Lorien
When Lorien's debut album was released last month we stated that "if Starsailor or Coldplay offer simple GCSE's in melancholy then Lorien's singer / songwriter Fabio went on to do a dissertation on Psychology and the human spirit". Lorien are a band drenched in literature even down to their name which was taken from a mythical forest in Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings". We caught up with Fabio to find out all about the new single "Cherrywood Eyes" and to find out about the cultural difference between Italy and the United Kingdom
Q: We know you check out the site regularly, but amazingly
this is the first time we've spoken. If we could take it back to the beginning
when yourself and Einar met up to the present day, how did it all come
together?
A: At that time, which is 4 or 5 years, Einar was at
the SAE School of Audio Engineering in Camden Town and a friend of mine
from Italy was in his same class while they were doing exams and stuff.
In the meantime I was in Italy recording my songs on my crap multi-track
recorder and basically I sent four songs to this friend of mine. Obviously
Einar heard the songs and he liked them and then I went over here and I
heard his stuff. We decided to just work together and start to do something.
I was just over here and my English was pretty bad and he was just moving in here so we thought we combine both sides and go for gold. From their we recorded a demo session in the school which was part of their last exam. We sent this cassette to a few record companies - EMI, Sony, Virgin and blah blah blah - and we had a few meetings. The best offer was from Rob Dickens which is a major company (but under Sony) which we thought was a nice compromise to accept.
We tried to record with a few people but it didn't work
and in the end we decided to record the instrumental album by ourselves
in Lincolnshire. And then we got in contact with Mike Hedges and I've done
all the vocals with him. And then the release so that's the rough history
to date.
Q: Growing up in Italy you obviously experienced totally
different cultural surroundings to Britain. It must have had an effect
on what you listened to musically and there must have been a few band that
we haven't heard of over here in the UK?
A: Well, I grew up with loads of stuff over in Italy.
My first thing in 1980 something were U2, they were the first band that
struck me. Then I just went wandering around America and England for bands
like PInk Floyd and The Doors and the sort of stuff you have to go through.
I've been jumping from one country to another from old blues to Edith Piaf
in France, the North American Seattle Scene and for the last few years
I've just been approaching classical music. Doing this sort of job when
you come home you just want to relax, but at the same time want something
stimulating so i've been diving into quite things like classical and jazz.
I had three or four bands over in Italy but it never worked out because I always had the idea to move over to here. But the other people over there weren't prepared to do this move so at the end I'll go alone and see what happens.
Q: From listening to Lorien, you are really drenched
in literature even down to the obvious fact that the name is taken from
a mythical forest in Lord Of the Rings. Would you say that's true?
A: When I moved here in London I started reading the
book and it was a weird period of my life. Totally different culture, totally
different language and totally different everything basically. So this
time reading this book I got really deep into it and I found it really
beautiful. I don't know whether you have read the book, but obviously its
a fantasy story but the way it has been written it seems like it really
happened. There are so many details in there and its so well written it's
like you are reading a history book.
I really liked that idea and at the time we were looking
for a name and I bumped into this chapter which is called Lorien and talks
about a forests. I love trees anyway and trees have always been a good
part of my life. We went for that name.
Q: Is that how you started to learn English then. By
reading English language books and soaking up rock & roll lyrics?
A: Yeah, reading lyrics and books. When I first came
here I started with really really simple books that were for children in
a way. In a way I had to start from the bottom because it was a new thing,
but at the same time was really stimulating because when you approach a
new language and a new culture when you're 20 years old you look at it
in a different way. You question so many things that you wouldn't question
if you'd grown up here.
Q: The lyrics are essential part of Lorien rather than
a casual afterthought. Do you find it quite bizarre that you have come
from Italy and you've moved to England to find that you lyrics are more
in-depth than a lot of home-grown bands?
A: I've always been fascinated about the English language
for music. When I was about 14 or 15 I was listening to English and American
music, but the lyrics I obviously could not understand because it was foreign
language. So I was trying to imagine what the lyrics were about through
what the music was conveying to me...and probably since then it has been
a weird processing to my mind.
Q: Finally, the next single"Cherrywood Eyes" is out
on the June 10th. Would you like to tell us a bit about the idea behind
it?
A: The only thing I could say is they are kind of visions
that you try to put in words, which is not always easy. Basically staying
the way you are if you believe in something just go for it. Without getting
too much influenced by things that people who surround you say.
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"Cherrywood Eyes" is out on June 10th
For more info check out:
www.lorienmusic.com
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