiration? I never listen just one type of music. I always listening to many kinds of staff, many kinds of music. And always try to put more and more influences in one record. I never had been a big fun of just neo-folk and just rock. In the beginning when I spiritualfront2012 simonesalvatori 01started to play music I was more into metal staff, because I was kid. Metal is the most direct kind of music, you can appreciate when you are kid. I started to play folk staff because I was a big fan of DEATH IN JUNE from one side and Death Metal from other side. I like the way of playing that Johnny Meijer had and did. I liked so much minimal Folk that Douglas Pearce played in the beginning. They were making influence for me. But along the years I put into SPIRITUAL FRONT many influences like Scott Walker or Enio Morricone. But I can’t consider myself as a fun of just one kind of music.

RoD: For your relationship with Thomas Pettersson on stage during joint actions, you are accused in homosexuality. What do you think about this? Does it hurt you, that the fans of your music has such reaction on your behaviour?
Simone: Me and Thomas, we like to play on such things, we can consider ourselves. We were pretty sure, we have done something that people would talk about for weeks and weeks and months. If you ask me, I can tell – it worked.

RoD: During the premiere of the video on the channel Solobuiovisualfactor, a comment appeared where someone from fans asked when you finally will be play in a real porn. This comment was very quickly deleted but we all have seen it. Maybe you will answer on this spiritualfront2012 08question for us? Maybe you plan shooting in Nu-style? You will get more fans anyway.
Simone: My girlfriend will not let me do it. ;)

RoD: And last question. What do you think will happen with SPIRITUAL FRONT in 10 years? And what will be with dark folk in general?
Simone: I don’t know what will be with neo-folk in 10 years but I think I will keep playing SPIRITUAL FRONT next 10 years. I will keep playing because it’s a part of me. I can’t stop. About my physical situation I can’t guarantee anything. About neo-folk situation, it’s not so positive. Too many bad bands, too many boring bands. It makes dark folk scene too boring, too static. In common if you make a pop music, maybe you can survive. But in alternative music not. There are some new bands, actually many interesting bands but they can’t survive just with the music...

Photography by P. Rotasso
Written by Daria Szegeda (Ukrainian Gothic Portal www.gothic.com.ua). The Russian version of the article is available here
Special thanks for helping to prepare the questions for this interview to Maryna Evilly

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