Il Caso di X.Ʌ. Valentine (H.P. Lovecraft, 2011)
L'electronica dark dei primi anni '10 passa per Providence

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Ʌ è uno dei simboli dietro cui si nasconde Xavier Valentine di Providence. Potete chiamarlo Arc o aarrcc, come lui stesso suggerisce dal sito grazie al quale lo abbiamo scovato, ascoltato e raggiunto. Prima di continuare facciamo caso a questo: witch house + Providence. Ecco, il primo nome che dovrebbe venire in mente dovrebbe essere quello di Howard Phillips Lovecraft, il maestro americano del racconto gotico che pareva strano non fosse già saltato fuori tra le nuove stregonerie musicali americane. Dato l'immaginario oscvro che circonda l'allegra compagnia di Salem, White Ring & Co., la tentazione di ascoltare la proposta di Arc ripercorrendo mentalmente le vicende di Charles Dexter Ward nella cittadina del Rhode Island c'è, ma sarebbe limitante per un album che va molto oltre ciò che ragionevolmente ci si potrebbe aspettare leggendone l'etichetta. Stiamo parlando di Wire Migraine, reso disponibile al preciso scoccare del 2011 come streaming gratuito ed acquistabile in digitale o in vinile (via AMDISCS).

Wire Migraine è il disco di una sorta di Martin Grech witch house, che sorprende cogliendo alla sprovvista l'ascoltatore che si aspetta il sound saturo e violento da poco imparato a riconoscere, e che supera abbondantemente i confini che il genere (genere? ne riparleremo più avanti) sembrava autoimporsi. Parte in silenzio tra piano, chitarra e voce, poi salpa lentamente richiamato da voci provenienti da profondità marine, aumentando gradualmente il ritmo fino a raggiungere l'apice tra "Fulcrum" e "Revenge City". A questo punto è già chiaro che Arc ha accolto a braccia aperte l'estetica witch house adattandola ad un formato intimo e profondo quale può essere quello classicamente cantautorale, ma non è mica finita qui; "Strict", ad esempio, da sola sarebbe sufficiente spazzar via i tentativi dei Darkstar (o almeno quelli di North) di creare un synth pop oscuro e robotico di qualità. In Wire Migraine si alternano - con solennità profana - cantautorato, dubstep, grime cosmico, ritmiche marziali e pezzi suonati al piano.

Prima ancora che terminasse la prima sessione di ascolti avevamo già deciso di contattare Xavier, il quale si è reso immediatamente disponibile per essere intervistato. Noi ne abbiamo approfittato per soddisfare qualche curiosità e, perché no, ottenere qualche conferma da chi il movimento witch house lo osserva dall'interno:

P: Xavier, first of all, can you tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do?

Ʌ: Well, I'm an audio and visual artist who has been writing and recording music for as long as I can remember. When I'm not writing music, I run a vintage clothing store called Foreign Affair.

P: You are living in Providence, a city that is often linked to H.P. Lovecraft... One might ask: has your music been influenced by him?

Ʌ: Maybe not so much even by him, as by the cemetery he is buried in, Swan Point. It is a beautiful and old cemetery. It seems very cliche to say something like that maybe, but its beauty is absolutely arresting and inspiring.

P: We know you are a pianist, but other than that, which are your musical points of reference? And what about literature, cinema or art in general?

Ʌ: I was trained classically for much of my youth, and studied a lot of western music theory independently, so a lot of what I do musically is unfortunately very contained within those lines. The man I'm working with now, Brady Gunnell, is a wonderful influence on me musically. He leans toward a desert-scape sort of sound, and is very proficient with a guitar (among other things).
As for literature, I read a lot of Dennis Cooper, and I think maybe a lot of my lyrical style is culled from him. I also really like Yukio Mishima, Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, and right now I like my friend C.F.'s comics, The Powr Mastrs series.
With film, I obviously really love David Lynch. I also really like Juzo Itami's film, Tampopo, which is maybe one of the funniest films I've ever seen. I recently saw "My Son, My Son, what Have Ye Done?" by Werner Herzog (and produced by David Lynch) and that really blew me away.
My favourite visual artists right now are Gottfried Helnwein and Marina Abramović.

P: The notes that accompany Wire Migraine state that all tracks have been written and performed by you, with the exception of "Gunnel", "Hallowed House" and "Wire Migraine". Can you tell us where did these tracks come from?

Ʌ: "Gunnel", and "Wire Migraine" were written by me, but the slide guitar was performed by Brady Gunnell, who is now playing with me live, and with whom I have started a yet to be named musical project that is maybe jazz noir meets lounge goth? "Hallowed House" has the guest vocalist DRACC who is a local rapper and who is extremely talented

P: Do you think we can talk about a witch house genre? What do you think it is? Up until now it appeared as a cultural movement that has abruptly emerged from the underworld, where each artist associates his music with his own magical imagination... would you agree?

