Six For One: Amarcord
As part of an excellent five track release on Ombra International, we chat with Amarcord about tunes that shaped his musical outlook…
If you don’t know the Ombra International label make sure you remedy that right now. They release some good shit - and their latest is no exception. The five track release features Order89, Dog.ma, Local Suicide & Curses, and Amarcord, and they all deliver cosmic grooves that could be kraut, could be house or could even be disco. Who knows? Who cares though if it’s this good.
If you’re a betting person you can confidently put some money on at least two of those producers breaking out into wider recognition soon. Take your pick, it’s a bloody talented bunch. One of those artists in question is Amarcord who is responsible for two of the five tracks on the latest Ombra release. On ‘Trees’ he jams a confidant guitar over a throbbing nu-disco/techno bassline, while ‘Always Down’ sounds like the love child of New Order and every epic 80’s sci-fi movie ever made. It’s an undeniable sound.
With past releases under his belt for Aeon and My Favourite Records, the Italian producer is also slated for a release later this year on the hotter-than-hell Correspondent Records. Safe to say Amarcord is one to keep an eye on. We asked the Italian to play Six For One with us and he obliged with a varied list of tracks…
This is my favourite example of New Wave:
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
‘I adore this record by New Order, and its energetic yet nostalgic vibe contains all of what I like of New Wave.’
A track from my favourite experimental music producer:
Brian Eno & David Byrne - Mea Culpa (1981)
‘To me, Brian Eno is a sort of obsession and with no doubt my favourite experimental artist. From his discography I particularly love ‘Mea Culpa’, one of the tracks from his 1981 album with David Byrne called ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’. The guys were experimenting a lot, like sampling speeches from radio. What came out is something with quite a unique vibe.
This track played a vital role in my childhood:
Talk Talk - Such A Shame (1984)
‘I have a precise memory from my childhood which sometimes suddenly comes to my mind: my parents, my sister and I on holiday in Greece coming back from a day spent on the beach and singing to ‘Such A Shame’ by Talk Talk running at high volume from the car stereo. Happy days!’
If I could only play you one of my productions it would be:
Amarcord - Always Down (2019)
‘The music maker’s dilemma is that he will never be satisfied enough with his work. Obviously there are some tracks I made which I like more then others, but as I’m working on my first album, some of them will be included in it and so are still to be released. However, from the ones I’ve released so far out I’m pretty much satisfied with ‘Always Down’, a New-Wavy danceable track which came out on the latest Ombra International release. ‘
My favourite track on Ombra International is:
The Postmodernism Forms - Never Forget That You Are Alive (2018)
‘It’s pretty hard to pick just one single track as I’m a huge fan of the work Luca is doing with Ombra, but i really love The Postmodernism Forms ‘Never Forget That You Are Alive’. It’s a really simple track, but with a perfect combination of sounds and a super interesting contrast between the vocals and the melodic elements.’
A track I like that you might find surprising:
Boards Of Canada - The Smallest Weird Number
‘I’m not sure of what you mean by ‘surprising’ but if you mean 'weird' then i’m a big fan of ‘The Smallest Weird Number’ by Boards of Canada which some people find really disturbing. I indeed find it to be a magnificent and nostalgic piece. ’
A track from my current favourite music producer:
Apparat - Outlier (2019)
I don’t think I have a current favourite music producer but in the last days I’ve been listening a lot to ‘Outlier’ by Apparat from his latest album ‘LP5’. Love the organ’s chord progression and the way it intersects with the vocals.’
This track makes me think of Italy:
Nino Rota - Amarcord Theme (1973)
‘In the dialect of the region of Italy i come from (Romagna), ‘Amarcord’ means ‘I remember’ and my grandfather William, which I miss so much, used to talk a lot in this dialect and used that expression many times. This is one of the reasons why I chose this name for my project, but another one is that ‘Amarcord’ is also a great film by Italian film maker Federico Fellini which takes place in Romagna. Nino Rota is the musician which composed the score for the film and whenever I hear the main theme of the film I immediately come with my mind to Romagna, the land I belong to.’
