Twice Grammy-nominated band Belladonna from Italy has posted a new interview in preparation of their European tour in January 2012.
Here the video for ‚Till Death Do Us Part‘ by Belladonna
How are you doing and how is the band doing right now?
Everything is going great in Belladonnaland, thanks!! We’ve just finished mixing the acoustic demos of 8 new BELLADONNA songs… they already sound very noir, dirty, gritty… deep and dark… and we already cannot wait to hear how fabulous they will sound like with the full noirpower of the band.
You describe your musical style as *Rock noir*, can you tell us something about the main aspects of this music? What makes it it´s very own genre?
The term Rock noir seemed to us the most appropriate in order to describe our music wich is more aligned with suspense and mystery rather than grotesque horror and demonic atmosphere as in the Gothic music for example. Pyromantic, Misterotic ,Visionoir are probably the right words to describe the combination of ingredients that blend in the Rock Noir experience.
What was the first reaction to it, after founding this genre and term? Was there any change in the feedback of your listeners over the last couple of years?
The first reaction to it has left us speechless: many have not only loved it but they even used to describe their music!! And over the last few years it even grew into a bona fide genre and this fills our hearts with pure joy!
In general, how large is the actual development in the italian rock-scene? Do you have some kind of a vanguard role in your country?
It is sad to admit that in our country a real rock scene has never existed and we actually don’t know if it will exist eventually…so it is hard – “hard” it’s just an euphemism – to have a specific role in what does not really exist.
You announced an european tour for 2012. What are your expectations for this tour?
We are thrilled about meeting all our fans in cities where we have never played before … we expect to experience life at its fullest!!
Any specials on this tour planned for the fans?
We’ll do a selection of the songs that grace our 3 albums, there’ll be lots of jams and improvised moments – as there always are with BELLADONNA – and we’ll throw in the covers of one or two famous songs totally re-arranged and Belladonna-ized!
Your latest album “And There Was Light“ has been released in March 2011. What has been the feedback by the fans and how would you personally describe the album?
The feedback from our friends and fans has been beyond our expectations!! Personally we would describe our new album as a sort of journey through different shades of light…
Has there been anything special about the production?
The actual recording has been ripe of many special, magical moments, recording is the art of conjuring up your inner soul and if there’s no magic in the air that just does not happen.
What are the differences between your latest record and his predecessor “The Noir Album“?
The differences between the two works are like the differences between two photos of the same face, captured at different times … but we used the same approach to record it: no click, no computer manipulation, and above all we played together while recording it as if we were in the ’70s.
What can you tell us about the next record? Is it already in process?
Yes it is already in process and everything will be revealed in due time … we can only say it will be full of surprises!!
In general, how is your songwriting-process done?
Between me and Dani (the two Belladonna ’songwriters) there is a strange alchemy… we just need to be together to write new songs and sometimes it seems as if they are somewhere in the universe and that we only activate the right antennaes that are able to capture them!
Let´s talk about band history! What made you to choose Belladonna as your bandname?
We loved the ambiguity of the name, BELLADONNA can be a cure, an hallucinatory drug and a poison according to the dose you intake, and we loved how this word could mean such radically different things. We love ambiguity and double meanings, they are one of the main ingredients of our lyrics, so we felt it was a most apt name. Plus it sounds Italian and we loved that too.
What would you personally say was your greatest success with the band?
Our biggest success was surely to reach people all over the world without any pressure on them by the media… our history has spawned from the amazing word of mouth that has always been bestowed upon us on the social networks. We were and still are a 100% self-produced band!
Currently, a lot of bands have a quite hard time to get their concert halls sold out, especially in rock and metal music, without announcing it as a farewell tournée. So how do you get people to watch you live on stage?
Well, we spend a lot of time talking with all our fans personally on all the social networks, it’s something we’ve always loved doing, it’s our own way of thanking and being close to all the people that are moved by our music. But we’re not really bothered or worried by how big or popular we are or can be, or by how many people turn up at our shows, the word of mouth around our music has always worked wonders and we feel it’s the best way to reach people’s hearts with our music.
Generally, what’s up next for the band? What can the fans expect from Belladonna in the future?
This is a really good question! Our path seems to have been guided by some strange astral design, so we think that our fans expect us to be the first ones to be amazed by what will happen… as it has always
happened!:-)
Do you have any final words for all the fans out there?
Thanks to you all for reading this interview! Follow us on our fb www.facebook.com/belladonnaband and feel free to drop us a line!! We always reply to everybody!
Tour dates 2012
13 Jan – Rock on the Road, Desio – ITALY
14 Jan – Rock city, Uster – SWITZERLAND
16 Jan – Livestage, Innsbruck – AUSTRIA
17 Jan – Shelter, Vienna – AUSTRIA
18 Jan – Café na pul cesty, Prague – CZECH REPUBLIC
19 Jan – Garage deluxe, Munich – GERMANY
20 Jan – Ex’n’pop, Berlin – GERMANY
21 Jan – Signing Session: UFA Kristallpalast, Dresden – GERMANY
22 Jan – Puschkin Club, Dresden – GERMANY
25 Jan – Blue Shell, Cologne – GERMANY
26 Jan – D:Qliq, Luxembourg – LUXEMBOURG
27 Jan – De pit, Terneuzen – NETHERLANDS
28 Jan – Konvex Bar, Düsseldorf – GERMANY
