Infante, Matteo; Raffaele Mariotti; Marco Poderi (Dynamic Lights) (July 2002)

Italy's Dynamic Lights

Considering that they were receiving praising reviews everywhere with their new promo titled Resurrection, it was almost mandatory to have a little talk with young and promising prog act Dynamic Lights. To make things even more simple the band hails from the city where I live, so it was no problem to catch some of the boys and listen to what they had to say about their new Resurrection!

Igor Italiani: So boys, above all, compliments on your promo; a promo that I would quietly compare to a true album, as it demonstrates the professionalism with which it was created. Therefore, do we want to start from the cover? Why did you choose such a graphic outline (with white as the main colour) so different from the usual ones?

Raffaele Mariotti: Well, white is always associated with purity and cleanliness. I wanted to use it and point out these adjectives that I sincerely think and hope you can find out in our music and obviously also in the artwork. I used few colours but well defined, luminous and saturate, to make them better show up on the white background. Furthermore I never liked so much the black that pervades the metal world, and considering that I was the person in charge for the band's image, I wanted to give this touch of originality.

II: Passing on to music ... I think that the addition of keyboardist Giovanni (Bedetti) was the band's missing link, don't you agree?

Marco Poderi: Sure ... Giovy has certainly contributed a lot to the development of songwriting, he improved the arrangements, but most of all he portrayed new ideas and stimulus inside the group. In fact, his background is very wide and very different from ours and this can't do nothing but improve us. The collaboration started out real well from the first day we joined forces, and I think that his creative vein will be present in an even greater way in future songs.

II: In the Resurrection reviews, a myriad of various comparisons emerged, and in fact I think that your cleverness is to skillfully mix your influences in a fresh and original recipe. But what are the groups to which you felt (in the beginning) and feel nearer?

MP: I dunno!!! Our influences have always been so numerous ... I can personally state that in the past I have been influenced by Meshuggah and Dream Theater above all, and now I also listen to Pain Of Salvation and things of that kind. But I don't really draw inspiration in a particular way from anyone. We only sympathize with the bands that play their stuff and that aren't worried about fashion and trendy styles ... we love the ones who experiment, who try to create something original...

II: On Resurrection there are already two long suites, but if I'm right you are already working with some new material. Can you tell me more about that?

MP: Yes, you are right, we're spending a good composing period at the moment. For example, just after the release of Resurrection we created two other songs, one of which very complex, and right now we are focusing on a third. Let me say that we are very satisfied with these new compositions.

II: At this point I would like to diverge briefly, talking about some singles. For example, you, Marco ... how many sacrifices did you face to feed your passion towards music?

MP: Well, when the passion is big, sacrifices are willingly done. Sure, I've spent a lot of money and time for my music knowledge and education ... but I'm happy to have done it. You have to make some difficult choices in life, and I certainly did, and still do, so.

II: Moving on to Matteo (Infante), I have noticed your huge vocal improvement in studio, and even more in live situations. What was the ingredient that made you develop more over the years?

Matteo Infante: Certainly the progress deeply depends on the vocal lessons I still manage to follow at the Modern Singing Academy, as they improved my technique and also allowed me to discover a lot of different vocal styles. An excellent part, at last, is due also to the constant rehearsals with the band and to live exhibitions ... as it is said ... you never stop learning!

II: Let's go back to the band. What are your next looming projects? Is there some label interested in you?

MP: In the immediate future we hope to promote our disc through many concerts and the net ... the plan is reach as many people as possible. However, it's really through live shows that we hope to gain a lot of new fans. Regarding the labels, we're in contact with some of them, but there isn't any official offering at the moment.

II: Hey boys, I've always considered the gigs the most important test for a group ... and you're just back from a big performance at the Senigallia's "Mamamia." What can you tell me about that evening?

MP: Well, the evening was just fantastic. I had never found myself playing in a place so big and first-class from an acoustics standpoint. Moreover the organization was exceptional, too. In fact, the date was organized by Rock TV and I must say that the team who works for this television channel is just fabulous, to say the least. They put us in a position to be able to play to the best: they provided us with perfect sounds (thanks also to Gabry of Fear Studios) and with all the attentions which we needed. At that point, there wasn't anything else to do but to entertain the audience and that was that. However, a big thanks goes also to the people who were present at the gig and to the other groups of the event, because every one of them was very nice and professional.

II: But is there a place, besides Italy, where you would really like to play?

MP: Mmh ... maybe Zanzibar ... or Maldive and Costa Rica ... [laughs]! OK, apart from jokes, we would love to play outside Italy, everywhere, it would be a really interesting experience.

II: However, are there any other concerts in the coming months?

MP: Nothing certain for the moment, therefore I will not express myself. However we'll keep you posted via our beautiful new website, www.dynamiclights.net, so watch out.

II: While we're talking about concerts, is there some well-known band with whom you would like to share the stage?

MP: I could tell you an endless list of names. However a very special one would be to play with The Gathering ... they are one of my favourite bands ... another great band would be Fates Warning ... because I think that the both of us have the same musical and conceptual approach. Oh, and I was almost leaving out the beautiful and capable Rockbitch! No kidding...

MI: I think that the bands are just too numerous to mention, too ... still, maybe for my personal evaluation I would love to play together with Russell Allen and Symphony X, even if the most exciting thing would be to tour with the first Sepultura line-up ... can you imagine the craziness it would bring? But I know this will remain only a dream!!!

RM: I want to do a gig along with Lamb, and one with Nelly Furtado.

II: Looking at the past, what was the most difficult moment you faced in your young and promising career?

MP: Hard to say ... we certainly experienced some bad moments in the past, but luckily we've always surpassed them. Just to be a little more precise, I can say that one of the worst periods was the one that preceded the entry of Simone (Del Pivo, drums) in the formation. There were a lot problems with two ex-members of the band, and the atmosphere wasn't the right one anymore.

II: And what induced you to embark on the career of the prog musician, 'cause this genre seems heavily opposed by the big worldwide mass media at present?

MP: I play to express my ideas and feelings, and progressive is the kind of genre that lets you experiment whatever you want, considered its unpredictability. I play prog because I like doing it, not for some other reason, and in fact the big media today are against everything that is not very commercial and conventional ... however I hope that things will change someday.

RM: I think that it will be very hard to see big media interested in such things like progressive, but maybe it's better this way; in fact it would be a horrible thing to tear down the passionate metal universe as we are living it today, 'cause it would be really silly to try and conquer the majority of people's attention, as a lot of them wouldn't even know the band's background.

II: These days you're also putting the finishing touches on your website ... do you think that the future of music is somewhat linked to the Internet or not?

MP: I think that that Internet can be a big media communications weapon, and also a new and exciting way of music diffusion. I personally believe in this media a lot, and I really hope to use it in the best way possible.

RM: Obviously. The net is actively entered into our life, and the music world will certainly not remain still with it. Everyone hears about the various experiences [with] such [things] as mp3, Napster, the file-sharing, etc ... but I don't think that the Internet represents a danger for music; in my opinion the ones who think this way are short sighted. How does the axiom go? "If you can't defeat the enemy, make it your friend".

II: Well, I think that's enough. There's something else you would like to add?

MP: What else can I say? Thanks to all the readers for the time spent reading the entire interview.

RM: And I add one other thing: "Think different".

II: OK, thank you. A big hello and good luck for the future. I don't know, but something tells me we will meet again soon, very soon... :-D

MP: I really hope to meet every Dynamic Lights fan at our next concerts ... bye, bye ...

Discography:
Night Lights (1999)
Resurrection (EP) (2002)
Shape (2005)