"Who's Aki Rise?
- Aki Rise is Gerardo, a thirty-something singer-songwriter who's already played as various folk/dark acoustic solo projects such as Kleingott and Jens Hvalsang. Now he just tries to pick up all the good-enough stuff he collected on the way of his last years, and then bring everything back home.
What does 'Aki Rise' actually mean?
- Akyris (or Akiris) was the ancient greek name of the Agri River, that is the short, sad, often almost dry, misknown and somehow beloved creek that flows (giftin' a history and a name) through the land where I was born and grown up, the Val d'Agri (Agri Valley) down the Lucanian Apennine, in deep Southern Italy. 'Aki Rise' is a related well-sounding and quite meaningless wordplay - I thought it sounded nice at least, don't you feel the same?
How can you speak of 'lucanian neofolk', when you still sing in english?
- Lucanian neofolk doesn't exist, it never existed in history before and it hardly ever will, although a couple of great and well known lucanian acts have been playin' that music since a while. Truth be told, Aki Rise doesn't even remind the sound of most of european neofolk main artists, except for the mere inspiration. I've actually invented and started my own thing, so I guess I'm gonna bring it wherever I damn well please: I just aim to convey an all-lucanian state of mind while playin' a not-all-lucanian kind of music, resolvin' not to only reach lucanian and/or italian listeners. I know this is gonna take some real hard work, a lot of passion and not very few time (to date, besides, I frankly confess it all even took a little pain) - nevertheless I guess one can always try, and if room, even retry.
Does Lucanian culture really look that blackened?
- No, it does not at all, whereas I admit I often do - and this is my music, after all. However, the Apenninic climate is not as sunny and lighthearted as of the rest of Italy, so this might still make the point by a given perspective.
You talk about right-winged niceties such as home, homeland, individual glory and so on, can you also be considered a right-oriented musician?
- If some people still consider F. W. Nietzsche as a fascist philosopher, then who am I to expect a fairer treatment? Seriously: No, I definitely can't. Love for his own business shouldn't be a pretext for a war on other or different human types. Lucanian folks embody a historically oppressed ethnicity, so they perfectly know how unfair and harmful human conflict can be. Indeed, through music I just look for freedom, love, life, strength, a sort of laic man's redemption, and some kind of individual-exalting brotherhood and unity devoid of any arbitrary boundaries and hierarchies. I used to be an anarcho-punk for most of my life, now one might just figure me out as a disengaged freak, or perhaps as a fuckin' hippy - the fact is I respect and often love everything exists, including myself. That's all, peace."
Grayscale Folklore (3xFile, Maxi-Single) Not On Label none
Links:
FaceBook |
BandCamp |
LastFM
