TRAKS MAGAZINE 12 ENG

interview
John Malcovitch!
Born at the end of 2016, John
Malkovitch! is an instrumental
project in which each member of
the band has an active part in creating
the sound of the debut album:
The Irresistible New Cult of Selenium.
How did you come to your debut?
The band was born at the end of
2016 from the ashes of an alternative
rock band that included three
of the four current members. The
decision to make instrumental music
was determined by the absence
of the figure of the singer, thus
allowing us to find our artistic dimension.
Consequently, the four
pieces that make up the lp were
born in a natural way and in a short
time. They were recorded live in
August 2017 at Busthard Studios
in Terni, with the help of Giorgio
Speranza (UTO) and Mattia
Laureti (124C41 +), to be released
on January 12 for Dingleberry Records,
The Dischi del Minollo, Edison
Box and Mehr Licht Records
& False Hopes.
“The Irresistible New Cult Of
Selenium” is a kind of inner
journey. What are the starting
points of the trip? And can you
explain the title of the album?
Inside the album there are no
pre-established concepts or messages.
The fundamental starting
point of the journey is the listener
himself, the music aims to be
only the means through which the
user can be pushed into a very personal
emotional journey. In our
small album the album recalls purely
nocturnal atmospheres, so we
wanted the title to recall this kind
of sensations. Hence the reference
to selenium, material that when
burned emits a light similar to the
moon.
Your music ends up under the
all-encompassing “post-rock”
label, which usually noboby
likes...
Surely the influence of
the so-called “post-rock”
is evident within the record,
given its presence among the
band members’ listening, this does
not deny the presence of other
influences such as metal, stoner
and psychedelic rock, all influences
present between the thousands
that make up the “post-rock”, a
term of vague belonging given the
hundreds of different styles of the
band cataloged as such: from the
whispered jazz of Bark Psychosis
to the instrumental metal of the
Russian Circles, passing through
the odd times of the Toe and the
experimental alternative-rock of
Mogwai and we could go on for
hours. If we have to say who for us
is truly “post-rock”, i.e. that went
beyond rock as the term literally
suggests, we indicate two groups
that have succeeded, giving a new
voice to the classic instruments of
the genre: Godspeed You! Black
Emperor and Sigur Ròs.
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