Italian duo, Jacopo Bigi (electric violin) and Paolo Fosso (keyboards), accompanied by legendary Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin and drummer Jasper Berendregt is what makes the core of the multi-national project Armonite. They have recently released an album titled The Sun is New Each Day, and Jacopo and Paolo were kind to answer an interview for Moshville Times.
Describe the music of Armonite.
Violin hard rock with electronics, classical, and world music, topping of progressive metal and a pinch of pop culture.
Tell me about the complexities of creating your newly released album The Sun Is New Each Day. What does the album title mean?
The title comes from one of our favorite Heraclitus’ insights , “The sun is new each day.” It reminds us that nothing is permanent and we shouldn’t become slaves to our assumptions. The only complexity of creating the album was that the recording has been made remotely, so each band member recorded their own parts at home or using their local studios, and then Paul Reeve assembled all tracks together. This meant all tracks required written or almost written parts.
How did writing of this new material go?
We’ve been working on parts and bits for over two years, due to our old jobs in the meanwhile. But we’ve been inspired by such a number of things that writing has been quite easy. Once we had enough tracks to make an album, we set the production up.
Are you satisfied with the album’s reception so far?
Definitely! The album has been released just one month ago, but we already received many appreciations for the various influences that can be heard.
What was the creative input of Colin Edwin and Jasper Barendregt to these songs like? How much did they contribute, creatively speaking?
While most parts were fully written, Colin and Jasper’s expertise has been fundamental to fix the parts up for their respective instruments. Their versatility allowed us to promptly share new solutions, and have them recorded in no time and at the highest level possible.
Do you see Armonite as a part of the prog rock scene?
2010s are the years of the melting pot, where the crossover of the 90s’ has lost its novelty and become a natural way of thinking. Or at least it’s our way of thinking. So, we like prog, our influences are prog, but we aren’t sure Armonite should be labeled like that.
Which bands from the scene influence your work with Armonite?
The Beatles, Deep Purple, Yes, Rush, EL&P, Jethro Tull, Queen, Metallica, Pantera, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Helloween, Spock’s Beard, Porcupine Tree, Yanni, Vangelis, Andrew Lloyd Weber – just to name a few that spring to mind, plus classical and world music as well.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Life and people, but also movies, technology, videogames, books, philosophy, travels, and pop culture. When you read a book or watch a movie, imagination is stimulated and new ideas come to mind in a sort of domino effect.
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