Hey guys, it’s a pleasure to talk with you again!
It’s been two years since “Ciao For Now.” Looking back, I do have the sensation that you really did say “Ciao For Now,” and that you took these two years to build a collection of songsngs for your second LP.
Is this true or no? Would you like to tell us what have you done in these two years?
Sam: I don’t think we really thought about the name “Ciao for Now” in this way when we released it (for me it was more a reference of our personal relationship as a band, since Luca and I live so far apart we often need to say “Ciao for Now” to each other) but it does make a lot of sense!
I feel that we decided to really take our time to write these songs and put together a complete and cohesive album. A lot of the album was written and recorded remotely: I would work on a song in California, send it to Luca, then he would work on it in Italy for a bit and send it back, etc. Then last summer I came to Bologna and we worked together on polishing everything up. It’s been a very long process to get this album finished (some songs were written almost three years ago) but I am satisfied and very proud with the album we have made together.
Luca: Yes, Ciao for Now was actually a joke we took from a pretty bad Netflix series (The Get Down) that we binge watched while recording the EP in the summer of 2016. It seemed very appropriate because of how it reflects our relationship: in 2015 I went to California for the summer to record Vacation, and each year since then Sam has worked as a teacher in Hong Kong, after which they come to Italy each August to play and record. Even though we both play during the year and there a two parallel live versions of Baseball Gregg, it is almost as if the real Baseball Gregg is formed just once each year, and then breaks up again saying, “Ciao for Now, see you next year!”
The concept of Sleep was written primarily by Sam, and I was instantly taken by the very precise idea of night, and of the idea to make and album that starts with the sunset and finishes with the sunrise. I wrote some songs that we then tried to fit into the narrative structure of the album. We found it much more difficult to finish this album. We wanted to finish everything last September when Sam was in Italy, but we ended up working on it long distance every night until this last April. It was a very tiring process. I am personally very happy with the album that came out, but I think it might take a little bit of patience from the listeners in order to fully appreciate the long hours of work we have put into Sleep.
If “Ciao for Now” describes all the colors of a hot summer afternoon, Sleep cuts (almost by definition) to the night time.
This LP is murky, melancholic, and more intimate.
When do you think is the perfect moment to listen to the album?
Sam: I think the album is undoubtedly more nocturnal than our previous releases, but there are parts of the album that sound sunny still. I hope that, no matter what time of day you listen to the album, there is at least one song that will correctly fit the lighting. There is a song made for the Sunset and one for the Sunrise, some sunny sounding songs, and some late night songs.
Luca: The album is mainly a nocturnal album: the narrative structure that we built to accompany Sleep takes place in a single night, but inside this album there exist countless plots and narratives, so “the night” is not the only way to interpret the mood of the album. Initially, we were planning on making a film of the album (Like Beyonce’s Lemonade, for example) with the director Justin Sarinana, and so the plot we have built to accompany the album is almost like a screen play, with the album acting as the soundtrack. However, we had to abandon the idea of the film for personal and logistical reasons (Justin moved from California to Canada), and as the work continued the details of the plot became more vague, leaving the album open to many interpretations.
I would like to know how much California and how much Italy there is in this album.
Sam: The older I get the more I question what the abstract idea of “California” even means. Just a few weeks ago I read the essay “Notes from a Native Daughter” by Joan Didion, an author from Sacramento, CA. The essay deals with the abstract idea of Sacramento, and what I took from my reading is that, wherever you grew up, in some way you associate that place with your childhood. As you become an adult, it will seem that that place you grew up in changes entirely, but mostly it is that you are growing further from your childhood. Our song “Welcome the Night” from Sleep deals with growing older and saying goodbye to your childhood, and I think that it would be disingenuous to label the album geographically as either “Californian” or “Italian.” Both me and Luca are getting older and further from our childhoods, and as we do so I think we are simultaneously growing further from strict geographic definitions of culture.
Luca: In our history as a band it has always been difficult to understand who has influenced who, especially in relation to the culture of our native countries. In reality, we both developed a pretty similar world view, even if we were raised thousands of kilometers apart. I think if I had to give a geographic definition to our music, I would have to choose a non-place, the Internet, which is also de-facto the space where we primarily work and maintain our friendship.
