So I was chatting to Paolo recently and I found out some stuff about the song Gravita that I thought I would share with the blog.
In case you haven't seen/heard Gravita yet, here's your opportunity:
1:.The Title
The song is in English but Paolo chose to give it an Italian title as an homage to a question that was often put to him when he lived in London, namely as to whether his dreams were in Italian or in English. Paolo says he doesn't actually know for sure and guesses that it's probably a mixture of both. I know from experience that if you wake Paolo suddenly he is more likely to speak to you in Italian but hey...
Anyway, knowing that he had probably given all sorts of answers to the same question he decided to reproduce this inconsistency between the title (i.e. what he thought his dreams were like) and the actual content of the song.
2. The syntax of Gravita's made up dream language
Apparently this made up language is not as random as it may sound at first. In fact this made-up language of dreams, as featured on the track, is, I am reliably informed, made up of universal phonemes, and it also has a syntax.
The "words" come back in different combinations, but they are [theoretically at least] recognisable as independent words, not just random sounds. There, you see, method behind seeming madness!
3. The events behind the song: Not being able to fall in love
I always want to know what a song's supposed to be 'about'. I'm sure that most people imprint their own 'abouts' onto songs, whether it's a positive or negative feeling/event/etc. is by the by. The song and the video both impart a sense of unrequited love - the video does so in what I can only assume is an intentionally controversial portrait of unrequited love. And a very beautiful portrait it is too.
But knowing what a song is about - i.e. what it means or what it meant to the artist at the time of writing sometimes adds extra dimensions to my listening pleasure so it may please you [or not] to know what I know of the 'about' for Gravita:
Back in 2001, Paolo was torn between falling or not falling in love with a guy called Francesco. He was in Cairo and Francesco was in Berlin. I knew that Paolo was going through something difficult with this relationship but he didnt seem keen to really talk about it much at the time. I have since been told by Paolo that he found himself caught between surrendering to his feelings and obeying his misgivings about the relationship - at that time he didn't feel that he could give himself to the relationship without sustaining real damage to his dignity. More than that I don't know, except that the pink shirt in the video is a visual reference to Francesco, who was apparently wearing a shirt of the same colour the first night he and Paolo went out together.
I don't know if anyone else is interested in things like this, but for me, I always like to know new things...[except when I don't] :-D
This video is very interesting for many reasons, but, if I may say so, (and I may because it's my blog,) it will live in my heart forever by way of a line that occurs very early on:
"Can you give me the sound of a moth?"
Which is only topped by a following comment:
"Of course there are no moths in the studio"
How can Max be so sure? Did he check? Did he mothball the place against such an eventuality?
Seriously, although quite technical it's a great insight into the process that Paolo (and his collaborators) have gone through in order to come up with this album, which I am still awaiting, very impatiently. There will be eight tracks, I hear, and I have six. Give me the other two!
Just to give you an idea of what to expect, he talks about the following:
* [Linguistics] (including music as language) * [Philosophy] * [Catholicism] * [Atheism] (including music as a way to atheism) * [Sexuality], [homosexuality] and [gay identity] * [Activism]
These are some of my favourite quotes from the interviews:
[concerning his artistic vision]
“In my artistic and also my activist’s vision [...] [I want] to transform the general perception [of homosexuality] in such a way that strolling in a park, hand in hand with another boy will finally become a gesture of affection, and no longer a political provocation, a slap in the face of the silent majority. I’d like to get to the point of doing it with total nonchalance, without even worrying about peoples’ gazes. I doubt I will live to enjoy such a privilege.”
"One thing is certain, I couldn’t have been gay and a catholic! I would have felt like a black guy with a subscription to the KKK, or like a Jew, perversely serving in the SS."
[what is [god]?]
