Dear readers, it is with great pleasure that we bring you today an interview with a historic artist of the Italian Prog scene. We welcome Luciano Basso.
Hi Luciano how are you?
Fine, thanks
You are a keyboard player who also likes to experiment, how did your passion for these instruments come about?
Since I was a child I have always been fascinated by keyboard instruments, in particular by the piano which will become my traveling companion. In the Prog period I always worked with keyboards that gave new sound and timbre possibilities see: Mellotron, mini moog, clavinet and most of all Hammond C3.
You were part of the 70s Prog scene, what memories do you have of that magical time?
The Prog period was one of the most interesting periods for pop music, various factors such as a greater preparation of the musicians, the contamination between musical genres: classical, folk, jazz favored research and creativity with the result that brought interesting harmonic developments- very avant-garde compositions and songs.
From the mid-70s to today, music has changed, how has your style evolved over the years?
In my compositions after the 70s I tried to build a music not detached from the classical experience but linked to today’s needs; the rhythm is the nucleus of a broader structural and formal scope, which I define as Neo-Prog-Impressionist.
Your new album “To Tell” is released by AMS Records, what kind of sounds does it contain?
In addition to classical instruments, I have used Mellotron and Synt to experiment with different sound effects and also to return to past experiences by creating a “story” in music.
You have always been very active You played concerts for Peace, what did this experience give you, which I imagine was very intense?
Initially I was shocked and saddened to see the devastation and desolation in the cities visited, then thinking of music as a universal language, I held concerts in places of war (Sarajevo-Mostar-Israel and Palestine) and I intensified my commitment with NGOs for Peace.
You have always been very active live, do you have any plans to bring the new album live?
Certainly, we are organizing a presentation tour of the new CD To Tell, the chamber ensemble: piano, piano 4 hands, flute and violin is optimal in live performance, I really believe in To Tell and I am impatient to share this story with the listeners music that represents my professional career.
The music market has changed, music has changed, but artists like you have always remained, what difficulties are there today in proposing your genre (if any)?
I won’t hide from you that I encounter some difficulties because most agencies prefer to deal with well-known artists who offer extremely “commercial” genres but I, like I also say in the next answer, I believe in my work and continue on my path.
Given your great experience, what advice would you give to young artists who decide to propose more sophisticated music such as yours?
To always continue in study and research, these are the fundamental foundations for consolidating one’s path, always believing in one’s work and this, together with a little luck, can increase the possibility of making oneself known and entering the concert circuit.
As usual, I will end with a free question, to allow you to talk about any topic of your choice not covered in the previous questions.
What I would like to highlight in this interview is that To Tell contains my first compositions for piano 4 hands: Luc-Art, Fandango and Folk Song, this represents an absolute novelty in the musical panorama of recent years because no composer has proposed an instrumental training that in the past kept together and compared the different pianist-composers with each other
Thank you to Luciano Basso for the interview, an honour for our webzine to be able to propose this article. We wish him all the best for the continuation of his musical career.
Thanks to you and we hope that in the future we will be able to organize a tour in your Country.
