Metal Discovery: Interview with Claudio Simonetti fom Daemonia

DATE OF INTERVIEW:

DAEMONIA

1st December 2007

CLAUDIO SIMONETTI

METAL DISCOVERY: Has this Dani Filth thing given Daemonia any more recognition from a younger audience because I notice on your MySpace page there seems to be a lot of people leaving comments that are Cradle of Filth fans?

MD: I read on your site that you’re looking for a soprano female rock singer to join Daemonia - do you intend to compose more original music and move away from doing the Dario Argento music?

MD: Oh, you have found a singer?

MD: That’s a shame.

MD: For a man…

MD: Hopefully expect to see him with your band soon - next time you’re in the UK! When you composed the music to ‘Phenomena’, you used a soprano female voice, and that was the first time you’d done that with your music, and with the rock, heavy guitar going on as well which I think was quite new then because that was 1985...

MD: Absolutely, yeah. Do you think you inspired that whole female fronted metal scene?

MD: I shall credit you with it on Metal Discovery! If I can ask your opinion of a couple of bands and composers…DGM…

MD: I think he’s just left the band though.

MD: Very good musicians then?!

MD: Are you a fan of Dream Theater?

MD: There is a band I reviewed recently called Violent Silence from Sweden, and they have 2 keyboard players, but no guitar, and they play prog rock. I recommend checking them out…they’re great!

CLAUDIO SIMONETTI: Yeah, after when Cradle of Filth fans knew that Dani’s sung with us, we received a lot of adds for friends…maybe 3, 4, or 5,000 in 10 days! Frederico, my bass player , he’s the guy who works on the Daemonia MySpace page, so he knows better than me what’s happening with that!

CS: We want to do something still with the same style - not soundtrack, but…even because when we started as Goblin, we played this kind of music. That’s why Dario asked us to compose the music for ‘Deep Red’ because actually we played this kind of music. So if I do something else extra from the films, the music could be still be the same, especially with Daemonia. And yes, we are looking for…mmm…not importantly a female singer, but something very classical, or maybe…mmmmm….yeah, maybe we found one singer…

CS: Yeah, but he’s a man with a soprano voice. The problem is he comes from Ukraine but he, this evening, he would come here but he had problems with the visa.

CS: Maybe we are speaking to him soon because he’s very interested…he has an angel voice, you can’t believe it…

CS: Yes. You can see him - he has a site. His name is Voice of Luna…voiceofluna.com. There’s a clip of him, and he’s very …he’s perfect.

CS: Yes, especially at that time, because now, there are many bands with the same thing…Nightwish, After Forever, Within Temptation. Actually, when I decide to put the soprano on the rock, it was the first time.

CS: Yeah, I hope so! Yeah, yeah, why not! [laughs]

CS: Ah, this is the band of Titta Tani - he is the singer with this band.

CS: Yes, he’s left the band now. Now he has a band called Astra…they did their first album, but actually they were an Italian official Dream Theater cover band.

CS: Ah, you can’t believe it - when you go to see them you listen for Dream Theater; they’re incredible.

CS: Yes, I am. Jordan Rudess, he is the best, because especially now, we don’t have this kind of superstar of keyboard player like Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, like in the past. Now, I think he’s the most famous…the only one maybe keyboard player…actually, other rock bands don’t have a keyboard player, or if they have, just as background, you know. He’s a real frontman of keyboards like the 70s rock band.

CS: 2 players?

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(Claudio Simonetti on the influential effect of the main theme he composed for Dario Argento's 'Phenomena')

"...now, there are many bands with the same thing…Nightwish, After Forever, Within Temptation. Actually, when I decide to put the soprano on the rock, it was the first time."

PART 2 BELOW - CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

PART 2 ABOVE - CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

MD: Yeah, 2 keyboard players, and you forget there’s no guitar because you get lost in the keyboards. I read you’re an Aphex Twin fan?

CS: Yes, I like this. When I wrote the music for ‘The Card Player’, it was in the same style more or less….electronic. He’s a genius.

