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En
We asked your fans to send us some
question for you, so we would like to
ask you some of their questions…
Oh, great!
So let’s start with two linked questions.
One is from Elisa: How do you usually
relate with your spiritual side, involving
both your morality and your life values?
How and how much can this infl uence
your daily life and your artistic choices?
Another one is from Chiara: in songs
such as “I am What I am” and “Pieces of
Heaven” you often name God. I would
like to know which is your perception
of God and how do you relate with
religion and beliefs. Did you fi nally vert
to Buddhism?
Every
Line On
My Face
Has A
Tale To
Tell
Well, I’m quite a spiritual person, really,
I like to think I am. I do believe in God,
in an essence out there and I usually go
there for peace. When I need to fi nd it,
I try to tune into that other being, or
whatever is.
I have known Buddhism. I think I’ve
searched over the years all different
avenues of spirituality, really…and I
believe all of them but I’m a catholic,
so I used to go to church when I was
young every week, I was an altar boy
when I was very young. So, yeah, I
believe in God, I like to think there is a
God and I suppose, I hope, one day to
meet Him, that would be my dream. And
then spirituality have been taken part of
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my life and I think It’s always there. It’s
always a part of me. There have been
times in my life I used to meditate two
or three times a day but I don’t do that
anymore. I wish I did, it was a great
time in my life. But, yeah, I think you go
through stages, I’m sure I’ll come around
to meditation again at some point of my
life. Now I drink wine, instead (laughing).
Sometimes I think I found God in a jug
of wine, I’m joking, maybe it is a similar
thing but I believe in Love, I do believe
in Love.
This is question from Innuendo: I think
that every artist wished to cooperate
and collaborate with an international
artist he admires. What about you and
your desires?
Well, there are so many, really. One of
my favourite bands have always been
Radiohead for many years. But have
you heard of KT Tunstall? In the last
time of year she tuned very well in the
UK. I really like her style and what she
does, so she is one I’d like to work with
at some point; I’ll enjoy that. I like also
people like Rufus Wainwright, Antony
and The Johnsons and I like their albums,
but there are so many great, great artists
I’d like to work with like Elvis Costello.
Manuela wrote us: Mark, I read “The
Celestine Prophecy” cause I knew this
was one of your favourite books. This
book had changes my way to perceive,
feel and face life. Since you’ve been
so great in suggesting me such a nice
reading, may you please recommend a
few books you think are worth reading?
Yeah, I read that book many years ago, a
great book, and it changed my life as well
and my way of thinking. Let’s think what
I’ve read recently! I’ve read a book called
“The fi ve people you meet in Heaven”
from Mitch Albom. Now I’m reading a
book that I don’t know if it is available
over here, called “Modoc” (from Ralph
Helfer). It’s about an elephant and a boy
and it’s a beautiful story. I’ve only read a
half of the book but I enjoyed it a lot.
Is there an author, a writer you are really
close to?
I usually go into the recommendation
written on the paper: I read a lot from
Douglas Coupland books, he wrote
“Generation X” or “Girlfriend in a
coma”, I like “Girlfriend in a coma” very
much.
I’ve read a lot of Paolo Coelho “The
alchemist” above all the others.
Mark, what about poets and poetry?
Well, I feel bad cause I’ve never got into
poets and poems. I think I’m a poet so
why read anybody else?
Maybe is a venial thing but I’d be afraid
just to copy lines or verses, so it’s
something I avoided so far but I’d really
like to know some poets. Maybe you,
as your magazine, can recommend me
someone.
Oh, yeah. I can recommend you my
favourite one: T.S. Eliot “The waste
land”.
Ok! (writing it down into a piece of
paper and putting it into a pocket). I’ll
check it out, so thanks to your magazine
for helping me.
Prego!
And then in my next album you’ll hear
a lot of songs or lines I’ll steal off
(laughing).
Here is a question from Viviana: Mark,
I’d like you to tell us something about
the videoclip of your new single “Hail
Mary”. After the small cinematographic
masterpiece of Makin’Out, which was
sweet and funny at the same time, and
the video of “Believe in the Boogie” that
recalls fi fties and sixties atmospheres, I’d
like to what we are going to get in this
new video.
I think I can show you the video, it’s
somewhere here. This video, a lot of this
video is called VFX, I think it’s called so.
Basically we shoot most of it against a
green screen. Then it was built a kind of
magical imaginary world around it. The
main focus on the video is the girl, Mary
Hail, and the colours are very rich. It’s
like a little magical world. Basically the
story within it’s quite simple really: the
song Hail Mary it’s about making an icon,
idolizing someone like a muse. And this
is what the video represents: I’ve never
actually seen her, it’s only a muse in my
head. She is shapeless but I think she
looks beautiful. I just play back piano.
It’s quite an easy video for me, really, but
visually it’s quite straight I think.
What about Makin’Out video?
Oh, I directed myself and I really enjoyed
doing it. It was a real pleasure to made