Interviews: Simone Fiorletta & MOONLIGHT COMEDY’S Ambitious Return With ‘Dorothy’
Posted on Sunday, April 22 @ 12:24:41 EDT
Topic: Interviews
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Axeman Simone Fiorletta (Actor III)
& Moonlight Comedy’s return with Dorothy
by Tommy “Hashman” Hash
When it comes to creating the concept album, so many bands have fallen by the wayside in being able execute melodies the right way, saving the expression for massive production techniques and cinematic narratives that sound like they belong in some theater than on a CD. Moonlight Comedy’s second disc Dorothy is an example of what a concept album should be, filled with catchy melodies, the ‘right amount’ of complex musicianship, and a story that flows continuously with the music.
Formed in 1998, the band released their debut (The Life Inside) in 2004 on Lion Music; they redefine a the new generation of concept albums for the progressive metal genre to come, these guys even split themselves up into actors on this project (I-V), but again, it was the music that was most important here. With their second album Dorothy, Italy’s Moonlight Comedy took a whole different turn from The Life Inside and they portrayed their provocative storyline with flawless precision with the new conceptual pieces of music.
Tommy Hash: First off, tell me about the concept of ‘Dorothy’ and where the storyline fits in with the record musically.
Simone Fiorletta: Most of the work was born from the music or from the melodies; the next phase we end up adding the lyrics, which tie into the story.
TH: Now what was it that inspired the album’s concept?
SF: Dorothy is clearly inspired to the famous "Wizard of Oz"; anyway it's a walk inside the life started three years ago. ‘Dorothy’ is about the classic teenager question: "What I must be?". Without a guide Dorothy assumes a double personality. Hiding her true emotions of hate and anger toward those who surrounds her with a grotesque rabbit mask, she lets this wear out her soul, she is on the edge of madness. "I was wrong": this is the key to understanding this unstable personality.
TH: And how do you guys feel about the direction that you went musically with this album as opposed to “The Life Inside?”
SF: There are many differences between the debut album "The Life Inside" and "Dorothy", the new; you can see these differences in the approach that we have had in the layout of the work, in the sonorities, in the technique, in the whole way we conceived every song, in the electronic parts (which were totally absent on our debut), and in our image too. With ‘Dorothy’ we introduce some new Moonlight Comedy, in a revolutionary way. Anyway to know our evolution you only must listen to the work.
TH: Tell me about how the writing process went for the record and how is it that you guys write music?
SF: We like to release our work in a perfect way, especially as far as every band members’ performance is concerned. Then, naturally, we take some time to listen to everything again and decide what to change or not. So we go onto mixing: ‘Dorothy’ was mixed in December. After a first layout of the mix, each of us takes a copy of the master to listen to in our own hi-fi’s to note something to change. Once convinced of the sound choice, then we pass to the mastering.
TH: How was it working with producer Mauro Matteucci.
SF: The album has been entirely recorded, mixed and mastered at the "Legend Digital Studio" by Mauro Matteucci (Roma). Anyway the final product has been worked by Lion Music in Finland.
The recordings were performed in the first middle of 2006, but I can say that we took a couple of months for everything. We are very satisfied for the entire result. Working with Mauro is always a pleasure because he is the perfect fusion of professionalism and friendship.
TH: What about a possible tour?
SF: We have two tour managers who are working for us. It looks like we will be doing some live shows in September and October.
TH: How did you guys finally get to ink the deal with Lion Music?
SF: After the release of our second demo in 2000 / 2001, we had the opportunity to send it to Lars Eric Mattsson of Lion Music through Mistheria, a keyboard player who collaborates with Actor V. So in September 2004 was released on Lion our first album "The Life Inside". Now we have returned with "Dorothy".
TH: Do any of you guys work on any other musical side projects besides Moonlight Comedy?
SF: I have already released two guitar solo albums, "The Beginning" (national distribution), and "Parallel Worlds" (world distribution – Lion Music). I’m now working for the mixing of my new album "My Secret Diary", out later this year on Lion Music. I had the opportunity to work with Andrea De Paoli (Labyrinth) on the keyboards, Pasko (Sigma - Cans / Hammerfall) on the bass guitar and the legendary Tony Liotta (Sting, Tina Turner, Gianna Nannini and more) on the drums. For more info you can visit my website (www.simonefiorletta.it), where I continue to update it with hot news!
Actor V (Andrea Scala) continues his collaboration with keyboardist Mistheria (www.mistheria.com), different productions and experiences such as the last Bruce Dickinson album, "Tyranny of Souls". He will play on the new Mistheria instrumental album, a mix of prog, metal and fusion, something very interesting. Besides Mistheria is working from a couple of years on a didactic video that should be realized this year, naturally in collaboration with Andrea.
TH: It might be too early to tell at this point, but as for a follow up to “Dorothy,” what might that record hold?
SF: We think that "Dorothy" could bring a lot of success, many reviews are very flattering and in many cases we have also been defined as Prog-Metal innovators! We will try to carry out this good feeling into the next project. We want to diversify our sound more and more trying to play something special.
In the meantime, We want to thank everyone for the time spent in our company. We hope with the whole heart that our music can capture you. At the same time we invite you to visit our official web pages (See Links below).
Copyright 2007: Tommy Hash for Ytsejam.com
CLICK HERE to read a review of ‘Dorothy’
Please Also Visit:
The Official Moonlight Comedy Website
Moonlight Comedy at MySpace
The Official Simone Fiorletta Website
Lion Music
Lion Music at MySpace
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