‘Amoeba’ is a fascinating record composed by Fernando Manassero in collaboration with reConvert, out via Total Silence.

This collaboration was a one-time thing. Fernando Manassero is the main composer of the piece and later reConvert (at that moment integrated by Roberto Maqueda and Lorenzo Colombo) who first commissioned the piece as the performers, joined a collaboration process that ended up on the release of the Amoeba vinyl.

Amoeba is an environment populated by communities of audiovisual microorganisms. It is a space where electronic sound, images and concrete materials are merged and form a single unity. It is a dramaturgy of ephemeral gestures that leak, repel and overlap into each other. It is a synthetic living entity in constant mutation. This album is a new form of Amoeba, derived from the original concert version. The piece has been re-worked in order to offer a new perspective of itself. It changed to embody a physical format. The vinyl record also includes a collection of sound objects that are at the core of this music.

“How can we transform this immersive audiovisual piece into a vinyl format?”

Tell us about yourself, how did you first get interested in music and what would be some of the main influences when growing up?

Roberto Maqueda: I always say that my mother was the one responsible. She used to say that for Christmas, I would ask for musical instruments, so at some point, she realized that maybe I had a particular interest in music. I wasn’t even aware of it yet! As for the musical influences I’ve had in projects like Amoeba, I could mention the work of Fred Frith. His approach to improvisation and music, in general, has been a significant influence on my work in Amoeba. Before this project, I used to work on pieces in a closed format, tied to the score, with little room for improvisation or live material generation. With our work in Amoeba, the score becomes a mere guide, not a sacred text to follow.

Fernando Manassero: I would say that what caught my attention the most was the actions of the musicians on stage. I would watch them and see how much they enjoyed it, and how concentrated they were, and it seemed quite unique to me. I didn’t think other people enjoyed or lived in that way. So, my interest started from there. I come from a background where music wasn’t prominent, and there were no musicians iin my family, nor in my town. At some point, a keyboard teacher arrived, I started taking classes, and he introduced me to different kinds of music, although always related to popular music, pop, rock, and whatever was playing on the radio at that time. I never went to the conservatory. I grew up with the culture and way of making music for a rock band. I formed my own band, and gradually, I shaped my own ideas. Composition started to emerge, and that interest solidified until it transformed into pursuing a music career. Although always on the side of popular music rather than classical music. Regarding Amoeba, it was like bringing together an old idea (related to rock bands, and electronic music) but with the sound of experimental music.

You have a rather interesting project going with the fantastic release of ‘Amoeba’. What was the overall vision behind this latest record?

Roberto Maqueda: One could say that before considering the vinyl release, the piece was already quite consolidated, had been performed many times, and had already taken on a “life of its own.” So in 2020, we thought, “How can we translate this piece into an album format? How can we transform this immersive audiovisual piece into a vinyl format?” We then decided to break down the work completely and extract different tracks to make it more suitable for a listening experience different from that of a concert situation.

Could you share some further words about the recording, producing and making process for it?

Fernando Manassero: This, the latest version of Amoeba, came about a little before the pandemic and was put into practice in 2020. Prior to that, I had composed an initial version in 2018. We decided to create an extended version and involve reConvert (at that time Roberto Maqueda and Lorenzo Colombo) in a more compositional role. I coached a remote exchange with reConvert, and we all developed the instruments, sections, and parts. Personally, this change of roles was very interesting. It was from here that the idea of bringing this version to the vinyl format emerged. Amoeba is a piece that has always been in continuous growth and transformation. The recording took place in Studio 8 at IRCAM Paris while I was in residence. We recorded the entire piece, and then I mixed it. The next step was to find a record label (Total Silence) and the person in charge of the design and cover art (Gabriele Mariani). The final mixing and mastering were done by Pablo Formica.

Do tell us more about the parallels between amoeba and your concept of sound…

Roberto Maqueda: From the reConvert perspective, Amoeba appears as a natural consequence because even from our early concerts (the first being Manassero’s Trum Ta’), there was always a minimal dose of electronics or amplification present. For us, the use of electronics was never something that arose in response to current trends; it has always been there. The genesis of reConvert wouldn’t be understood without the influence of electronic sound and amplification. It has always been a fundamental requirement in our projects. And Amoeba is certainly no exception. From the performer’s point of view, what most makes me think about this topic is the modification of natural sound, the transformation of the instrument’s object through processes, and how that evolves.

Fernando Manassero: From my side, from the composer’s perspective, I have been working with the idea of a sound-object for a long time. A real, physical object. In my previous pieces, these objects remained in a studio setting; I recorded them and used the tape as part of the electronics in an instrumental piece. It didn’t deviate from that tradition, but in Amoeba, I decided to bring these objects to the category of “instruments.” As Roberto mentioned, these instruments are not fixed, and they don’t have a single way of being played; in Amoeba, they are somehow liquefied through electronic processes. They are destroyed, deformed, and transformed into something else.

<a href="https://totalsilencecologne.bandcamp.com/album/amoeba">AMOEBA by Manassero & reConvert</a>

How did the collaboration between Fernando Manassero and reConvert come about?

In 2013, reConvert was invited for the first time to undertake a project. They were invited to perform a series of concerts at conDIT [Concert of the Technological District of Buenos Aires] in Argentina. Fernando Manassero was part of that platform and composed the first piece that reConvert performed.

Did you have any difficulties when working on music together or you had the same goal from the beginning?

Fernando Manassero and Roberto Maqueda: Not really, in general, we are very much in tune. Of course, we have our differences, but also, when working together, we have a dynamic of complementarity, where one pushes the other to explore different things. And we’ve already been in this relationship for 10 years!

Are you active in any other project? What’s next for you?

While both reConvert and Fernando Manassero have parallel careers, they have collaborated on several occasions, and this is the first time one of their collaborations has materialized into a vinyl record. Both reside and work in Basel, Switzerland.

Fernando Manassero: Right now, we are planning an Asian tour for the presentation of Amoeba. We will visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei in February 2024. Currently, I am working on a project called “Technostalgia,” which includes various works in different formats, with synthesizers, and electronic instruments, where in addition to composing all the pieces, I am also a performer in some of them. This series somehow includes technology from the past, now considered obsolete.

Roberto Maqueda: In addition to the upcoming tour of Amoeba, and apart from reConvert, Fernando and I work with other musicians in the Y-Band project. I am the Co-director of the EXIT Festival, which takes place in Montevideo (Uruguay), and the Artistic Co-director of FOG (Festival offener Genres), a creative hub in Basel.

Klemen Breznikar

Fernando Manassero Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
reConvert Official Website / Facebook / Instagram
Roberto Maqueda Official Website / Facebook / Instagram
Total Silence Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp