Chiello: “I was bored and thought about going to Sanremo”

Mon was a coincidence: when we listened to “Ti pensiero semper”, the song that Chiello takes to the Sanremo competition, the sounds recalled those of American alternative rock. It is also the atmosphere that permeates “Agonia”, the new album that will be released on March 20th – recorded in the studios of the legendary Steve Albini in Memphis and presented today with a mini-concert at the ArciBellezza in Milan with 4 unreleased songs – among which the Nirvanian “Vulcano” and “Lupo”, a single released in December, also included in the album, stands out.
A sound that does not belong to Chiello’s generation; Rocco Model is from ’99. “I don’t know how it came to me exactly, the guys in the band made me discover it a bit, I started to get passionate about it so I automatically did some research,” he says.

A concept album

“Agonia”, he explains, is a concept album and the title “is an existential word: understood not only as pain, but as internal struggle, transition. Living in a conflict”. The album sees the massive presence of Tommaso Ottomano, supporter of Lucio Corsi. The guitarist will not be with Chiello at Sanremo, but the connection was born thanks to another central figure in the world of Lane: “We are very close friends, he was a fundamental part of this album that we made with us in Minneapolis. We met more or less 4-5 years ago thanks to Francis Delacroix, but at the beginning he didn’t consider me. I remember that I made him listen to ‘Crema di buccia’ which was due to be released a month later and I said to him ‘can you make the video for this song?’. He didn’t answer me and he left. Then after a month he wrote to me and said ‘Look, I listened to the song, beautiful, we have to meet’. And from then on we stayed in touch.”

“In Sanremo I hope to finish last”

Chiello is a person of few words, and on Sanremo he is even more laconic: “I needed to get involved. I was bored and I thought about going to Sanremo. I don’t care about the judgment of others, I’m more worried about my own judgement. I’m not interested in the competition, I hope to finish last.” Of the choice of song he says: “I go by sensations a lot, I heard it and thought it was the right one. It’s as if the planets were aligning.”

The Morgan question

Even more dry on the duet with Morgan, who on the cover evening will accompany him in “I fell in love with you” by Luigi Tenco. A presence that generated some controversy, given that Morgan made heavy criticisms of the Festival and Carlo Conti’s management and because the trial against him for the accusations of stalking his ex-partner, the singer Angelica Schiatti (currently suspended due to a request for an exception of constitutional legitimacy) has not yet been concluded. “I brought him because I respect him as an artist. ‘The Songs of the Apartment’ is one of the legendary records of Italian music,” he says. “We’ll see about the rest,” he comments when it is pointed out to him the further controversy that his presence could bring during the week.

“Agonia” will be released on March 20th and from April 16th Chiello will be on club tour. This is the tracklist of the album

1. Head held high
2. Volcano
3. Save me from myself
4. I always think of you
5. Polynesian village
6. Desaturate
7. Wolf
8. Ghosts and fears
9. I hope at least
10. Scarlet