The Obelisk Questionnaire: Andrea Merolle of Modern Stars
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Andrea Merolle of Modern Stars
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
As a musician I try to synthesize my daily sensations and incorporate them into something that is material and ethereal at the same time. So maybe I can define what I do as the description of a perspective or a description from my perspective, or both.
I cannot say how I came to do it. When a music idea comes to my mind I try to listen to it and put it down. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes less, but it doesn’t matter. Music is the way I find my inner peace and happiness. Anyway.
Describe your first musical memory.
Waking up with my uncle soldering and hammering iron early in the morning, every morning, just beneath my bedroom.
Then the day went less techno and more pop/rock oriented with Alvin & The Chipmunks and other cartoon songs by Cristina D’Avena (she was more famous than Michael Jackson in Italy at that time).
Describe your best musical memory to date.
My daughter listening for the whole day to Singapore Sling’s ‘Overdriver’, even while sleeping, when she was 6 months old. I think it gave me the inspiration for the songs ‘Everyday’ and ‘Ninna Nanna’ included in our upcoming album ‘Space Trips for the Masses’.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When we recorded a 13 minutes obsessive track called ‘Indian Donna Summer’ for our second album ‘Psychindustrial’ we firmly believed that it was so anti-commercial that no one would listen to it. Obviously we didn’t care about that and our regret is that it should be even longer than it is.
The funny things was we were asked to sync it for an movie starring the last Italian X Factor winner about a young singer who is introduced to soul music by an elder rocker.
At the first time it sounded strange for an underground act like us, but we said ok let’s do it.
We just saw the movie at Rome Film Festival and it has been a beautiful experience hearing our songs in a cinema.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Artistic progression should lead you to find who you really are, since art in my opinion is basically a form of free and personal expression. The rest is entertainment, which may be an art itself, or to be more precise a craft, but it does not produce as an outcome something that could be defined as artistic.
To progress as artist you do not necessary need a change in style but I firmly believe that musical genres and instruments to be played should never represent boundaries. It is essential to let any sound that surrounds you to be metabolized so you can take what you like from anything. I do not listen to much recorded music. And surely it isn’t my genre, but I noticed that in our last album and in the one that we are finalizing and hopefully will be out on 2023 I made an use of my Acidlab Miami (what a great 808 clone!) in such a way that, at a certain stage, reminds me trap music.
I never listened to it, but maybe it inexorably influenced me since it is so present in radios to which you must listen to. This because even if you are the most alternative guy in the world in case you step in to a cafe for an espresso you can close your eyes but not your ears. Here in Italy it happens at least twice a day and so here’s the result.
How do you define success?
Success may mean a lot of things and the concept may vary depending your perspectives of life.
For me, success is simply when in the end I feel fine. The rest is circumstance. It is here and now that counts, I don’t care so much about cause and effect.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Too much greed. Too much plastic surgery. Too much decay of morals.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I premise that Modern Stars have a distinctive sound that truly satisfies me. It essentially comes from a balanced blending of acoustic, electric and electronic elements.
At present we are working on a new album and I’m composing the basis for another one too, but despite of that I’m more focused on playing my modular system than other instruments and so I guess I would record something exclusively based on that. A bit ambient, a bit techno, with some buchla style blips and blops.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
The essential function of art is to keep our soul alive, especially in hard times.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I would like to be a good father and husband. And I will be always ready as any ‘80s boy to defend the earth against a mutant invasion. After Covid and III World War we have to be prepared also for that. I’ll fight them with my guitars. Or maybe mutants can help us with our governments? Who knows. Stay human, stay mutant!
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