MD: Franz Waxman…composer of ‘Bride of Frankenstein’; ‘Rear Window’…

CS: I don’t know…I’m sorry! [laughs]

MD: Angelo Badalamenti…

CS: Oh yes, Angelo Badalamenti, yes.

MD: I’m glad I pronounced that right!

CS: [laughs] Angelo Badalamenti, yes.

MD: Are you a fan of his scores?

CS: A little bit, yeah. Not all of them, it’s maybe not my genre. But he’s good, yeah.

MD: How about Bernard Herrmann?

CS: Bernard Herrman is number one! Number one because he invented the…he was the first musician that invented the horror music like with ‘Psycho’…when I did ‘Jennifer’, the film with Dario, ‘Masters of Horror’, I was very inspired by him. The music of ‘Jennifer’ is an homage to Bernard Herrmann.

MD: I’ll listen to that again and listen out for Bernard Herrmann!

CS: My favourite musician is John Williams…and Jerry Goldsmith, he wrote ‘The Omen’. Very good, creepy music.

MD: What are your aims and plans for Daemonia in the future?

CS: I hope we always play live because we like to go everywhere and play our music - that’s very important for a musician that you can play your own music. And so I hope to continue with Daemonia, and now we are doing this new record - I hope to distribute it in the beginning of 2008. And now I finish a musical in Italy - ‘Deep Red’.

MD: A stage musical?

CS: A musical with dancers, singers, yes…’Profondo Rosso - The Musical’.

MD: With people being killed…like, based on the film?

CS: Yes, a horror musical, but very well done. I wrote the music again, there are 12 or 14 songs…

MD: Is it based on your original score?

CS: It’s based on the original story. The score, I just used 2 or 3 parts of it because it’s enough for a musical, you know. But I wrote songs with singing, like for a musical. Like ‘Phantom of the Opera’ or something like that.

MD: That sounds brilliant! Bring it over to the UK!

CS: Yeah, maybe, because it start in the beginning of October so maybe we’ll arrive here or anywhere in Europe. I hope so. And I’m working now on new soundtracks. I’m doing one soundtrack for an American film, it’s called ‘Frat House Massacre’. Its director is Alex Pucci, but he’s American, and a Screamkings production. You can find it online if you go on IMDb. You know IMDb?

MD: IMDb, definitely, yes.

CS: Yes, IMDb has everything about this film. I have 2 separate careers, you know, like a soundtrack composer and with a band. Maybe sometime we can do something together with the band and…

MD: Do you prefer recording or performing live?

CS: I prefer playing live because you record and you finish; live is forever, you know.

MD: Yeah, and you can see people’s immediate reactions to your music.

CS: Yeah, it’s like for an actor…like acting in theatre, it’s still better than the movies, even if they became more famous in the movies, but theatre you have contact with the people…so it’s better for an artist.

MD: Yeah, you hear a lot of actors say they prefer doing theatre to film because they can see people’s reactions…

CS: Yeah, of course. Many actors of film go in the theatre, even though it’s two different worlds. Many actors of film, they do theatre, but with no success, you know, and the same, many actors from theatre do films with no success. The two worlds are completely different. I don’t know why, that’s strange. Everywhere is like this - in Italy…maybe Italy more, we have these two class of actors - movies and theatre…it’s very hard to find the same doing the same.

MD: ‘Profondo Rosso - The Musical’, though, that sounds fantastic - I have to see that! It’s actually on in Italy at the moment?

CS: Yeah, because you will find also the CD of the musical…maybe the end of the…because I start this musical, but now I’m recording for the CD.

MD: I have to go to Italy to see this musical!

CS: Yeah! [laughs]

MD: It sounds fantastic!

CS: You can see all the dates of the theatre on profondorossomusical.it

MD: Marvellous, I’ll definitely check that out. Thank you very much for your time.

CS: You’re welcome.

MD: Thank you.

CS: I’m sorry I have to go upstairs because I have to do rehearsals.

MD: No worries. Thanks again.

Claudio downstairs at The Slimelight, London, 1st December 2007

Interview & Photography by Mark Holmes

www.daemonia.it

www.myspace.com/daemonia

www.myspace.com/claudiosimonetti