ITALIANS DO IT BETTER
Interviews by Marisa Brickman

Passion, innovation, experimentation, synths and blissed out female vocals are all characteristics of the music on the record label Italians Do It Better. The label was started by Mike Simonetti and Jonny Jewel – two guys who were bored of bland indie rock and wanted to start a more dance-oriented label.
“I didn’t want the new label to be involved with rock music at all,” says label co-founder Mike. “I’m not really a dance/rock hybrid fan, and it seems all the indies these days are jocking dance music because indie rock is so bland.”

Based in New Jersey, Mike met Portland-based Johnny Jewel in 2002 when Mike’s first label project Troubleman Unlimited started releasing records by Jewel’s no wave band Glass Candy.
Eventually Jewel and Simonetti took Glass Candy and Troubleman labelmates Chromatics to Italians Do It Better, found some other wicked acts (Farah, Professor Genius, Mirage & Lindstrom and Solale), put Johnny to work doing some production and released one of the most talked about compilations of last year. After Dark quickly had journalists crediting the label for reviving Italo disco.
After Dark was warmly welcomed into the world of bloggers and hipsters alike and pretty soon talking about and referencing Italo disco seemed to carry a certain cache, a bit of clout for those in the know. New artists started name-checking Giorgio Moroder and Alexander Robotnik and vocab such as “vocoder”, “arpeggio”
and “MiniKorg” became commonplace.

Although everyone involved with IDIB denies any particular intentional revival of Italo and don’t seem to really care if they can use synth arpeggios in a sentence, the rest of us are happy about this crew of artists who are making music that we find truly soulful.

Mike Simonetti
Italians Do It Better label co-founder

Why do you run a label?
Because I’m a glutton for punishment. It started out as a way to have fun and release 7-inches by my friends’ hardcore bands. I’m reverting to that now, not doing as many CDs, more vinyl and less annoying indie attitudes.

What’s up with the switch from Troubleman Unlimited to Italians Do It Better?
Both labels are separate, but TMU is still releasing stuff. IDIB is more dance-oriented. I wanted to start
a dance label. I didn’t want the new label to be involved with rock music at all. I’m not really a dance/rock hybrid fan, and it seems all the indies these days are jocking dance music because indie rock is so bland. So I just moved Chromatics and Glass Candy over to the new label because they were the dance groups. I started the label with Johnny from Glass Candy so I can distance it from TMU more, and because we wanted to be free from everyone else. IDIB the label is me and Johnny. Johnny has the studio in Portland and I do the DJing in New York.

Troubleman was releasing Glass Candy and Chromatics records for years, why do you think the creation of Italians has helped boost their success?
I think doing a dance-focused label and starting from scratch made it seem like they were new bands to many people, and it was easier to get our foot in the door that way. It’s so retarded actually. They’ve been doing this for years and you slap a new name onto something and everyone’s all over it. It’s the same shit but with a new coat of paint. It really is a testament to how much our attention spans have shrunk with the Internet.

What classifies something as Italo disco?
Music that is usually with cheesy and synth-oriented. IDIB isn’t an Italo label and I barely play Italo when I DJ!

Are you trying to revive/keep alive the genre?
Not at all. We aren’t an Italo label at all. I don’t really play Italo when I DJ and the only thing the groups [on our label] have in common is that they use synths. Most Italo is pretty cheesy. People compare us to Balearic or cosmic disco, which is a LITTLE better, but equally as shitty! We just release dance music we like!

Is there a type of music that’s been revived that you wish would go away?
Italo disco. Just kidding. I’d have to say striped shirt college indie rock and that MTV2 Subterranean new
emo shit.

What does music look like today?
White people in neon clothes stage diving to banging electro. Terrible!

What does the future look like?
It looks like we will all be underwater soon with all this global warming.

What do Italians do better?
We are better lovers, cookers, eaters; you know, the finer things in life. We do it all better.

Website: myspace.com/italiansdoitbetter

Chromatics

What elements of punk do you think the Chromatics have retained?
We produce ourselves. We record ourselves. We shoot ourselves. We book ourselves. We do our own artwork. We do our own press.

How are you still the same band / a different band?
The group has always focused on lyrics and rhythm, keeping the music minimal. We’ve been focusing on pop music lately, and bringing the synthesizers up in the mix. Chromatics is a conceptual music project. The most common thread between yesterday’s music, today’s music and the music we’ll make tomorrow is change.

Are you inspired at all by the whole doom genre, bands like OM, Earth and Sunn O)))? The song composition in a lot of that kind of music is really similar to a lot of the stuff on your album… really spaced out!
We’re not incredibly familiar with all of their work, but we definitely like the heavy sense of it. The amount of space in the music is great.

“In the City” has become one of the main tracks in the whole new Italo disco revival. It seems to be the theme to the revival. How do you feel about that genre name and being associated with it?
It’s cool that people are getting turned on to a lot of that music. We love rap, disco, Italo, freestyle, electro, boogie, funk, new wave… Italo doesn’t specifically have a lot to do with what we are doing. The drum sound from the city was based on Fleetwood Mac. The guitars were based on Seventeen Seconds-era Cure. The strings were based on a Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase scene scored by Barry Manilow. The song definitely has a cosmic feel. But when I think of Italo, we think of Fred Ventura, Kano or Ryan Paris. People can call us whatever they want. We’re just glad people like the music.

Ruth, you seem like such a strong woman. Where do you find your inner strength?
I have a lot of supportive people in my life, but I also find that I need to spend time alone to gather myself. I find strength in walking, reading, writing, listening to music, watching the ocean…

Who does what in Chromatics?
Adam Miller: guitar. Ruth Radelet: vocals. Johnny Jewel: programs. Nat Walker: saxophone.