Ʌ: Actually, I think that the witch house "movement" is really inherently an aesthetic under which an array of music styles (albeit with common musical threads) fall.
Musically, I often feel fairly ripped off, to be honest. It all seems very hollow, with few exceptions. However, I'm a digital media artist, and as witch house takes place almost entirely in the strange reality of the internet, it can be interesting to weed through layers of broken HTML, hidden forums, and vimeo playlists to find the wonderful re-purposing of obsolete technologies. The way that witch house has really been nailed down into certain textures, typefaces, and colours is pretty impressive, as it is now a very "collective" genre.

P: The artwork on your cover is very peculiar... All those elements bring to mind the multitude of symbols that other witch house artists have used. Does your symbol have any particular meaning?

Ʌ: The woman on the cover my album is from a photograph I took specifically for this reason, she is a friend of mine who very clearly embodies the atmosphere I was trying to evoke with the album. As far as the inverted crucifix, at the risk of sounding however this might make me sound, I have an intense dislike for the ordained authority that has told us what to like, wear, watch, and eat (I think this is a common thread among my contemporaries). I think that the catholic church is very evil, and a lot of my actions artistically and musically are a direct consequence of how scary they really are.

P: Don’t you think that by being so keen on aesthetic details one may risk not to be taken too seriously?

Ʌ: That's neither here nor there, for me. I would love for people to respect my work, but I'm not entirely concerned if it happens. Like most people, I create for catharsis, not for others pleasure. I function on aesthetics, and I also think, from a consumer's point of view, that when you purchase a record, a cassette, or even a digital release, one of the biggest thrills is going through the liner notes, looking at the artwork, appreciating the craftsmanship of the vinyl, it's part of the complete experience, and very valuable to those who really love music.

P: In recent times we have witnessed a certain reappearance of a Gothic and dark style in the independent scene (Esben and the Witch, These New Puritans, Zola Jesus, Loverman, Crystal Castles...). What do you think this kind of imagination is trying to convey? And more to the point: what are you trying to convey by building your music according to this style?

Ʌ: I think that there has and will always be a huge amount of artists focusing on dark music, it's been around for ages and ages. It just so happens that the climate is right for this sort of music. I blame fashion. As for me, I just am the sort of person who loves dark things!

P: How did the idea to realise a dance-oriented project such as Minarette come about?

Ʌ: I love modern pop music's production values, and wanted to try to do something better and with more lyrical substance.

P: In Italy, we have stumbled upon your bandcamp during a "witch hunt" on several dedicated forums, how do you plan to make yourself known as a musician in contextes that you may not be able to reach directly with your concerts?

Ʌ: Well, it's always nice when a magazine is interested in my work, like this. Also, my live shows are pretty strictly limited to non-venue venues, like warehouses, clothing shops, and galleries, this maybe is actually an audience i am more interested in reaching anyhow, people who live on the fringe of society. I'm never excited about playing a big venue, because there are so many restrictions with what I can do as far as a stage setup is concerned. I also always get paid more, and within a reasonable time frame when I work with the "outsiders". They understand how difficult it is to subsist on art, and really appreciate the artist more. Down with established venues! And always support your local art groups, they are really wonderful and will help you out. For instance, there is this great art's group locally, "AS220" who have hosted me several times, have great locally sourced food, and a fun bar.
The internet is obviously a wonderful tool too, and also probably the only reason that "witch house" exists. Suffice to say, without it, many artists would not have a platform with which to show their work!

La conferma più grande che abbiamo avuto, come sospettavamo, riguarda il fatto che parlare di genere in riferimento alla musica witch house (o haunted house, o gothgaze, o doomwave, drag, o...) è sempre più sbagliato. Siamo inciampati in un cvlto estetico che tenta di assorbire qualsiasi influenza piegandola al proprio volere e infarcendola del proprio immaginario magico; se non è chiaro questo e si rifiuta in blocco tutto ciò che ha il marchio witch house mentre si esprime apprezzamento per produzioni elettroniche assortite (dubstep, IDM, dark ambient, minimal techno, chillwave, power electronics...), probabilmente bisognerebbe farsi un esame di coscienza e rivedere un attimo le proprie posizioni con la giusta onestà, al riparo del viscerale odio per mode o presunte tali. E dopo un album del genere e quattro chiacchiere con un protagonista, abbiamo capito che anche se in tanti si stanno improvvisando stregoni senza averne i mezzi o il talento, anche loro contribuiscono a costruire l'atmosfera, fare colore, creare terreno fertile per dischi come King Night o Wire Migraine. Perché è qui che si deve, e si deve volere, arrivare. 

82/100

Arc

di Pierluigi Ruffolo
Intervista realizzata grazie al supporto di Daniele Sassi e Cristiano Marinelli