John: 2004 was a big year for Ufomammut. Snailking was received with almost universal acclaim. But what exactly is an "Ufomammut"?
Vita: Everyone is a piece of a mosaic that fits perfectly with the others, a sort of mini puzzle.
Poia: Ufomammut is an alien spaceship, a thing from outer world, an ancient creature living in the center of the planet, something between spirit and matter, is future and past mixed together and so on... and is a rock band too, so we can face it and try to understand it. We only try to reproduce his scream into an intelligible sequence of sounds, something that is �close� to the real voice of Ufomammut, not his real voice.
Urlo: Basically it`s a rock band.
John: How did the band form? And what are the major influences?
Poia: Urlo and me played together in a band called Judy Corda. Then the drummer left the band, and we decided to form a new one. So we met Ufomammut and together with Vita started to play again. Our musical influence comes from different landscapes. We like forerunners: Beatles, Beethoven, Kyuss, Pink Floyd, God Machine, Morricone, Sabbath...
Urlo: It`s been all a strange thing, Poia and me were starting from the beginning once our drummer left our previous band, then our friend Vita called us one day to ask if everything was ok and we started in rehearsing together. After five years we got two albums out and a good reputation all over the world, something to be proud of.
Vita: I`m a record collector, and my personal taste is from old blues to thrash metal. About Ufomammut, the major inspiration comes from Pink Floyd (I love Nick Mason, his style is simple and powerful, never ordinary) mixed with the original hard rock from sixties/seventies (mainly Sabbath and Blue Cheer).
John: What gear do you use?
Poia: I play Gibson Les Paul with Green amp and some low cost effects pedals.
Urlo: Today I use a Green cab with an Orange head and some old effect pedals. Since the beginning I use a Rickenbacker. Effects for my voice too.
Vita: I play a sort of drum set, with ugly cymbals and a terrible kettledrum.
We try to stay in the analog domain as long as possible: this means real instruments, amplification, synths and a lot of other heavy stuff to carry around! It might sound a bit prehistoric nowadays, but that`s the only way you can sound LOUD. And we have mammoths by our side.
John: Have you started the follow-up to Snailking, or will there be a couple of years before we hear Ufomammut again?
Poia: New material is coming out, we prepare ourselves and we hope to record new material soon. We try to guide the sound, but always it flows self-governed.
Urlo: Four years passed from Godlike Snake to Snailking, too much... We`re on new stuff, we want to come out with some good stuff as soon as possible to come and play in the USA.
Vita: We have some new "songs" ready, plus some fragments we are trying to put in together.
John: And what exactly was the reason behind the delay between albums?
Vita: Snailking was ready in July 2003, then we had problems before the recording sessions with the previous two synth players. We`ve lost time in solving "the curse of keyboarder."
Poia: Besides various problems, including the search of a new �man of strange sounds� (after Alien`s split), we want everything under our control. And we want everything to sound in the right way. We`re not marvelous musicians, but we are perfectionist
John: Snailking is intensely atmospheric, one of those albums that incredibly adept at creating a dark mood. Is the writing collaborative or the work of one individual?
Vita: Usually nobody comes to rehearsal with something in his head. Ideas spread out when we play together in our wet rehearsal room. Everybody gives his contribute to music development while his feet became ice creams.
Poia: We are a band. This is the sound of a band, everybody gives his idea of music. Different minds working, all mixed into one wave form.
Urlo: The great thing of this band is that we don`t copy other bands, we try to create our unique sound, something people can recognize and call Ufomammut. And everyone in the band is here to give a great support to every single note in a song. Creating original never heard before stuff.
John: You�ve toured Europe quite a bit - what were some of your better, more memorable gigs? And is there any country that�s given you a better response overall?
Poia: We think Belgium is a fantastic place to play, Sojo in particular.
Urlo: Yes, but the guys of Orange Factory have just told us they cannot organize gigs in this venue anymore. We`re so sorry. Well, Rosenkeller in Jena was really cool too!
Vita: Best gig has been Leuven in Belgium in September 2004. We played in front of a fantastic audience. The worst probably in Switzerland in Geneva (2001). We`ve arrived in the venue four hours late, frightened by a snowstorm across the Alps; we`d seen death`s face, our car was moving towards a ravine.
John: What obstacles prevent you from roaming the US (a purely selfish question on my part)?
Vita: Don`t know, maybe the Atlantic Ocean.
Urlo: We`ll be there as soon as possible. We`re planning a tour in the USA, it will be next year, but we`ll come to visit you for sure!
John: While we�re on the subject of touring, if you could put together a four to five band tour, who�d you pick to play with and why?
Vita: My heart suggest Pink Floyd, Sabbath, Motorhead, Hendrix and Zeppelin.
If I had to choose between bands with some affinity... don`t know, probably Solace and 35007. The most important thing is to play on tour, doesn`t matter so much who plays with us.
Poia: Don`t like so much to play with other bands, even if the other band is called The Beatles. Ufomammut are enough for stage problems, we don`t want to add others (i.e. �Could I use your amp?� or �Shit, they play too much.�). We are selfish, critical, and ugly people. And we are not musicians.
John: Along those lines, are there any artists you�d like to collaborate with in the studio?
Poia: I don`t want to quarrel with anybody. And don`t like duets. They remind me of Pavarotti and friends.
Vita: Roger Waters, but it`s a little utopian.
John: You also moonlight as the artistic collective Malleus. In the addition to the SR.com work, whom else have you worked with?
Poia: Now the list is too long, we don`t know where to start, but now we`re an important reality, especially in poster art. We have to thank SR.com, as one of the first place where our work has been appreciated.
Urlo: And we`re so happy we`ve just started a cool collaboration with SR which will see our posters on sale on the website! Cool.
John: Is there any criteria for a Malleus piece?
Poia: We have to be inspired by the music we intend to represent with images. And the music have to be inspired too. We respect real art, in every form.
John: Ok, last question, and it�s the usual desert island one. What are the five albums you can�t live without?
Poia: Scenes from the Second Storey by God Machine, Meddle by Pink Floyd, The White Album by The Beatles, Blues for the Red Sun, Karma to Burn by Karma to Burn.
Urlo: Beastie Boys: Ill Communication, Motorpsycho: Demon Box, Pink Floyd: Meddle, Kyuss: Blues for the Red Sun, God Machine: Scenes from the Second Storey
It`s a cruel question and it`d be a tragic situation...
Vita: Impossible! I can`t live without my 2000 records. Well, I�ll try.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd (but I love every work till The Final Cut), In Rock by Deep Purple, The White Album by The Beatles, Kill `Em All by Metallica, Steppenwolf (self titled).
Shit, only five?
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