Thirty-five years since formation, Sigillum S have been further developing their fascination for huge scale temporal events, dealing with extreme sensorial mutation as interpretative key for epochal changes in culture fabric.

The current line-up consists of the original founders, Eraldo Bernocchi and Paolo L. Bandera, and now permanently augmented by Bruno Dorella. Uniting with the philosophic concept exploring the nature of human and artistic beings. “With this new album, we are proposing to study a new historical growth model, where all categories of unconventional communication are coalescing in a critique of linear thought. Our ambition is to provide endless positive examples for further conjectures at the end of time, with guidance for future research, random cycles and fragmentation chains”.

Sigillum S | 2016 | Photo by Stefano Masselli

How much preparation went into ‘Coalescence Of Time: Other Conjectures On Future’?

Paolo L. Bandera: The material was actually recorded in a few days’ session in July 2019 at Shelter Studio in Dalston (London), to be then fully framed and structured in late 2019… then COVID arrived and everything was delayed until early 2021, when a very limited initial release on cassette was arranged with Hospital Production, together with Bandcamp DL / streaming… Now, finally, we have the fully fledged, re-mastered and re-designed global release on vinyl and CD, thanks to Subsound Records.

Bruno Dorella: We recorded a bunch of drum patterns in London, with Paolo and Eraldo playing live on it. Then we deconstructed them and created new music out of it. It was a quite long and interesting path.

<a href="https://sigillum-s.bandcamp.com/album/coalescence-of-time-other-conjectures-on-future">Coalescence of Time: Other Conjectures on Future by Sigillum S</a>

The project is going for 35 years now, how do you see it evolving during all that time?

Paolo L. Bandera: Sigillum S has always been defined by the interaction between Eraldo and me, circling above multiple references and layering them into deep pools of sound, subconscious noise and occult science symbols… probably, besides our obvious personal and cultural affinities, the real glue which has allowed our perpetual change is a profound love for technological innovation while probing unknown conceptual territories… and bringing with us many true friends and collaborators in the process!

Bruno Dorella: As an early day fan, I hardly saw bands that have been around so long, keeping on evolving like Sigillum S. And now that I’m inside, I can tell that an endless curiosity is what keeps this band fresh and alive.

What were the circumstances around Bruno Dorella joining you two?

Paolo L. Bandera: Eraldo and I had known Bruno already for many years when we decided to ask him to join us as special guest for our 2015 “30 Years Anniversary” live concert… we rehearsed, performed and basically found so much at ease to ask him to join us on a permanent base… and this has been absolutely instrumental in developing at best our current, ultra-complex and totally diversified musical framework.

Bruno Dorella: I can add it wasn’t easy to find my space into this perfect balance between Eraldo and Paolo. I guess it’s part of the never-ending evolution of this project.

Was there a certain concept you were trying to achieve with the latest album and to what degree were you successful in your opinion?

Paolo L. Bandera: We wanted to explore the possibility of performing together in the studio while focusing on rhythms and electronic layers, with the peculiar target of creating an hypnotic representation of time, where its passing is either stretched or compressed depending on the perspective … and yes, I think we were truly successful and created another, unique face for Sigillum S.

Bruno Dorella: On the technical side, it was interesting to start from acoustic beats, jam on them, and then turn them into electronic beats.

The album itself reflects the current chaos happening on so many layers of socio-political environment, does the current state of the world impacted on your making of this album?

Paolo L. Bandera: not really at the moment of recording, but certainly during its final production, both because of the very strange release sequence and (most importantly) Petulia Mattioli’s unique visual representation, in an artwork which deals with personal ghosts while treating raw materials as powerful symbols codes.

What’s the next project that you’ll be working on, or are working on right now?

Paolo L. Bandera: Basically, bringing ‘Coalescence of Time’ as much as possible into a live setting, with a setlist which is fully and entirely based on the new album, together with a totally new video backing. Then, we will see… Most likely, we will try to get to an even grander scale for our explorations of post-apocalyptic utopias… in addition, a few very special re-issues will pop up, hopefully very soon!

What would you say are some of the main influences that led to formation of Sigillum S?

Paolo L. Bandera: Probably the strongest was our affiliation with the Italian brand of the Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, but then, of course, we had a common love for both the original industrial projects and some of the earlier (mostly electronic) innovators.

Bruno Dorella: I can say that Sigillum S has been a huge influence for me.