Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

MEDEA was born in the province of Lecce (Italy) and already at the age of three she approached the music. She began to study piano and to compose her first songs at the age of five. At seven years she participated in her first singing contest “Il grappolo d’oro”, winning the first prize. At the age of fourteen, she met the master Tony Frassanito with whom she began to study singing. When she was 17, she recorded her first songs at Pan Pot Studio in Brindisi with the help of Anthony Bruno and Maurilio Mimmi and since then she’s participated in various competitions nationally…

A few days ago I made a plunge into the world of Medea, and this is what came out of our chat …

Hello Medea, I’m Tarja. Welcome to Metal Shock! How are you?

Hi Tarja, thanks I’m fine!

Among all your merits, the latest one, was few weeks ago, when you were elected as “Miss Metal Archive” in the contest, organized by a Facebook group “Archivio Metallico Italiano”. Congrats! Tell me about this experience, which is a little bit out from the musical stage … And the title, how it will engage you this year?

In fact the competition was so fierce that I didn’t even considered a hypothetical title, but actually I got two of them, really, I must thank “Archivio Metallico Italiano” and all those who have commented and appreciated my contest-profile. It’s been a really fun and interesting experience, especially since the selection criteria focused primarily on the factor of character of the person, before the physical appearance! How do I commit myself? Um … I do not know what to do? haha .. jokes aside, I will endeavor to continue to deserve this title and not to disappoint the voters 🙂

Let’s go back a bit in the past … you started singing and playing the piano at the age of 3, but at what age did you realize that music is your road?

I do not remember a specific moment when I realized that it was my road … certainly I have always grown up with this aspiration and that same aspiration continues still today, you know, I’m living in a house where music is the daily bread and butter! Today I know for sure that even a day without music or without singing, would kill me.

You have participated in many competitions and have won many awards. What has been the most significant reward, so far,  and why?

All the awards have been important, each one different from each other, for many reasons, and each of them have given me something at the level of experience. One award that I’m especially happy about, is the first place in the competition on  Demo.Rai at Radio Rai2 with my song ‘Centrifuga’. Another one that I carry along in my heart, also because the people I’ve got to know, is the prize “SIAE” as “The best composition” with the song ‘Come Poeta’, which was then included in “Sono un’isola”- compilation, distributed by Feltrinelli. The nice thing about this competition entitled ‘Bianca d’Aponte’ was the decision to donate the proceeds from sales to Emergency. I remember I was really happy to have contributed to this gesture with my music.

You have participated also in ‘Accademia di Sanremo”, how was it? I ask you this because the event provokes, already for years, controversy of many kind … Did it bring along something good for you?

The year when I participated was the very same year when there were scandals of which we heard talking about for months, it was just an experience and nothing else! What my eyes have seen and what I’ve felt in my heart, goes beyond all human dignity and every respect for music. No, it hasn’t brought along anything good, nor relevant, you know, the fact that you have to pay to sing on stage in San Remo I can not find decent neither ethically nor artistically, and I did not pay a penny!

Let’s talk about the music scenes in Italy … especially about the underground one. How do you see them, as a young talented singer?

With much regret I must admit that in Italy more than in other countries, there is great difficulty to be able to listen and do something concrete. The venues are closing down the activities, and the recording industry doesn’t help because the monopoly of all the channels that we could contact, all this business is in the hands of people who’s looking towards to other situations and musical genres!!!

You have a degree in musicology with a thesis on the Area and Demetrio Stratos. As a singer and author, how this degree helps you?

In fact my degree, rather than in a practical sense, it could help me in a theoretical and historical sense, I would like to, one day, take care of musicological researches, especially in the field of contemporary music. But surely knowing the history of music in all its epochs and forms, is an advantage that has given me this course of study, and from there has arisen my desire to experiment with lots of vocal and instrumental repertoire rangings from Gregorian chant to Renaissance and Baroque.

Then I’ve read that you were in Poland, as a speaker in a Music conference. What can you tell us about this?

That was truly a wonderful experience. We, as the students of Musicology of Cremona, we got in touch with some students at the Jagiellonski Universitet of Krakow, organizing a reciprocal exchange, entitled ‘Symposium on Musicology’. I wanted to bring to Polish students an extract of traditional music of southern Italy, so I chose the traditional music of my homeland: the Salento area, talking about the ‘Pizzica’ from Salento. I recall with amazement that there was a student who knew by heart many passages of traditional singing and I was amazed. My report was
received with great interest by the students, and after the conference we had a very exciting confrontation in the hall. Besides, Krakow is a fantastic and very hospitable city, the things I’ll always remember from this experience are goulash and rivers of beer that people were unable to swallow! lol

Now something that we perhaps could talk about for hours … you’ve given also lessons in music therapy at the psychiatry center in Cremona. How do you see the importance of music in that Environment?

