ENTREVUE / INTERVIEW
Eris pluvia
WITH: alessandro cavatorti, marco forella
& Roberto minniti
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Fred Simoneau &
Gerald Hawey -November 2016
PROFIL - Hi ! First, for those who don’t know Eris Pluvia, may I ask you to introduce yourself and tell us the instrument you play?
ERIS PLUVIA –
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Hi Fred! I’m Marco Forella and I play bass, acoustic guitar, programming keyboards and drums.
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Hello Fred! I’m Roberto Minniti, I sing and I play guitar
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Hi Fred! Alessandro Cavatorti here, I play acoustic and electric guitar and I write the lyrics
PR - How did Eris Pluvia started and how did you came up with the band’s name.
EP - The group was formed in the Eighties in Genoa; in 1988 the band stabilised the elements and was formed by Paolo Raciti, piano and keyboards, Edmondo Romano, flute and sax, Marco Forella, bass, Martino Murtas, drums, Alessandro Serri, vocals and gitar and Alessandro Cavatorti, guitar. In this six-person formation, the group performed in festivals and concerts, offering live performances of pieces that would become the nucleus of its 1991 album: “Glares of Mind”, “In the Rising Mist”, “The Way Home” and the title-track, “Rings of Earthly Light” were all composed and arranged during this period.
PR - You guys just released a very strong and cohesive album called « Different Earths » When did you start working on it and any ambush while doing it?
EP - Thank you. Yes, it’s a very strong album in which music is important, but words are perhaps more important. We started working at the end of 2014 and we finished the recordings in the spring of 2016. I must say that all the songs came out naturally.
PR - Is there a particular subject or a theme throughout the album or all songs’ topics are unique?
EP - Yes it is a sort of concept album. It is entirely dedicated to the influence and impact of mankind on the environment taken by different point of views. “Heroes of the Dark Star”, for instance, has science-fiction lyrics (also if the name of the spaceship is taken from an old song of Grateful Dead!), but the underlying meaning is always the same: we’re destroying our house, the earth, and the signals are all under our eyes. Earthquakes, climate changes, floods, great migrations. The other side of the problem is the power of great corporations: we’re all just consumers, we’ve lost our citizenship. Mankind is on a rope, just a false step and we’ll fall in the darkness.
PR - Any reasons why such a long pause between albums?
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EP - Well, between ROEL and TEL passed 19 years for different reasons: turn over on band mates, personal problems, and so on…between TEL and DIFFERENT EARTHS 6 years, but we had to started again after the passing of Paolo Raciti. He was the real soul and the leader of the band.
PR - When listening to your albums, including the new one, we can hear some Camel influences especially with the guitar and the flute. Am I right to conclude that Camel has inspired your music or is this simply a coincidence?
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EP - I can say, for instance, that Paolo never listened to Camel. Our music is a personal point of view of how making music. I know Camel and I admit that there are some similitudes but they are absolutely random.
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PR - All Eris Pluvia’s songs are in English. Was it the plan right from the beginning? Italian is such a beautiful language, specially in music. So was it so you can reach more fans worldwide?
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EP - Well, until ROEL we’ve always sung in English, so for us is natural to keep on.
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PR - From my understanding, “Different Earths” is dedicated to a friend and original band member Paolo Raciti who unfortunately passed away back in 2011. Did Paolo had anything to do with any of the songs from this album?
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EP - Yes of course. We had some recordings in which Paolo sketched some new themes. We’ve taken three of them and we’ve developed until we were satisfied of the outcome. I think that The Door of My Soul is one of the best songs we’ve ever made and I am believe that Paolo was near us during the recordings.
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PR - Any live performances to promote the new album?
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EP - Yes we’re organizing two different sets: on more acustic to play in little places and one with drums and keys to play in prog festivals
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PR - Do you guys have time to listen to music and if so, can you share some with Profil ?
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Alessandro: I listen a lot of music. Rock, jazz, hard rock, metal and classical (also if my favourite genre is prog rock). My favourite bands are Beatles and Pink Floyd.
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Marco: I love classic prog bands like Genesis and Pink Floyd
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Roberto: I grown up with Genesis, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, but I developed a passion for funky. Playing with Eris Pluvia is a comeback to my first passions.
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PR - What are the plans now and what is it that we can expect from Eris Pluvia in the near future?
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EP - I can tell you a preview: we have started to work to a new album and we have recorded three new song. So perhaps, this time, there will be a short pause.
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PR - Question for Alessandro, ou avez-vous appris à parler le Français?
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EP - Et bien j’ai appris français à l’école, aprés j’ai etudié à l’université; en plus, j’ai un petit appartement dans un petit village du Var (dans la France du sud - nous sommes da coté) qui s’appelle La Garde-Freinet où je vais souvent et où j’ai beaucoup d’amis. C’est pour ça que donc je l’utilise beaucoup.
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PR - Now it is time for quick profil questions, normally one word answer will do it. If you don’t want to answer, you simply say pass !
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PR - Your favorite Italian progressive rock band
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Alessandro: Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
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Marco: PFM
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Roberto: Both
PR - If you could pick one country, in the entire world, where you would love to perform live. Which one would it be?
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Alessandro: Japan
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Roberto: USA
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Marco: Australia
PR - Of any artists you can think of, which one song, you wish came from you?
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Alessandro: Shine on you crazy diamond
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Roberto: Purple Rain
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Marco: Comfortably Numb
PR - Your favorite song from Different Earths?
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Alessandro: The Door of my Soul
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Roberto: Man on a Rope
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Marco: Heroes of the Dark Star
PR - What progressive rock festival would you love to be invited to play live?
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EP - The night of the prog in Loreley
PR - You favorite musician?
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Alessandro: David Gilmour
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Roberto: Prince
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Marco: Peter Gabriel
PR - Favorite Italian dish?
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EP - All: Pizza & pasta!!
PR - Martini or Sambuca?
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Alessandro: Sambuca (I love Pastis)
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Roberto: Sambuca
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Marco: Martini
PR - Anything you would like to add before I let you go?
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EP - Hope we’ll keep in touch for the next album. Greetings from Italy!
PR - Thanks so much for being on Profil, I wish you all the best with this brand new album and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for the next one. Cheers