Claudio Cataldi lives in Palermo - deep killer south.
He's a songwriter and he plays guitar and he sings, bleeding post teenage tunes carved out of hell.
I sent him a couple of questions, just to find out more. Here's what he told me.
1) could you make a brief introduction to yourself?
I’m a singer and songwriter from Palermo, Italy, that tries to make some good music honestly. As a solo artist I’ve released an EP, named Ghost Town, for The Wool Shop Productions bedroom label (www.woolshopproductions.com ndr). I’m about to release a new EP, named Sleepy River, in the following months.
2) what are the main influences in your artistic endeavor?
Essentially, almost everything that came out from Seattle or Los Angeles between the 80’s and the 90’s. Paisley Underground is really a musical obsession for me: Opal, Rain Parade, and Dream Syndicate. People that played great psychedelic stuff in the years of hair metal and chart synth-pop: true musical heroes. Also, I love the great acid rock sound of the sixties: the Doors are maybe my favorite band. Another great influence is The Velvet Underground. And Nick Cave, his words and his music. And Jeff Buckley – surprised? And I think that Mark Sandman of Morphine was one of the greatest songwriters of the 90’s.
3) why singing in English?
I think that English is the common musical language by now. It is an international code for artists worldwide. Something that unites musicians all over the planet: such a beautiful thing, and I want to make part of it. Moreover, I’ve always listened to English and American music, so that is something that flows naturally out of me. It someway became part of my culture. Of course I’m an Italian native speaker, and I use Italian for other kinds of stuff. But I must say, Italian musical scene really sucks.
4) what inspires your lyrics?
Life events. A sort of dissonance in existence. My hometown. All the people I’ve met. Memories. Dozens of books, too. Trees.
5) who are the people in your town you think are doing cool stuff?
Palermo is a strange place for music. There are a lot of musicians, but there is a serious lack of labels and places where to play. So, there is neither a common musical scene nor a bunch of bands playing similar stuff; instead, there are many bands playing all kind of styles. Some good, of course, some not. On the folk-acoustic-depressive-psychedelic side there are other two Wool Shop artists and friends, Kiro and Giampiero Riggio. Outside of them, I think The Second Grace is one of the best things around here. Great. I also like Chewing Magnetic Tape, a collective of artists born in Palermo but based in Germany. Anyway, if you want to listen to tons of bands from Palermo, there is an excellent internet radio named Radio Ballarò, broadcasting on Sunday afternoon.
6) what's the first record you bought?
The first serious record I bought was OK Computer. But I must admit that my first record ever was Will Smith’s Man in Black single. I was 12 years old. The same day I bought Daft Punk’s Around the World single. In my opinion, it is still a cool song!
7) What is your dream release?
A full-length album for 4AD Records, or for Rykodisc. Or something as beautiful as the Into the Wild soundtrack.
8) Could you recommend some good books?
Everything by Bulgakov or Dostoevskij. Nick Hornby for the moments of relax. Pirandello for every kind of moment. I like Tolkien too- yes, I know, I know, but his works are the flower power’s generation bible, don’t forget! Then, great Sicilian stuff: Vittorini, Brancati, and Sciascia. The last books I read were Eugenides’The Virgin Suicides, Fante’s Ask the Dust and Savage’s Firmin: all of these are highly recommended!
9) swollen avant-garde soon will become a small DIY label --- will you do a release on it?
Why not? It would be a pleasure for me. I love DIY labels.
10) I love sicilian food: could you recommend a simple little-known sicilian recipe?
I guess it’s not exactly little-known, but pasta col tonno is very easy to do. Cut a garlic clove and put it in a frying pan, with a bit of oil. Then warm it ‘till the garlic turns brown. Then add tuna fish, capers, oregano and, if you want, cherry tomato. Boil water in a pot, then cook the pasta (busiati is better). Then drain the pasta and mix it with the tuna fish. You can add other raw tuna if you want. Have a good meal! Other recipes to come soon.
qua l'intervista in italiano:
http://www.myspace.com/clacat/blog/540835116
Claudio Cataldi myspace
mp - nov '10
///