You have some of the best cover songs and they’re all pretty diverse and brave like Kate Bush and Bruce Springsteen. What’s your approach to reconstructing or creating classic tunes?
It’s definitely intimidating to record something that we consider to be so untouchable. For us to cover a song, it has to be a song that marked a symbolic turning point in the psychology of the group. We start with the lyrics, then the drum programs. The music is last.

What do your dreams look like and what is the soundtrack?
Most Saturday mornings Adam dreams of zombies. Johnny usually dreams of flying over water. Ruth tends to dream of being hours late for work. Natty’s dreams are of playing baseball.

Farah

What inspired you to start making music?
I have always loved music. The most inspiring thing to me is my friends who make music. It makes me want to record more.

What defines being passionate? What are you passionate about?
Music, life, family. Passion is being so involved in something that it comes natural. You can’t imagine life any other way. It is who you are.

What is the main subject matter of your lyrics and how do you go about writing?
I mostly write about my own life or the world around me. I am very prolific. I write a lot of songs, and eventually combine them into one. Lyrics are condensed into one solid concept over the course of a few months.

What do your friends in Texas think of what you do?
My friends love my music. They are very supportive and creative people.

Who are your idols (in music or elsewhere)?
Ida No, Johnny Jewel, Ruth Radelet, George Michael.

Are you having more fun as a brunette?
No. People were really into my blonde hair. I was getting a lot more attention when I was blonde. I guess Rod Stewart was right.

Glass Candy

Is it okay that people keep going on and on about Glass Candy and Italo disco in the same sentence or do you wish they’d call you something else?
They can call us whatever they like. We don’t mind. Just call us.

Explain the evolution from the no wave band in 1999 to who you are now.
In 1999 we were bad musicians trying to make disco music. In 2008 we are slightly more competent musicians trying to make disco music. Our concepts were way ahead of our abilities. We started on synth and drum machine. Those both broke. And we had a bass in the garage, so we started writing on bass. Then the bass broke, so we borrowed a guitar. The guitar didn’t break, but we got sick of it, so
we bought more drum machines and Simonetti bought us a synthesizer for the new record. We feel like we’ve just begun again.

How has the nature of the collaboration changed between Johnny and Ida?
Not at all. Ida writes all the songs a cappella. Then Johnny wraps the beat around the vocals. It’s always been that way. We don’t know how to write any other way.

What’s your favorite instrument or technique in the studio and what do you think it brings to your music?
Favorite instrument: MiniKorg 1973 monosynth. It’s the only instrument that has been played on every Glass Candy song recorded since 1996. Johnny bought it in a gun shop in Kansas in 1994 for $80. It was sitting in a glass case between a rifle and a chainsaw. And that’s what it sounds like too. Favorite technique: Improvisation. Most of Ida’s vocals are recorded the first time through. Johnny usually rolls the tape without her realizing she’s being recorded. Most of the music for the songs is written at shows or experimenting in the studio.

How do you make music and write lyrics that are emotional and romantic?
We just try to get out of the way and let the song do the singing for us. Any good art is a reflection of what we already know to be real and true. So we work on being the best mirrors we can be. Life is romantic. Life is emotional. It’s everywhere.

Mirage

How did you find Italians Do It Better or how did they find you?
We met Mike Simonetti and Johnny Jewel at a record store in Italy last summer. We had no idea who they were but we could tell they were American. They started talking about freestyle records and one thing led to
another. They said they were starting a label based out of Portland and New Jersey. We exchanged information. A week later, we emailed them “Lady Operator” and the Indeep remix [“Last Night a DJ Saved My Life”]. They asked if we wanted to be on the After Dark compilation they were putting together and the rest is history.

What is your profile in Italy like? Are people into the music you’re making there?
We keep a really low profile. No shows. No DJ sets. Our friends are into it, but we are really underground.

Where are most of your fans?
Mostly in the Netherlands and the UK. And a few in the States.

What are the best and worst things coming out of Italy right now?
Best: Fashion
Worst: Starbucks Espresso

What is the best song to dance to?
“I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince.

What do Italians do better?
You mean you don’t know?

Professor Genius

A professor and a genius? Wait a second! What are your qualifications?
None, except that my studio is called the Bubble Lab and I try and make fantastic things in there. Also, a good artist name is necessary and Doctor’s Cat was already taken! Professor Genius is also a favorite Fellini character,sort of a flamboyant psychic who communicates with the ancient Romans.

More and more bands seem to be experimenting with disco and space sounds.
Space is the place! It’s not an easy thing to pull off, though. The best artists making disco influenced music have an obvious affinity for it. They know it’s not just a 4/4 kick and a rhythm guitar that equals disco. I also think being a night person helps.

How do you fit in with that experimentation and why do you think more people are playing with those sounds?
I started recording this music because I love it and wanted to hear more. I felt there wasn’t anyone doing
it at the time. I began to make it for myself. Now, I’m part of a whole wave of artists exploring the same space. That includes everyone on Italians. It’s wild that Mike was putting the label together and found my music at just the right time. I guess there was something in the Jersey City water. No Jersey jokes, please!

Do you feel a kindred spirit with the other bands on your label?
Yes, especially Johnny Jewel who produces and plays on much of what’s on the label. The settings he creates for his songs are remarkably distinctive. I’d love to do a joint project with him.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and what would you be doing?
Barcelona. Staying up late and wondering when I’d get some work done!