Stefano Pilia interview
Stefano Pilia is a guitar player and electro-acoustic composer born in Genoa and based in Bologna. His work has become progressively concerned with researching the sculptural properties of sound as well as sound’s relationship with space, memory and the suspension of time.
In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni (We turn round in the night and, behold, we are consumed by fire) is a solo guitar work released by Milan based Die Schachtel label. Comprising a corresponding triptych of compositions on each of the album’s two sides, In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni is based on symmetrical harmonic, melodic and narrative properties.
“It is not important to know the concept in order to realize the experience.”
Can you tell me, in your own words, what am I listening to when I listen to In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni?
You are listening to a composition for electric guitar. More precisely I would say it’s a piece of music for acousmatic electric guitar. The piece is formed by two symmetric triptychs and every track in itself preserves symmetric – or in some cases – even palindromic properties.
At the same time, from an esoteric point of view, you are also listening to a sort of narrative poem inspired by work such as Dante’s Divine Comedy and the IX chapter of the Odyssey. These are all initiatory journeys that pass through phases of descent and through phases of consumption and sublimation. They have been an inspiration and somehow a model for the realization of this work. Although, of course, I do not want to make too much of a direct comparison with these masterpieces and their complexity.
Can you share some further details how your latest album was recorded and released?
It has been recorded mainly in my studio, using electric guitar, electronic pedals (such as reverb, tape echo, delay, freezer, pitch shifter etc) and a mixer.
The signal of the guitar has been split on different parallel lines in order to achieve a more refined, controllable complexity of sound as well as a sense of space.
It has been released on vinyl by Die Schachtel, a really interesting Milan based label focused on experimental Italian and avant-garde music.
You had guest musicians Rodrigo D’Erasmo (Gangs of New York, Afterhours) on violin and David Grubbs (Codeine, Gastr del Sol, The Red Krayola) on piano. How was it to collaborate on this LP?
We collaborated remotely. I sent each of them the two last parts of the triptychs with some specific instructions about pitches and the sense of space and time I wanted to achieve.
I felt in compositional and narrative terms it was very important to insert two new voices at the end of each of the triptychs. Two voices that could bring a sense of a more organic and concrete touch; a more human and closer dimension of what we “know” and recognize. Violin and piano here work as counterpoints to the abstract ‘land’ created by the guitar, as they are directly recognizable, compared to the acousmatic sense expressed by the dimensions of the guitar. So, there’s a metaphor within all these elements that relates to different levels of perception.
“I am interested in making and realizing music that recognizes the importance of leaving space for the listener and for the act of listening.”
Would you say that it’s a conceptual album?
Yes, it is, but I do not think you really need to know about the concept in order to have an artistic experience of the work or, better yet, through the work. I am interested in making and realizing music that recognizes the importance of leaving space for the listener and for the act of listening. That is why I really like, for example, to stretch time between sound events and to play with space. I want to create possibilities and opportunities for the listener to project himself into and through the music. I want the act of listening to be at the “center of the scene”. I think opera takes place in the moment or at the point where the sound and the act of listening meet and join together. In this sense the act of listening is a real creative action. It becomes an act of imagination. It is not important to know the concept in order to realize the experience. I need the concept to realize the work, not the listener. The listener needs to understand what the best conditions are for enjoying this music.
How do you usually approach music making?
It is usually always through a strong relationship with the sound material.
For a while I play, record and then listen back to what I have done to see what I’m putting on the table.
By observing the material that comes out during this process I can see and progressively understand what I am doing. At this first phase the material is usually still raw.
But working gradually I start to give shape to the big picture in terms of concept and form, taking out what is unnecessary, refining what it needs to be and developing a multi compositional process.
“I have always been attracted to sound phenomena more than just music.”
Would you like to talk a bit about your background? What are some bands/musicians that have a big influence on you? Originally you were influenced by a lot of punk bands?
I guess I have always been attracted to sound phenomena more than just music. I remember being a child enjoying making drones with my little keyboard and recording them on tape cassette, changing the speed and the pitch, and recording on top of that. I remember my grandfather, who was a carpenter, using this big buzz saw to cut wood, I was totally hypnotized and mesmerized by the sound, and impressed by the way our perception of the sound world changed after the machines were turned off.
I started playing music because of rock and punk mostly. The rebellious sense of this music resonated in a big way. I fell in love with all of that and I wanted to be part of that world by playing an instrument. I immediately felt compelled by the sound of distortion emitted from strings and amps. The first cassettes I bought as a kid were ‘Live After Death’ by Iron Maiden, ‘Never Mind the Bollocks…’ by the Sex Pistols, and a Led Zeppelin ‘Best of’.
Have influences changed during the years?
Yes of course! Later on, throughout my adolescence I found out about more and more music that opened my vision and brought me more knowledge about what I was looking for. I remember when I came across bands like U.S. Maple, Slint, the Dirty Three, Gastro Del Sol, Massimo Volume, Starfuckers and many, many others. Coming across music like that has been a total blast for me. I was then turned onto a lot of music from previous eras: Captain Beefheart (interview), This Heat (interview), Love (interview), The Byrds (interview), Minutemen, Wire, Brian Eno, Blind Willy Johnson, Loren Connors, John Fahey; many of the artists and bands I really like.
On top of that I’ve been opened up to an entire world of new modern and classical compositions. For example, Minimalism has been a huge influence, especially electroacoustic music and the composers working within that. Off the back of these interests I studied and got a degree at Bologna’s conservatory of music in classical double bass and electroacoustic composition.
Would you like to comment your guitar technique? Give us some insights on developing your guitar technique.
In terms of common instrumental languages, I’m coming from a world rooted in understanding bass instruments, so I started to approach the guitar more as a table of sound exploration than as a “classic instrument”. For some reason I found the electric guitar to be more versatile in my hands than the bass. It was easier to work on harmonic voices and textures simultaneously. So I started to experiment with different emissions of sound and droning techniques (bows, screwdrivers, vibrators, slides and other tools, different tuning systems etc). At the same time, coming from the perspective of a bass player, where I very rarely use a pick, the fingerpicking guitar technique came quickly and naturally to me. Now I play guitar mainly with a thumb pick, so the other fingers are still free, but I still have a pick which is very useful for the emission of certain sound characters.
In a broader sense, it’s all connected. The fact that both the electric bass and guitar involve the electromagnetic realm through microphones and amplification means there’s a beautiful synthesis founded upon an electroacoustic chain. Through this constitution a door is opened to the dimensions and explorations of electroacoustic music.
How important is improvisation for you?
It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. I approach this aspect more in terms of “open variables”or “open forms” rather than“improvisation” I guess. I do not see myself as an improvisor.
What other musical activities have you undertaken lately?
I play with lots of other bands and in other ensemble projects.
For about a year now I have been playing with ZU -we are a quartet now- and we are recording a new album. I also play with an Italian rock band called Afterhours, and I play guitar for Rokia Traorè, a Malian artist. I am also finishing a third record with Il Sogno del Marinaio, a trio featuring Mike Watt on bass and Paolo Mongardi on drums. I’m in a duo too with Massimo Pupillo – the bass player for ZU – and another duo with Alessandra Novaga, a wonderful contemporary guitar player.
You also started working on sound installation projects?
In the past I have. It is something I’ve not developed lately.
What are some future plans?
I am working on some transcriptions for guitar of some Arvo Pärt music and some more music of mine.
Thank you. Last word is yours.
Thank you for your interesting interview. May peace and love be with us all.
– Klemen Breznikar
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