Today we are premiering the title track of the album. How would you describe the song to the readers of DLSO?
Sam: On the album tracklist, Sleep is second to last, and comes right before the Sunrise. There is the saying, “it’s darkest before dawn” and I think that is fitting for this song. It is the emotional low point of the album. It is also one of the first songs written for the album and to me signifies the genesis of a lot of the sounds and production techniques that are featured throughout the album Sleep
Luca: It’s one of the most beautiful songs Sam has ever written, and I think that without this song the album never would have taken the direction it has. Initially, the production for this song was very ambient and slow, but then we decided to return to the original sound of the demo, and we kept the sounds from the original album version as an intro to the song (which is the previous track on the album, titled “Insomnia.”) The B-side of the album is interesting because there are a lot of juxtapositions (two tracks titled “Together” and “Alone,” and then this “Insomnia” and “Sleep”) which are representative of the bipolarity – also musically and sonically – of the entire album.
The cover of Sleep is the work of the Thai director and winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. How did you come to work together?
Luca: I was in Dublin in 2011 on a vacation with my girlfriend; we fell in love with Apichatpong (at the time we were not familiar with his work: only in the following years, with the help of some cinephile friends, did we discover that he is an amazing director and we watched his films.) after seeing an exhibit titled “For Tomorrow For Tonight” at the Museum of Modern Art. In this exhibit there was also the Power Boy series, from which we took our album cover. It was a series of scarce images, shot during the twilight, with a boy cover in LED lights in a rather surreal situation. I bought a card from the series, and it was in our room for all these years. When it came time to work on a cover for the album, I looked up and knew that the photo perfectly represented the isolation, melancholy, and the sense of twilight that is present throughout the album.
I wrote to Apichatpong, sent him a link to listen to the album, and explained the project. He was instantly very pleasant and willing to work with us, and we quickly agreed on a deal to license for the image of the cover. It really is an honor for us to be able to have this work of art as the cover of the album.
Your album will also be released on vinyl, so the next question is served on a silver platter: What albums does Baseball Gregg collect?
Sam: When I have time to kill I like to take 5 bucks and buy used dollar records at random. But in terms of full priced records I mostly like to buy from other DIY bands. Some of my favorite vinyl purchases in the recent years are Jake Bellissimo’s “The Good We’ve Sewn” and Diners’ “Three.” I’m also very excited to buy Boy Romeo’s album “Shorts” when it comes out. I’ve gotten to hear the album and it’s one of the best from the year. The most expensive vinyl I’ve ever bought is Hiroshi Sato’s “Awakening,” but I think it was worth it.
Luca: I like to support artists directly by buying vinyls and merch at shows, because I know how important this is as a way to sustain bands. The last album I bought at a store was “Afternooners” by Patrick Cowley, a few weeks back. There is an incredible story behind that album and I advise you to look it up.
Where will we see you this summer and what can we expect from your live show?
Luca: Sam is coming to Italy on the 29th of July. We will practice non-stop for a few days with a new band and will play the new album live for the first time Thursday August 2nd in Rudere, here in Bologna, a wild place in the hills where we are having our release party! Leatherette is opening! The next day we will be near Montova, then Reggio Emilia, Pesaro, Liguria, We’ll go to London and stay with our friend Simone, we’ll play at Tafuzzy Days in Riccione and will play various house shows. Some shows will be acoustic and some with a full band. The last concert before Sam leaves will be September 4th in Milan; We hope to see eachother again soon, and are planning a tour in Mexico this following winter.
Sam: I am very excited to be playing in Italy again. Since February I have been playing with a new band of musicians in California, and it has been the most wonderful experience. They are 4 of the kindest and funniest people I’ve met, and I hope to keep playing with them for a long time. We’re currently trying to set up a tour to Mexico City, and I hope to get some insight into how the Italian Baseball Gregg approaches the new songs and hopefully can bring some of that influence back to California.
