Omini: “After X Factor we want to make rock'n'roll viral”
“There's always someone who wants to do their own thing, wants to be a rebel. This someone must be caught and brought back into the ranks”, says, ironically, Willie Peyote at the beginning of the video for “Go catch 'em“, the new single by Omini, the trio that conquered everyone on , “Brianstorm” by Arctic Monkeys and “My generation” by The Who. The Turin rapper doesn't have time to finish the sentence when the guitar sounds of the song immediately begin, the ideal manifesto of the mini-tour “Three days of peace love rock'n'roll”, which will start on March 9th from Arci Bellezza in Milan and will see the group composed of Julian Loggia (vocals and bass), Zak Loggia (guitar) and Mattia Frattuccini (drums), the first 20 years old, the other two 21, perform on March 15th at the Traffic Club in Rome and the March 30th at Off Topic in Turin.
“I no longer find myself surrounded by this characterless chatter, choreography, costumes and anger”: what do you vent your anger towards?
“From impositions. The song is a hymn to rebellion, to not submit to what can be a unique and global thought. An invitation to break the mold: we want to play our authenticity. The first ideas of 'Go catch 'em' were born on The X Factor”.
What happened after the talent show?
“We went on a tour that lasted practically the whole year, from winter to summer. The stage is our dimension.”
What do you show more than what was seen – and heard – on The X Factor?
“AX Factor has always been us, but that was a completely new experience for us. TV is different from live shows: you spend two minutes there, three at most. In that precise segment you play your piece trying to reach as many people as possible. In concerts we are able to transmit more. And then we don't play in front of the cameras, but to a real audience, ours.”
Do you feel part of a scene?
“The genre we do is not the most popular one. Far from it. In Turin, however, there are many people who play rock'n'roll: it has always been a very active city, for the Italian rock scene (Julian and Zak's father is Alex Loggia, guitarist of the Piedmontese band Statuto, ed.) ”.
What was it like opening for Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand last summer? At Le Vibrazioni in 2010 in Udine, when they opened for AC/DC, they threw everything. Did they throw something at you?
“Luckily not (they laugh). The night we played before Arctic Monkeys, in Milan, was one of the best of our career to date. They are among the groups we respect most. After our set, we went down to the parterre and enjoyed the show by Alex Turner and co. On another level.”
Who are your idols? Who do you reflect yourself in?
“We take inspiration from English music, without distinction between decades: from the '60s onwards we like everything that came out of there, from the Beatles to Paul Weller”.
How difficult is it in the TikTok era to carry forward a proposal like yours, even under major labels (they record for Sony, ed.)?
“We don't even ask ourselves. We make our music and take it on the road. The rest is contour. We like the idea of making rock'n'roll go viral in Italy.”
Is Italy rock'n'roll?
“Yes and no. Enough, come on. There has been and there is.”
Which Italian artist or group comes to mind if I say the word “rockstar”?
“Pino Daniele. (Mattia, the drummer, takes the floor): Lucio Battisti to me. The other day I saw the video of one of him hosted on TV (the one from 1969 on Speciale per voi, ed.). They criticized him because they didn't understand him. And he: 'You've been talking for three hours. I propose things. Do they excite you and do you like them, yes or no?'. And he starts singing”.
Why Pino Daniele?
“Because it was the most rock of all. He has played with the biggest stars in music. A bit like Zucchero”.
Will you play any covers on stage?
“Less than in the previous tour. We certainly won't miss 'My generation' by The Who, which is now our strong point. But also 'I am a man' by Patrick Samson. And a piece by Fontaines DC, 'A lucid dream'”.
