Today’s featured interview is an exciting one for us as this Italian Alternative-Indie band is taking their craft to a remarkable extent, presenting the audience with psychotropic-like visuals, soothing instrumental-only music, and an amalgam of four, talented, very unique individuals. With a name on par with their X-factor, Bilbosa is here to both entertain and help creative minds get out of their mental rut. Let’s start by introducing you to the members: Gabriele Gennaro, Stefano Pulcini, David Gesen Carroll, Daniele Ferrari.
Even their band photo speaks volumes from the very first glance. Gabriele (drummer), seems just the guy for bouncing his head up and down and have that curly hair shine fabulously in the light of the reflectors. Stefano (guitar player), has that introvert look in his eyes and by easily tilting his head transmits a more personal vibe, like he could have interesting topics of conversations until three in the morning. David (guitar player), has that IDGAF aura looking straight into the camera and inherently suggesting a sense of fashion as he’s the only one sporting a formal long-sleeved shirt for the photo. And last but not least, Daniele (bass player). Now, you can’t deny the guy looks like he might be your modern ethics teacher. Or at the very minimum, an intern at NASA. He gives off scholar vibes. So we got the wild child, the philosopher, the charmer, and the scholar.
All four members are from and live in Genova, Italy (yes, the actual correct name is Genova, and not the perplexing American version – Genoa. I mean come on guys, why ditch the V like that???). This alone has been a pivotal factor in the creation of the band, as Stefano Pulcini shares: “Genova is a small city where all the musicians know each and after many years of friendship we decided to start playing together discovering a common taste in music and way of making it.” If we were to judge Genova by the sound of Bilbosa’s latest music video, Ginkgo, we’d have to say those people are good-spirited and know to make the best out of any given circumstance. Don’t believe us? Take a look at it yourself.
Now you gotta admit that for a record with no vocals, Bilbosa has accomplished quite the feat with the aesthetically-cured music video. If you were wondering what is the peculiar visual supposed to accomplish, we got the answer directly from the source. “Us, as the human race, are always convinced that we own everything in this world including nature, but we are wrong. Nature’s history and its wisdom transcend the human race itself and what we believe in. We all cage ourselves into concrete boxes thinking they are safe, but sooner or later they are bounded to crumble in front of the knowledge that there is something much more important than us. In order to explain this concept, we used Ginkgo Biloba, one of the most ancient plants in history, as a symbol to express nature’s power and, on the other hand, our fragility.” – explains Daniele, the scholar (btw, we hit the nail on the head with our moniker for him. His answer proves it :-D).
Musically, Ginkgo is the perfect composition to give you a general idea of what Bilbosa brings to the table: chill, organic music with a dash of sophistication. The suave electric guitar is omnipresent in all of their recordings. The drums are large-sounding and dominant despite being placed acoustically after the other instruments. The bass is quite the show-stealer when is its turn to shine. As for that sax… holy guacamole! That sax makes 2020 almost bearable (this instrument was played by different hired guns during the Diamond Dust album creation). It’s that good. In one song alone we get a clear grasp on the level of dedication these 4 artists carry in their art.
And if like us, you were captivated by the genuine acting in Ginkgo, we got the scoop: “We chose Edoardo Chiappino to act out the protagonist role thinking that he would perfectly represent the connection between an ordinary man’s daily routine and his deepest emotions. He is an old friend of ours and we trusted him for taking the task.” And no ladies, we didn’t ask for his Instagram 😈
Now back to the title of this article. Why are we saying they’re pushing forward? Well because they went the extra mile to make Diamond Dust happen during these insane, historical, shocking times we’re experiencing. Diamond Dust is the band’s first full-length, official project. David Gesen Carroll attests: “We survived the lockdown working from home on all the promotional material and not on the musical part. Many might not know this, but an album release involves a trillion aspects and things to do such as making video clips, editing photos, communication strategies, taking care of social media, and other things. For example, the video for our first single “Pyramiden”, was created during the lockdown period by Stefano using some footage he took during an old trip to America.” You see? This is creativity at its best! When one makes full use of everything available to them. Aka, being resourceful. So while major artists are crying left and right making apologies to their fans for having delayed their releases for huge amounts of time, or making excuses for having halted new albums altogether, Bilbosa put the pedal to the metal and made sh*t happen. We applaud.
David also schools us on some of the very curious names the band has chosen for their album tracks: “Gaza, the first record, is an homage-title to an old band we played in, Chaos Del Signor Gaza. Keiko, is a lullaby to all the souls afflicted by a dark destiny, just like Keiko the orca from the movie “Free Willy”, he was captured to do shows at water parks, to be released many years later when he became dependent from humans and forgot how to provide food for himself. Order was inspired by a scene from a Star Wars, true fans will understand.” – it is sincerely outstanding how there’s intent and purpose in all of Bilbosa’s artistic abundance. You could literally talk to these artists for days on end and you wouldn’t get bored.
