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: inserirefloppino and m tabe of San Leo

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

We play intense, immersive music. Sometimes it’s minimal, a lot of the times it’s pretty dense and packed with sounds. It’s been this way since our first attempts in 2013. Starting with a simple guitar-drums setup, in the last few years we’ve added a few more sound sources (sampler, keyboard/synth, vocals). We try to keep it exciting and share our vision.

Describe your first musical memory.

inserirefloppino (drums): Sneaking into my parents’ car to listen to ‘Yellow Submarine’ on cassette.

m tabe (guitar): A brass/drums marching band somewhere, it was loud and chaotic.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

inserirefloppino: The first time I sat on a drum kit.

m tabe: Can’t think of THE best, but Phil Elverum’s first distorted bass attack during The Microphones’s live performance at LeGuessWho in 2021 was pretty cool.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Every time we walk on stage we test our principles and convictions. Sometimes it all works out fine and we feel like we’re in the right direction, other times we need to take a step back, get our shit together and try again.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Hopefully a deeper understanding of oneself, and in general a perpetual search for clearer, sharper expression. It probably never ends.

How do you define success?

On one side, managing to communicate what you are in a way that’s relevant to other people. On a more intimate, inner level, success would be staying curious, always finding new ideas to be passionate about and/or obsessed with.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Television (the thing, not the band) and social networks.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

If we could define this idea in our head clearly enough to describe it in a few words we might as well start working on it right now! But just for fun, it would be cool someday to collaborate with other media artists, film/video makers, performers, lighting technicians, set designers… Who knows.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To let us peek into a different interpretation of reality, a vision stripped of conventions and re-shaped into some new kind of Truth.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

We might want to check the new Anish Kapoor exhibition in Florence – the last one in Venice was pretty good, his work is always inspiring.

https://www.facebook.com/sssanleooo
https://www.instagram.com/san_leo_mantra
https://sanleo.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/bronsonrecordings/
http://instagram.com/bronsonproduzioni/
https://bronsonrecordings.com/

San Leo, Aves Raras (2023)

There’s a fate being met in the new video from Italian noise rockers ELM, and not to spoil the plot or anything, but it doesn’t exactly involve winning the lottery. The four-piece will issue their live-recorded debut album, Dog, on Oct. 20 in their home country via Bronson Recordings with a wider release to follow on Dec. 12, and though they may be a long, long way away from Texas, the brash three-piece demonstrate a curious obsession with the Lone Star State, whether it’s in the sparse prairie-looking cover that stands out front of Dog, in claiming it as their home in the various strains of social media or in references like the song “Waco” that appears late on the record.

Hey, everyone has their thing, I guess. Wherever their infatuation might stem from, the Cuneo-based outfit manifest it as a brash heavy punk throughout the 10-track/35-minute Dog, letting under-three-minute cuts like “Scum,” “Lamn,” “Mayhem” and the aforementioned “Waco” give the album a full sense of thrust while the chug of “La Kiva,” the opener “Banister” and the midtempo abrasion of “Swampland” bring to mind something a screaming Nick Oliveri might conjure in blown-out, thickened punk. Following a fierce salvo of “Banister,” the start-stop chug and bass-led verses of “Ed’s” and the aforementioned motor-charge of “Scum,” a cover of Johnny Cash‘s “Folsom Prison Blues” comes through sounding like it’s just been through a jailhouse riot, or else is looking to start one, and “La Kiva” and the all-out blaster “Lamn” set up “Mayhem” as a lead-in for the finishing trio of “Swampland,” the swinging “Waco” and the six-minute closer “Boogie,” which might actually be the same structurally as all its shorter companion pieces and just played at half-speed. Either way, nice turn.

The video in which somebody gets their ass handed to them is for “Mayhem,” and it’s about as fitting a representation as the bruiser of an LP could ask for. Like much of what surrounds on Dog, there’s little use for frills with such an aggressive core to present, and though they supposedly tracked the album live in their rehearsal space — maybe it’s a really nice rehearsal space? — the rawness does nothing to undercut a full impact of the song and instead becomes an essential aesthetic component, not just there but for the album as a whole, which seems to dwell in a “Swampland” of its own making. They may not be from Texas, but ELM definitely manifest that “Don’t Mess With…” ethic one sees on so many bumper stickers from down that way.

Maybe that’s the mistake our chased protagonist made in the video for “Mayhem?” I guess we’ll never know.

Dog is out Oct. 20 on Bronson Recordings. More info follows the clip below, courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

ELM, “Mayhem” official video premiere

MAYHEM by ELM – taken from the forthcoming album DOG
Director: Andrea Cavallari

This is a story of due punishment: you know you did something wrong, so now you know you have to be punished, it’s that simple… but even if you agree with your executioners, in the very end you’ll try to avoid the punishment. Obviously, there is no way to escape: it’s time to meet the Mayhem.

The video was shot in one day in the heart of Pianura Padana, more precisely in the fields surrounding the small town of Pagazzano (near Bergamo), by Italian director Andrea Cavallari (andreacavallari.net) – who already shot Elm’s first video “King of Mormons.”

DOG is out November 20th on Bronson Recordings.

Dog was tracked live at ELM’s rehearsal studio in April 2017 and includes a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Holed up in their den, they used no outside producers or studio trickery. Dog is dirty, sharp, crushing, no frills rock ’n’ roll, constantly overloaded never underestimated. Mastering was taken care of by Ettore Dordo from Hubsolut Studio in Cuneo, Italy to bring the sound over the maximum impact level.

Dog will see release via Italy’s Bronson Recordings on CD, LP, and digital formats on October 20th in Italy and the rest of Europe and December 12th worldwide. The vinyl edition will be limited to 500 copies with 100 on marble wax and 400 on standard black. For CD preorders visit THIS LOCATION, for black vinyl go HERE, and for marbled vinyl go HERE.

ELM is:
Trtrl: voice
Mrtns: gtr
Mnr: bass
Rt: drums

ELM on Thee Facebooks

ELM on Instagram

ELM on Bandcamp

Bronson Recordings on Thee Facebooks

Bronson Recordings website

Bronson Recordings on Bandcamp