Planet Funk: “A dream? Collaborating with Billie Eilish”

“Bloom.” A title that recalls at the same time to an explosion and a rebirth (from English bloom“flowering”). It is the expression of the pain for the loss of two members of the group, Sergio Della Monica and Domenico Gigi Canu, because pain is this: an explosion that throws you to the ground and from which you try to get up, to be reborn. The dedication of “Bloom”, the new Planet Funk album, is precisely for Sergio and Domenico: “Music is where we met and where we will meet again”.

It’s a record that arrives at a difficult time.

We have been through, and are, a difficult time, because Gigi’s (also) passing is still recent. The most important thing is that we are aware – also because we are unfortunately living it – that the music remains, so what has been done with them is also our task to carry it forward. In the new album there are several songs that we had written together with them, also with Sergio, plus several new things. It is a moment of rebirth, of growth, of transformation which often in life also passes through complicated phases – and we must have the courage to accept them, to move forward. We are happy to be able to continue making music, to have united in some way, perhaps even in a stronger way, and this is what we carry forward, even when we are on stage: when we perform we start from the assumption that we are happy to be there, to do it, to give something original, our artistic vision. We try to create contact with the public. We happen to hear stories of people who in various moments of life, both difficult and joyful, are supported by music: music is made to be shared, to be listened to, danced to. We enter people’s lives, it’s a special thing that we try to do in the best way.

Show me that you care that I lost my way, Two lost souls, Nowhere nowhere… da sense of bewilderment emerges from the lyrics.

There’s that component too. As we said before, in life to go to a next phase you go through a change, which can also be scary: you feel a little lost, or simply sometimes things change so quickly that you can no longer identify the mechanisms you are used to. We try to return to our center, to our feelings, to our emotions; to the aspiration of looking outside, of being connected, but also of not just being at the mercy of events, to try to maintain a connection between what you would like to do and what happens around you. If each of us in life wants to change something we must do it ourselves: whether it is a small or large contribution does not matter. Rather than sit there and complain, sometimes it’s better to take action and create something. Getting lost sometimes helps you find yourself.

There are many changes, even in music. There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, for example: there are those who demonize it and those who are enthusiastic about it.

Obviously we also talk about it among ourselves. It’s clear that it’s something that’s a little outside of everything that came before, because before there were tools, means, software that allowed you to do new things or do them faster; here we are beyond. We tried to do some things. You can write a song simply by putting what you would like and then you listen, choose. In the end it is a tool that we all already use: for everything now we ask ChatGPT or other applications. We even talk to each other, he has almost become a virtual friend. In music, however, in many aspects I think it remains interesting to hear the work, the idea of ​​a human being rather than software. Personally, the outcome can also be very beautiful, but human creativity must be put to the test a little and try to push it where artificial intelligence cannot reach. You can use it in part, but bring out your own identity. It won’t be easy, but I still think a human concert is more interesting.

You like to experiment. You recently collaborated with Alfa, Manu Chao and Francesca Michielin.

We have always considered ourselves open to collaborations even with artists of different generations and styles. Obviously there must be something in common, a link, an artistic respect. They didn’t affect the album that much, which was already underway, but it was still enjoyable.

The artist you haven’t collaborated with yet but dream of collaborating with?

Billie Eilish.

In the songs “Rolling Dice” and “Family Reunion” there is the voice of Sabina Sciubba.

It’s a bit of a special story. We were recording in a studio, where we were also residents, in the Florentine hills. One Sunday we were recording while a lunch was being held in the villa. We didn’t know anyone, we weren’t even invited, we were just there to work. Sabina was among the guests. She saw us coming out of the studio and looked at us a little curiously: “Ah, are you recording?”. That’s how we met. In the evening we looked deeper and discovered everything he had done and we said to ourselves: damn, though. We invited her to come visit us, we showed her what we were working on and as soon as she entered the studio she immediately started singing spontaneously. We were very excited, because they are those special moments where things come out quickly, when there is a feeling. We got completely carried away and those songs came out that we really like. We are happy to have done them with her: she is a very good artist, she was also an actress. It was a nice combination.

From “Non Zero Sumness” to “Blooom”: the change you are most proud of?

“Non Zero Sumness” was an album with a very long processing time. It’s true that centuries have passed since our last album, but if I think about the new songs – the ones with Sabina or others like “Feel everything”, “You are not alone” or “There’s a stranger” – they are songs that we composed, I’m not saying quickly, but… we learned to get to the point in a less expensive way. After you have written a song, the phase in which you begin to produce it, arrange it, define it better, can be long; now we are a little more confident in letting ourselves be carried away by our sensations, by our emotions. We are perhaps more aware of having an identity. We don’t try too hard to follow or be something we are not. We haven’t done this before, to tell the truth, but maybe in “Non Zero Sumness” we were still trying to define our musical territory, there was a lot of experimentation, a lot of things to put into the cauldron to see what came out. Now we have more essential elements that perhaps represent us even more.

If once it was the desire to experiment, today what is the communicative urgency that pushes you to go to the studio?

Try to have an impact that is both direct and profound. Go back to the basics, to the basic elements which are the melody, the rhythm, the harmonies: try to create situations that define a song clearly, quickly.

What will “Blooom” be like live?

We haven’t started setting up the new tour yet, but the “usual” lineup – the two Alex, Dan and me – allows us to understand each other well with instruments, guitars, keyboards, electronics and so on. Then the content visual it’s very important, we like it a lot. This will be the basic system, then we will think very shortly about some details, perhaps to bring something new for us in terms of instrumentation, as a way of interacting. Even though we make music with a strong electronic connotation, compared to before in my opinion we are more connected on stage and there is more interaction between us. It is an aspect that is coming out and it is beautiful, to experience and to see. When you play together that bond is fundamental, and since we have a strong one, we want to amplify it.