Reaching out across the shores, expanding our base a little into the realm of all things Shoegaze. Today from Naples Italy we bring you Stella Diana, proving that music is our Universal Language , I welcome you to get lost in the cool wave of noise that is Stella Diana. This from their press..
Shoegaze / new wave outfit Stella Diana was formed in 1998 in Italy’s southern city Naples by Dario Torre (vocals and guitar) and Giacomo Salzano (bass guitar). In 2012, they were joined by Davide Fusco (former drummer of “Trees”, a legend in the Italian alternative/darkwave scene) and Roberto Amato (guitars and also a member of Geometric Vision). Building on their epic 2010 album ‘Gemini’, Stella Diana released ’41 61 93′ in 2014 to critical acclaim, finally achieving a perfect synthesis of distorted guitars and dilated sounds. After working exclusively with Spanish and Italian labels, their track featured on the compilation ‘REVOLUTION – The Shoegaze Revival’, touted by Creation Records’ Joe Foster as a collection of the best new wave of shoegaze bands, and released on British label Ear to Ear Records and Indonesian label Gerpfast Kolektif. Brazil’s TBTCI Records also commissioned them to play “Leave Them All Behind” for a Ride Tribute album. Stella Diana will release their next EP ‘Alhena’ through British label Ear to Ear Records this summer.
Hi our band’s name is….
We are Stella Diana
Our sound is……
A mixture of new wave and shoegazing
We are….
Dario, Giacomo, Roberto, Davide and sometimes our old guitarist Raffaele (he’s a
kind of special guest)
We are from…….
All of us are from Naples (Neapoli)
Who are some of the artists who have influenced you?
It’s difficult to answer to this question cause we have so many influences. We are
inspired by new wave and dark wave: Bauhaus, Joy Division, Christian Death, The
Chameleons, Durutti Column And Echo And The Bunnymen, but also shoegazing:
Ride, MBV, Medicine, Pale Saints, Six By Seven,Adorable, Slowdive, Lush, Loop, and
all the 80’s scene: Duran Duran, Talk Talk and more.
How old were all of you when you started to play and who plays what in the
band?
I don’t remember exactly, but I think we were 17 more or less..
Giacomo on bass, Roberto on lead guitars, Davide on drums and me on vocals and
guitar .
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the songs all the way
through getting the songs out?
Oh, it’s very simple. One of us starts to play something and the rest of the band
follow the melody. Most of the time it’s Giacomo who plays a line of bass or me with
a simple riff on my guitar. Normally we finish a song in a couple of hours. At the end,
I add the vocal melody and the lyrics.
What are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how have you
overcome those challenges?
The greatest challenge is to demonstrate we can play our music in a particular
context, because Italy is not really interested in this genre or attitude. Most listeners
prefer commercial music and there is no great culture among the people about new
wave or shoegazing. For us, it feels normal by now that we are appreciated more
abroad…
1st rock concert you went to and your age at that time….
Let me think… oh yes – in the San Paolo Stadium. It was 1982, I was 6 and I went to
see the Rolling Stones with my parents.
Coolest band t-shirt you ever bought…
No doubt. It was a great t- shirt from Maradona.
The most insane concert you ever went to or were a part of….
Smashing Pumpkins in 1996.
If you could open for any Band right now, who would that be and why?
Can i mention 3 bands? Slowdive (our definitive idea about a wall of sound), Ride
(one of our favourite bands) and Interpol (we love their attitude).
My youngest son is 13 and in a Band. What advice would you offer him…
Turn off your TV and smartphone, get out more often, watch concerts, buy records
and believe in your music, always… play, play, play all day and then form a band…
Your thoughts on the state of rock ‘n’ roll in 2015…..
There are no great phenomena as in 90’s (for example Nirvana, Alice In Chains and
the whole grunge wave or shoegazing scene), but there are some interesting bands.
Warpaint and Boxer Rebellion come to mind. We love also Savages… but we think
the best things come from the indie world, from the underground scene…
What other bands to you recommend listening to these days?
About Italian Bands, we would like to mention Clustersun, Rev Rev Rev, Novanta,
Electric Floor And In Her Eye…All of them are involved in the shoegazing scene, but
there are also some really great bands from our city, such as Geometric Vision, V-
Device and Concetto Etico, and many more even… About non-Italian bands, we love
Elora, Ummagma, Sounds Of Sputnik, Wozniak, Stellarscope, Blood Candy,
Trementina, The Morelings And Jaguwar. I’m sorry if i forgot someone…
What are your plans for the rest of 2015?…..
First of all, making a new record, but we would like to play everywhere and spread
our music as far as possible….
Please let us say one last thing: thanks to everyone who is supporting us, we love
you, and forza Napoli.
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Vipchoyo Sound Factory — Indie Record Label