In reality it was just one lesson, as experience in academia. I believe that music is one of the most exciting forms of art for those with accentuated mental health problems. And I support with conviction that Italy should create more opportunities and try to govern from a legislative point of view the figure of music therapist, which unfortunately is not yet recognized as it should. It might be a job opportunity for many people. I have first-hand experience what the effects of music or a particular kind of music accompanied by a conscious use of it in relation to the patient, can really improve the status of mental illness. But then of course, we haven’t found anything new, you know, already Aristotle and Plato, many centuries ago, had a lot of discussion on the impact that music can have on the human soul!

But tell me a bit about how did you find metal? I presume, not at the age of 3? : D

Ahaha, you want to know the truth? My father grew me up with bread and rock. At our home there was always playing the vinyls like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and so on … there has always been the basis of a strong preference for the Italian and British progressive rock! And as soon as I discovered new bands, my daddy discovered other new ones, so it was like an exchange of discoveries. I can say I saw the P.F.M. at the age of 1 year … certainly do not remember much .. but I was there … hahaha? : D

Medea, you’re the lead singer of the Symphonic Progressive Metal band Solisia. Tell me about how you met each others?

Our meeting was entirely accidental, I was looking for a band, and the band was looking for a singer … and I can say, the internet does wonders. …I did the audition and here I am 🙂

Please, introduce us the members of Solisia …

We have Gianluca Quinto on guitar, Geso Wilson on keyboards, Andrea Arcangeli on bass, and Marcantonio Quinto on drums.

August 2010 you played at Agglutination Metal Festival. How was that experience?

Yes, it was a pretty thrilling experience. For us it was a great opportunity to perform to a rather wide audience, you know, in that kind of festival there are a lot more people as in normal venues. I must say the response was positive and I am really happy about that. It’s not to overlook the fact that the festival was also attended by bands like Cannibal Corpse, Korpiklaani and Pino Scotto, and we were more than honored about playing on the same stage. Among other things, I had the opportunity to enjoy from short distance the performance of Cannibal and I couldn’t have asked for more 🙂

Where your musical influences come from?

As I said before, blame my father … ahaha … he started to incite, and I got really into it, and I lost control … ahaha!
But let’s say I have many influences apart from the rock old school 60s and 70s, I’m listening doom metal very much, gothic and black metal, which are my favorite genres. In the first  place, I like November, the Funeral, Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, Daylight Dies, Nightwish, Epica to name a few. I listen to trip-hop like Lamb and Portishead, I’ve always loved Anouk and when I want to relax I prepare myself a bath with essence and as background I put Arcana. Then I listen a lot of Renaissance music, Baroque and classical music, including Monteverdi, Bach and Vivaldi, I love Brahms, my musical tastes are reaching even the contemporary music of Stockhausen or Ligeti. Yeah I know, I do a epochal mixture!

What are your future plans? and yet, what are the plans with Solisia?

My personal projects are aimed solely, at the moment, to my studies, achieving soon the degree in Musicology, and then I would like to gain the master in Music Production Companies and in Music in the media.
With Solisia there are several projects that I would like to achieve, in addition to make several live albums, and I’d really like, one day, to ram some of the most important stages of the metal scenes. Of course, I would like to do some collaborations with some esteemed artists, I wouldn’t mind at all! At the moment we’re working hard, and then for the rest… we’ll see what happens!

And speaking of dreams, which are yours, that you’d like to come true one day?

In addition to singing, of course, one of my dreams would be to do a researcher in university, but since the school and academic landscape is not living its best moments, I’d also like to make a personal project that concerns the organization of musical events, as well as the artistic and literary works. Promoting bands and artists, taking care of every aspect, from graphics to promote the live performances etc etc …

Would you like to give us some links where we can hear your music?

I have a personal myspace page MedeaWeb, where you can listen to a solo project undertaken a few years ago. You can also hear and see me with Solisia on Agglutination stage, at the following youtube-link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pq3RelDlio .Furthermore, the space of Solisia to hear the songs from the first album: www.myspace.com/solisia. Enjoy! 🙂

And now the word is yours, what are your greetings to our readers?

Thanks to you Tarja for this wonderful interview and thanks to all the readers of Metal Shock who continue to support the music every day! Greetings from me Medea and on behalf of all members of Solisia!

Interview by Tarja Virmakari – Pics by Salvatore Perrone

Medea and Solisia at Agglutination Festival