A few afternoons ago we had a chat with Andrea aka Memento on the occasion of the release of his first EP “Memento Non Ha Paura Del Buio”.
It was 3 p.m. and both of us had just finished lunch, so little that there was not even time to enjoy a coffee and a cigarette in peace.
But it doesn’t matter, despite a few too many audio problems we decide to take it together so when do you want it to happen again.
But we have to hurry up because the young artist of Asian Fake at 16 has lessons of the license so we have to get a move on.
For those who don’t know, Memento has joined the roster with “Hanami“, the new project created to give visibility to a new generation of talents in Italian music. The word is Japanese, it indicates the practice of observing the blossoming of trees.
Already at that time, he had given us a preview, so to speak, of his magic with his “Non ti conosco”.
Since the first listening of the first track, we were impressed by his style, his words and his music in general.
In this EP the music traces the boundaries of a dreamy world, an escape route from the darkness of reality where Andrea’s uncommon sensitivity finds its space and its maximum expression. Memento faces with poetry his most hidden fears looking for the light in what surrounds him and in the life experiences that he transfers in his lyrics. The lyrics of the young artist is accompanied by a very special soundtrack that goes from soul music to electronic, and lo-fi, creating a combination of sounds sought and different that is the foundation of the atmosphere of the disc.
An EP of seven tracks, 2 already known that we are sure will convince you from the first listen.
As always, now we leave space for his words, to let you know more about this class of 2002, with great expectations.
How did you come to choose Memento as your name?
Memento came about casually about a year and a half ago. Before, in art, I was called Young Swarthy, because my last name is Bruno and in English it’s swarthy. It was the night of the launch of the new album of Salmo that was made in Darsena and I had the sketch of wanting to change my name. I was there with friends, we started throwing down ideas and Memento I liked a lot and in the end, I decided to call myself that.
What does this first EP mean for you and why did you choose this name or “Memento non ha paura del buio”?
I’m very happy, it’s almost a liberation to release this project, even if I haven’t been working on it for a long time. It was conceived between this summer and these days. Obviously, I’m very happy and, as far as the title is concerned, in reality, Memento is afraid of the dark, in a metaphorical sense like everyone else, I think. For example, this period is quite dark, I can’t complain because fortunately, this pandemic didn’t touch me or my friends, but it was a dark period for everyone.
“Memento is not afraid of the dark” is a kind of conviction, it’s like telling yourself that it’s dark but then everything passes and it’s a title that came a bit by itself.
As a listener and a fan, I would say that Asian Fake always manages to find a novelty and come up with unexpected things. What is the connection between you and Asian Fake and do you feel that this label is perfect for you and your music?
Asian Fake is a godsend. I remember a while back, before I knew all of them, and I was talking to my friends about Asian Fake and saying that it would be a dream to work with them and amazingly it happened.
I really love Asian Fake because it’s a mega family environment where they care about the music and everything around it, the changes, a record path, an image and visual path. It works really well in all those respects.
Instead, you got into Asian Fake by sending “Non ti conosco” When you made it did you think that with this song you could turn it around? What did you think when you produced this track?
When I was producing “Non ti conosco” I was basically thinking about everything I’ve ever thought about and think about when I make music. By the way “I don’t know you” I didn’t do it …… but I did it like any other piece I was doing at the time. When I ……. decided to send the fateful email. Cmq the thought behind it, behind all the music I’ve done and do and will do. ???
The first song that struck me while reading the track titles was “Sometimes I Get Lost”. You have one song, which is “I don’t know you” whose title is actually the same as a Venerus track, then there’s this one, but also the first track. Also on the level of sonority and sound. However, if there is an artist to collaborate with in the future, why Venerus?
Well, I hope it will be Venerus because within Asian Fake he has always been the artist who inspired me the most. He is part of my past.
In your record there is this recurring place, present both as a track but often quoted in various other parts of the lyrics of other tracks.
Was Val di Sogno a bit of your muse, and how important was it in the writing phase?
The places where you write are always the conduit, but the place is definitely one of the most important things. Val di Sogno is my magic place, it’s the place where I am quiet, I feel good and I can disconnect, and it is located on Lake Garda.
In “Memento non ha paura del buio” in the first track you start by getting lost, let’s say, in the last one, instead, you are not afraid of the dark.
Is there a deep connection between the tracks of the EP?
As in all things, I discovered later that I created a journey. In the sense that the journey I experienced it firsthand in these months in which I wrote the EP and then I discovered to connect conceptually, although the EP is not conceptually defined, the idea was to focus on the music. Then, of course, in writing, it came automatically that this sort of pathway within the EP was outlined.
How did the collaboration with Rodrigo from Afterhours come about? Because you are very young, and therefore you are a bit distant from that world.
The collaboration with Rodrigo was also born by chance. First of all, the Afterhours are part of my passive listening, in the sense that they are part of the listening that I “stole” from my parents because they heard them in the car or at home and only recently I listened to them by personal choice. Obviously, they have been a discovery and the featuring with Rodrigo was born thanks to Orange who knows him and Rodrigo listened to the song, he liked it a lot and decided to put his magic touch on it.
To close, the biggest goal not of Memento but of Andrea?
That Memento will always be part of his life, that is, that music will always be part of his life.
