KRAAK FEST 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: Sax Tape
Here’s some leftfield freshness from the ever-prescient Spettro microverse: Simone Bornati of the Twoonky/TwoMonkeys/Chorus Abstracta/etc and prime selector/sound artist Luisali sonically enmesh for one of the most confoundingly enjoyable musical trips in recent memory. Dystopian trip hop for liminal dance floors, where what initially feels clumsy and unsynchronized quickly gains a sense of its own, sending confusing signals to your body about what to do with all the moves that invariably ensue.
Hey you two, first thing’s first: how did Sax Tape begin?
We started Sax Tape because both of us enjoy playing music and experimenting. We planned a road trip with some friends to go to Lithuania and we took the opportunity to play in Empty Brain Resort in Vilnius as a reason to make something more concrete. Since we didn't have a lot of space in the car we tried to be as minimal as possible. Which turned out to be quite liberating.
What is your process usually like? Are the ideas/compositions very defined or is it more improvisational?
Luisali usually starts out composing with a bunch of cassettes. She samples a lot of instruments like synthesizers or acoustic instruments or even cutting out parts of the original audio of the tape and manipulating these with the possibilities of the cassette. Together we decide which ones to use, and Simone creates a beat and a Saxophone part. Something like this is usually how we do it.
You’re both crucial parts of the cult space Spettro in Brescia. How did that begin, and your involvement in it? What is the experimental scene in Brescia - and that part of Italy, for that matter - like?
Many years ago the villa was the first place where we started to organize concerts in the Cellar. Then we tried to have a place to do it more often. Luisali joined a bit later. She was used to organizing concerts and events in Berlin so she was happy to join in and book artists immediately. The scene in Brescia is small. But there are enthusiasts and interesting musicians. Of course it's more difficult to curate just in the way we like to but we find that always new people come to our events and enjoy the concerts.
You both are rather prolific on your own terms, Simone with Twoonky, Chorus Abstracta etc, and Luisali with her DJing and various art projects. Can you tell us about these and other things you have going on?
Simone just released a new album with Twoonky on Macadam Mambo and is playing concerts in Italy. Last week we were for example in Fanfulla in Rome. Luisali is pursuing a more object-based way to approach sound, trying to create her own instruments. She also plays on her own and collaborates with other instrumentalists when possible. And of course she loves to select music and DJ.
What’s next for Sax Tape, and for Simone and Luisali and the Spettroverse at large?
We already recorded a new Sax Tape album. We just have to finish the mixing and mastering process now, so we can move on to the next thing. Spettro is continuing we always try to do more. We started to release live concerts we record on cassettes, and we created Spettro Opera, which is a collaboration of all our crew to make a kind of mega show. Insoma... we do what we can and what we like as much as we have time.