Kronic web-zine, 02/2003

In the search of purity

After Stalingrad now it's the turn of Siderartica; we are back to Elena Fossi to talik about her new project and discover how the true purity of soul nests in the cold and ice. "Night Parade" is not only an interesting electronic album, but it's especially an invitation to the search; looking inside to find oneself, looking inside and learn to love a slash of sky.

Let's begin from Siderartica: when was it born? What did you push to realize a new project?
The idea of Siderartica was born in 2001. It was already a while that I was thinking to realize something of "personal" and I had some pieces in my head, that then would have create "Night Parade". Without any doubt, I feel perfectly at my ease with Kirlian Camera and never, in no way, limited, but the ideas are so many and often we are not able to condense all of them in one only project, also because we risk to make lose the identity of this one. So I thought, with the benediction of Angelo, to create this new entity and make cohabit it with the others, trying to keep indipendent one from each other the three projects.

Have we to consider it a kind of side-project or a real band? Concerning this how was born the collaboration with Andrea Fossi and Andrea Savelli?
No, no side-project, but a band in all for all. The collaboration with the other two? I thought that for Siderartica my brother and Andrea S. would have been good, because they are surely not new to these atmospheres; just some year ago we collaborated together in a band called "La Fille Biaise", a beautiful remind, moreover, but from which only 2 or 3 demo-tapes came out; then we are already tested and with them I feel very equipped!

From the cover to the name Siderartica till the sound and the lyrics, everything gives a sense of "dramatic cold". The reality where we live is it really so icy? Do you want to talk about the meaning of this continue metaphora?
The reality is not icy, not in the sense I attribute a this word. The cold, the snow, the iciness are the true purity of the soul. Recently this planet seems a big thrash bin! So I try to underline, how I can, the value of a life dedicated to the search of the purity, against the bleak that soils always more often everything.

Concerning this I have a curiosity about "Arkhangel'sk": Arkhangel'sk is also a city where the political dissenters were deported under the zar domain. Still again Russia and still again that sense of cold that pervades all your work. There are links?
I never saw that city, but it's just like I had some memories there, or some projections. I thought more times that, if a day I should reach a quiet state, it's there that I could find it. When all remains indissolubilitly pervaded by greyness, it's there that my dream of death could come true, in the ice of that city... No, I didn't write these lyrics referring to tzarist tyranny.

Speaking about songs: you chose to play a cover of "Atmosphere" of Joy Division. Why them and why just that song?
They could be also others, but not the song. It's so close to the truth...

Reading the lyrics I believe that you often touched the concept of God, the idea of an deceiving and elusive entity built by the man, and I think to songs like "Seasons of the world" and "Cena chimica". Could you say something?
The true God, that I consider to be the vital energy of the beauty doesn't belong to this reality. The idea of God formulated by people is very far from this. And if we were created to his image and likeness I don't dare to think which kind of monster he could be. I like to think to a supreme strength, che co-operates with us, but here the people seems uselessly obedient puppets for fear that otherwise the Paradise wouldn't be allowed to them, that a mean like the church, tries to spread, translating deliberately the will of the master. But we know, the life is not all sperm and flowers...!

Another theme that returns I believe it's the fragility of the human being seen under a light full of distrust and disappointment. In "Explosive die" you define him shrewd microbe. "Night Parade" is a pessimistic album or a work that contemplates in a way totally separated the future and the mysteries of the life of the animal man?
The fragility of the man is caused because, till he will continue to proclaim himself animal there will be no hope for him. I'm not pessimistic at all, but my distrust in the human beings - not in all however - is born seeing a educated society, and then comfortably used, to be moralist, but having not an own ethics released from that one of the mass. Such distrust from my side cannot be avoided till the more rationals will be those that have good marks at school or excellent promotions at the work and blissfully fart in front of a wonderful slash of sky...

One thing that really impressed me it's your ability to diversify on so many registers with your voice. IT's able to be warm and separated. Drammatic and at the same time caressly desolated. Moreover I believe that in "Night Parade" you were able to give free way to your voice, experiment and offer a top role that in past it hadn't yet. Are you agree?
The fact that one could feel some things fill myself of joy, because it's not easy communicate strong sensations without fall in sham, or without exasperate them with an excessive tecnique. For this this was not a really experimentation, simply I let go my feelings; what I felt in that moment had to cross the minds and the hearts of who can understand...

On booklet there is written that you didn't use any sampler and pc/mac. There is a technical explanation for this choice? Which are the differences that do better a sound realized with instruments as Roland MC-505 in your opinion?
It's very easy: in that moment we were not so "equipped", our instrumentation was not so good. The only good machine we had was a Roland MC-505, with that, in fact, we worked in "Night Parade". We tried to not use presets and, in second time, to manipulate the sounds with external filters, so to make them a bit more multicoloured. It's all. I believe that in the next works we will have the possibility to use also other instruments and, why not, some sampler, but surely we will discard the idea to continue to play with our nice banger.

Kirlian Camera, Stalingrad and now Siderartica: all bands with a cuttin and often glacial sound. Didn't you ever think to venture in a "warmer" sound, try something completely different and out of our "terrain"?
I worked for 6 years in two singing schools, where for all the day I was in contact with "warm" music and voices that asked for becoming "warm". Sicnerly it was important and constructive for me, but for some years I don't want Tinas Turner in my way! Maybe we can talk again later!

Last curiosity: the album was released first in a limited edition box and then as normal cd. Why this choice?
It was not exactly a planned choice, I mean that the album had to be released last April, but this didn't happen, and for a series of "path accidents" it was out only in September. So our label, Shadowlab, thought to promote us putting on the top "Night Parade" with a particular box that anticipated the release of standard record.

There are some news in the future of Siderartica that you can revail?
Yes, a single is close to be out, I think around February/March, that contains a couple of pieces taken from "Night Parade", one remixed by German Y-LUKO and one by American Morph. Of course there will be an unreleased track with the same title of the record, "Shapes and colours from the land of God". Concerning gigs, around end of april and beginning of May we will do a mini-tour with sees the presence of Kirlian Camera, Siderartica and Stalingrad at Waregem, Schloss Püchau, Rostock, Kopenhagen and London.

Federico Tozzi

Taken from: http://www.kronic.it

English translation: Adalberto Orrigo