The musical radiance on Diamond Dust is detectable from start to end. Gaza favors the ever-so-majestic electric guitar soulfully but calmly moving up and down, indulging in some distortion in the middle section of the record. Think of yourself driving at high speed across a desert. Sort of the prelude to Pyramiden. Ginkgo is our aforementioned golden child of the album. Pyramiden is what you hear when you see your life in a timelapse video when your time on Earth is up. Sad, yes, but touching to the core. Glass is for you rock lovers and party troopers. Fast-paced and very commercially-constructed, with sexy drums, domineering guitars, and an ambitious musical arrangement, Glass is the theme song for when you come back to life and discover you’ve been given a second chance so you take all risks possible and blaze triumphantly through life. Keiko is the follow-up to Glass, aka you’ve lived your life, done some crazy stuff, and now you’re calming down before you go out with a bang. A very sweet, soul-engulfing record. Order is what plays in the background after you’ve crossed the famous tunnel and luckily for you, at 01:21 you discover you get to go to the Good Place ⭐ Circle is a most playful, airy, breezy composition with short, intermittent guitar strums that delicately set the foundation of the song. Oh yeah, back to our story. This is the song to you making new friends and setting new goals to accomplish in the Good Place. Sad Tune, albeit sounding self-explanatory, is not that sad after all. Yes, it’s written using minor chords but… its relatively fast-paced rhythm and loud guitar, render it a groovy tune. Probably when you go “well sh*t” when someone from your family is doing some damage back on Earth. Stream of Consciousness is a very sultry, seductively-toned instrumental. That sax says so. This is what you hear when you welcome that bat crazy relative of yours to the Good Place. And we’ve reached the 10th record on Diamond Dust, White Rabbit. This song is the clusterf*ck of thoughts in your mind when you wake up sweaty and realize this has all been a dream. Or an actual insight into the future of your soul?!
When asked how long it took the 4 artists to put Diamond Dust together, Gabriele shares: “It took us about a year of hard work with our friend and producer Tristan Martinelli, that helped us understand what we wanted to become as a band.” Well the hard work was worth it, as the album is bursting with flavored music, fresh talent, and what we believe to be, a new rising current in the post-Covid world. A world where the glitz and glamour will fade while substance will precede and become the one variable that will make all the difference in appreciating new acts.
“What did each of you learn with the creation of Diamond Dust?” we have to ask for us, the consumer, the purpose and end-goal of this project is clear by now. But what have the artists taken home with them from the creation of such a velvety, soul-filling album? Accordingly, the band proceeds to open up about their lessons. Stefano, for one, has learned how to combine technique with emotions: “I’ve improved my knowledge and ability on using guitar pedals to express myself in a better way with the right sound”. David, has understood the necessity of a cursive progression between the tracks on an album as a whole: “I’ve learned how to link better the musical parts of a song between them, it’s always a team effort at the very end, but coming to the studio with an idea and developing it together is not always as easy as it sounds.” Gabriele has become a more self-aware musician: “I’ve developed a better critical consciousness, meaning that I’m more open to listening to the advice the bandmates give me and to be more critical about my own drumming parts always improving them.” And Daniele has learned what to do and in what order: “I’ve learned what the priorities are during the recording stage of the album.”
Before we end our interview with this delightful band, we want to know the answer to a cinematic question, “If Bilbosa was a movie and the four of you were the main characters, what would the movie be about?”, and David bestows us with a good one: “Four astronauts, traveling through the outer space finding new planets and galaxies, a bit like Interstellar and 2001 A Space Odyssey, full of color and psychedelic worlds” So we weren’t too far off with our lil’ story of the afterlife you get to acoustically experience when playing Diamond Dust.
As for the people that contributed in a major way to the realization of Diamond Dust, the band says: “Diamond Dust would have never ever seen the light without the precious help and cooperation of: Mark Carroll, Tristan Martinelli, Valeria Pittaluga and Cosimo “Franz” Francavilla. We will always be grateful to them.”
Diamond Dust is an album of dazzling depth, capable of lifting the hardest of hearts. While Bilbosa is a band of uncommon artistry that turns to be a great provider of alternative-indie music.
Make sure you follow the band directly on their Instagram HERE, and on their Facebook HERE. Also, add their ethereal music to your playlists on Apple Music HERE, on Deezer HERE, on Amazon HERE, and on Spotify below:
Interview Conducted By Mariana Berdianu
Blue Rhymez Entertainment ©2020
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 