Gioele Valenti é já bem conhecido aqui nas páginas do TBTCI pelas suas incarnações anteriores, leia-se Lay Llamas e Herself, agora o siciliano evoca os poderes alucinógenos e feitiços da África Ocidental, explico, "JuJu" é nome dado naquela região para amuletos e feitiçarias diversas, tendo isto posto, Gioele montou seu mais novo ritual em forma de banda, JuJu e debutou recentemente com um disco absolutamente xamânico.
Algo como se o Singapore Sling e o The Doors se fundissem numa profunda orgia dionisíaca sonora, expurgando mantras e dissonâncias hipnóticas.
O JuJu é um verdadeiro convite a rituais, um álbum espetacularmente drogado e essencial.
***** Interview with JuJu *****
JuJu started 2 years ago, more or less, when I was back home from a tour supporting GOAT around Europe, at Lay Llamas time, my previous experience in psych scene. I needed to express some ideas I had about world, music, people, magic, politic, love and hate. So looking at the Mediterranean situation (I currently live in Sicily, just in front of Africa), the migration of people and cultures, the poverty, the link with Mother Earth… all these things exploded in my head as an organic system of thinking, just a concept, and I can say that JuJu is Death (and the semantic sphere that lies under death’s influence) took to an highest level of consciousness.
I didn’t like band with politic background, but in some sense everything is politic, and an artist surrounded (literally) by death, can’t refuse to look inside, look deeply into the heart of drama. People dying among waves at sea, and we are in 2016. This is unacceptable, but for politicians.
Q: Who are your influences?
A lot of bands and artists… Joy Division, Sex Pistols, T. Rex, John Lennon, Misfits, Golden Earring, Black Sabbath, Negazione, Luigi Tenco, Morricone, The Waterboys, Sepultura, Jesus And Mary Chain, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Hawkwind, Michael Gira, Grand Funk Railroad, Lucifer Friends, Fratelli De Angelis, Nick Drake, Jim O’Rourke, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, New Order, Demetrio Stratos, Wagner, Soundgarden, TAD… From another point of view, my vision is influenced by directors like Stanley Kubrik, Roman Polansky, Nicolas Winding Refn, or writers like Terence McKenna, Peter Kolosimo, Tom Robbins, Thomas Pynchon, OSHO, Milan Kundera, Ballard, Hakim Bey, Leonardo Sciascia… Please, stop me!
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Very hard…
Pink Moon (Nick Drake),
Automatic (Jesus And Mary Chain),
This is it (The Strokes),
Animals (Pink Floyd),
Somewhere In Time (Iron Maiden)
Q. How do you feel playing live?
It depends on public. If people are there with love, with open ears and good heart, vibrations are all around and to play live can become a real ritual, a ceremony… in some sense this is the deep meaning of ancient greek theatre, some kind of catharsis where Ego dissolves itself, and everyone is part of something more high, a communion.
Q. How do you describe JuJu sounds?
At the crossroad between protopunk, mid 80’s wave and the vision of an Antoon van Dyck, through the glasses of Shakespeare.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
I start from a riff, the atom. Then I put words on it, and the music drives the process and the mood, the character. I have a MD8 of Yamaha, an old machine, and some Apple stuff… A couple of Shure Mics and a Focus Rite.. that’s all, I think.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I love Josefin Horn + The Liberation (we are friends, and soon I’ll join them to support Goat during autumn), Psychic Lemon, Sons Of The Void…
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I’d like to cover Talkin' 'Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants to Live Forever) by Flaming Lips (and to tell the true we already make it with JuJu!), then I’d like to do Some Kinda Hate (Misfits) and We Will Not Be Lovers (The Waterboys)…
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Another disc, better than previous, if possible… then play live… and to write my neverending book.
Q: Any parting words?
Try to stay aware and free, be conscious of your own time, respect others, experience is the only thing you’re gonna take with you at the end.
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Thanks
https://juju-spell.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/JuJuSpell
