Clepsydra (June 2010)

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Clepsydra is an Italian band within the RPI genre. Their sound and music is much more psychedelic rock than the rest of the RPI scene though. But that is not necessary a bad thing. 
I caught up with the band for their story.
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When and by whom was Clepsydra formed
and do you have any background from other bands ? Why did you choose
that name ?

The band was formed in May 2002 by
Fabio di Gialluca and Danilo Ricci who started to write their own
songs, while performing as cover band to experience the local live
scene. Clepsydra were influenced by various bands and various genres,
but they managed to create a distinctive sound. The band's name comes
from the ancient time-measuring device, maybe the oldest; as the
instrument, Clepsydra are always moving, evolving, and you just have
to turn them upside-down to get more and more time. 

There is also another prog rock band
from Switzerland with the same name. Any problems or confusions in
this respect ?

Yes, there’s another band with the
same name that is into new-progressive, but they’re quite different
from our vintage-psychedelic sound. Apart from some misunderstanding,
there haven’t been big problems. 

Whose bands were you influenced by ?

As we said earlier Clepsydra’s sound
is influenced by various artists, mostly Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett,
Cream, Beatles, Hendrix, Kula Shaker, King Crimson, Family, The
Doors, Mars Volta, Mother of Invention, Miles Davis, Blind Faith,
Colosseum..... 

To start with; please
give me your (long or brief) thoughts and lowdowns on.......

Second Era Of Stonehenge from 2007

Second Era of Stonehenge, released in
2007, is a collection of songs written from 2004 to 2007! They’re
very introspective songs dealing with various life experiences. 

In Other Sunsets from 2009

In Other Sunsets, on the other hand,
released in March 2009, is a concept-album dealing with the time;
it’s the journey everyone makes from the cradle to the grave, a
path leading to wisdom. 

What have you been up to since the
release of that album ?  

Since “In Other Sunsets” release
we’ve been on tour. In the latest gigs we’ve been playing
unpublished songs, which will appear in the new album. We spend much
time in the recording studio working on new material! In Other
Sunsets produced three hits (with video-clips), TV and radio
interviews. 

How is the writing and creative
processes in your band ? 

The songs are written, for the most
part, by Fabio di Gialluca. Starting from a basic composition, all
the songs are arranged during studio rehearsals and live concerts,
until we get the version we had in mind. The songs comes by
themselves, you write on the road, in the car, on the beach; the same
for the lyrics, in fact we always carry tape-recorders and notepads
with us. 

How would you describe your music and
which bands would you compare your music with ?

Our music is an experience, a journey
you must to do (our fans say that). Lately we’re into things such
as Mars Volta, Devendra Banhart and Ulan Bator, we think they’re
producing great works and music, in a market where that’s not
possible anymore. 

How is the music scene in your area and
how easy/difficult is it to get gigs and get proper promotion of your
albums ?

Where we live there are many valuable
music bands, but few of them have a record deal, probably because
they have decided to make quality music. We’re fine with MP
Records, since the beginning we have always agreed the songs to
release and even if sometime there has been some slight problem it
has been peacefully solved, it should always be like that. The advise
we give to other bands is: “don’t just sit and watch around,
music needs movement”, we had more than 200 concerts without having
a booking agency working for us!! 

What is your experiences with the music
industry and do you have any regrets ? 

The experience in the musical
mainstream has just begun, it’s too early to have regrets, maybe in
30 years… 

What is your five favourite Italian
prog albums of all time ?

Pollution (Franco Battiato), 
Caution
Radiation (Area) 
Storia di un minuto (PFM)
Banco del mutuo
Soccorso (BMS )
Un biglietto per l’inferno (Un biglietto per
l’inferno) 

Anything you want to add to this
interview ?  

At the end of this interview we would
like to thank, once again, all the people supporting us and showing
attachment in many ways, writing e-mails, buying our records. Many
thanks to everyone, don’t stay still, turn the Clepsydra upside
down… 

A big thank you to Clepsydra for this interview. 

Their PA profile is here and their homepage is here