"We are talking about a linguistic label devoid of entity, a fancy wrapping without a product, a nothing around which we build a sophisticated, folkloric structure that is metaphorical in nature. It is strongly delusional, to the extent that only a few get to the point of questioning what that metaphor really refers to. As a linguist with an interest in cognitive sciences, the label of atheist does not really fit me, in that I don’t consider [god] to be a mystery or a matter of faith. I know exactly what [god] is and where it dwells. [god] is a metaphor with no referent, a nothing that exists in the skulls of people who use it as a conceptual category to interpret reality."
I'll let you find the other gems for yourselves!
The subtitles are a work in progress - they were dictated by P[aolo] over the phone to another Italian speaker. When you bear that in mind, it's a pretty good job! I understand that this issue will be addressed at some point but in the mean time, they get the point across well enough, to my mind.
So settle back, listen and enjoy! Feel free to comment too, we like interactivity!
This blog is chiefly concerned with musing on the musical endeavours of Paolo Ferrarini.
It was created and is updated by me, his friend & fan, Ali, currently known online [by very few people, it's true] as MinkMama and sometimes as Pro[Gnosis].
Although this blog is certainly inspired by Paolo, it is my blog and so I get to decide what's relevant and what's not in this little piece of cyberspace! So brace yourself for tangents...I expect to stumble into all sorts of related material - language, music, sexuality etc.
Never fear though, Paolo has his own site enroute, which you should definitely check out.
The Concept: "In language we dwelt, happy with words" Wittgenstein
Paradigms of the p[roject]:
1] Ontology is matter.
A good field for hard sciences, not particularly interesting or fertile for artistic and philosophical elaboration.
2] Gnoseology is language.
Language is the object, the subject and the method of gnoseological research.
All knowledge begins and ends in language.
Reality and knowledge of reality coincide.
Truth lies in what makes most sense according to each one’s own capacities.
Love, justice, god, good, evil, ghosts, the self, the world, freedom, demons, beauty, exist whenever it makes sense to someone that they do.
To some children it makes sense that Santa Claus exists. To some adults it makes sense that Jesus exists.
To others, it makes sense not to exist at all.
Human beings can only mull over the unfathomable and unattainable ontological truth, creating systems of individual or collective illusions, using the only tool available to them, that is language, in all its forms.
The p[roject] seeks to explore from an artistic point of view the various shapes and conventions that language can assume, from spoken languages, to graphic conventions, music, phonetics, semiotics, and symbolism.
The p[roject] is not a music group, but a philosophical concept that expresses itself through music, lyrics and experimentation.
It is pure research, aimed at finding not truth, but something that could make more sense, describing the human experience in a more elegant and comprehensive way , sharing the joy of intellectual stimulation with those endowed with a sensitivity for this kind of quest.
As for the lemma /god/, the pivotal element of our show Messa a punto di alcuni paradigmi gnoseologici.
The title in Italian is actually a pun.
The meaning is: Setting a few gnoseological paradigms, but it’s got the word Messa in it, an open reference to the catholic mass, which provides the theatrical framework of the show.
Up to three centuries ago, the belief in this concept could be justified as a naïve product of human fantasy, dating back to a time were humans not yet accustomed to the brain tool, unfortunately bestowed upon them without an instruction book to go with it.
Once proven, repeatedly by several philosophers, and with increasing clarity and firmness, up to Nietzsche’s desperation, its falsity, un-usefulness and damaging potential, to carry on with this belief can either be seen as immoral, when some institutions manipulate and exploit the simplicity of thought of the masses, or criminal, when apology and sophism are presented as science and philosophy, with the ultimate goal of living in the most outrageous opulence.
The p[roject] upholds that art and music represent a possible path to follow in order to achieve freedom from any sort of propaganda and ideology.
The only possible happiness is a constant and sophisticated process of liberation.
And being sophisticated is imperative, a moral duty, in a time when culture is always readily available, but seldom encouraged, and means of communication tend to replace the actual contents to communicate.
The p[roject] is an invitation to join us along this path of research.
"One thing is certain, I couldn’t have been gay and a catholic! I would have felt like a black guy with a subscription to the KKK, or like a Jew, perversely serving in the SS."
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