Music
interview •
On Benji & Fede’s “Mulholland Drive”: the way out of teen pop
“AI can expand on an intuition, but human sensitivity is needed.” Amidst Lynchian quotes, memories of provincial life and theatre rehearsals, the duo return with the album “Quando viaggi da sola”
“If you let artificial intelligence run everything, you lose the soul. Intuition, imperfection and the interpretation of a human voice are not interchangeable.” Benjamin Mascolo and Federico Rossi, known as Benji & Fede, talk to Il Foglio about the challenges of new technologies applied to songwriting. For the two singer-songwriters, “artificial intelligence is evolving at an incredible speed in all fields” and, speaking of software such as Suno, they agree that AI can “at best serve to broaden a personal intuition. But it must always be human sensitivity that determines whether and how a certain sound can facilitate the artistic process”.
Following a period of solo projects and restructuring, and two years after ‘Rewind’, Benji & Fede are back with ‘Quando Viaggi da Sola’, their sixth studio album for Warner, comprising nine tracks. The duo have left behind chart-topping hits such as “Dove e quando”, “Moscow Mule” and “Buona fortuna” for an album that uses travel — whether physical, through the streets of Paris, or temporal, through youthful memories of the Riviera — as a metaphor for change, exploring more intimate and singer-songwriter-style sounds.
From 3 October, their first theatre tour will kick off in Modena, before moving on to Turin, Florence, Bologna, Pescara, Rome, Milan and Naples. The intimate setting has been chosen so as not to lose sight of the bond with their long-standing fans, because even today, they say, “we’re still able to shake their hands, have a chat and hear how their lives have changed. It’s a relationship that evolves alongside our own transformation”.
What remains today of the Benji & Fede teen phenomenon, and how has your relationship with your audience evolved over the years?
Our audience has seen us grow, and vice versa. When people have been following you for so many years, you really get to know them. They attend dozens of concerts, always in the front row; they wait for us outside hotels and radio stations, and at book signings. While 10 years ago there was mass hysteria, today there is instead room for a deeper connection. Many of them have grown up alongside us; they have children and come from different age groups and backgrounds.
Our audience has seen us grow, and vice versa. When people have been following you for so many years, you really get to know them. They attend dozens of concerts, always in the front row; they wait for us outside hotels and radio stations, and at book signings. While 10 years ago there was mass hysteria, today there is instead room for a deeper connection. Many of them have grown up alongside us; they have children and come from different age groups and backgrounds.
What connects you to David Lynch these days, given that your new album opens with a track titled “Mulholland Drive”?
A year and a half ago, one evening when I had nothing to do (says Fede), I went to the cinema on my own near home to watch a 4K-restored version of the film again. The first time I’d seen it, I was just a lad and hadn’t really taken it in properly. I was really struck by the aesthetics and the story, and it stayed with me for weeks afterwards.
A year and a half ago, one evening when I had nothing to do (says Fede), I went to the cinema on my own near home to watch a 4K-restored version of the film again. The first time I’d seen it, I was just a lad and hadn’t really taken it in properly. I was really struck by the aesthetics and the story, and it stayed with me for weeks afterwards.
The video for ‘Zero’ also seems to draw on the same atmosphere. Is there a common theme?
When the song came out, we immediately thought of using a theatre as the setting for the video and referencing the scene at Club Silencio. It was a natural theme. The song began as a stream of consciousness inspired by that iconic street and the car crash in the film.
When the song came out, we immediately thought of using a theatre as the setting for the video and referencing the scene at Club Silencio. It was a natural theme. The song began as a stream of consciousness inspired by that iconic street and the car crash in the film.
Did the decision to tour theatres also stem from these ideas? What do you expect from these venues compared to sports arenas?
For us, performing in theatres is an honour but also a great responsibility. It’s an opportunity to present a different kind of show and convey something more intimate. We’re not hiding behind the set designs of large stages; here we’re in direct contact with the audience. What’s more, we’ll be rearranging songs from our back catalogue in a way that’s never been heard before. It’s a wonderful challenge that really fires us up.
For us, performing in theatres is an honour but also a great responsibility. It’s an opportunity to present a different kind of show and convey something more intimate. We’re not hiding behind the set designs of large stages; here we’re in direct contact with the audience. What’s more, we’ll be rearranging songs from our back catalogue in a way that’s never been heard before. It’s a wonderful challenge that really fires us up.
In “Non so se mi va”, you mention Calcutta’s “Tachipirina”. Are you paying more attention to the new Italian singer-songwriter scene?
The reference to Calcutta was meant ironically, following the line “I had a rough time in Ibiza”, which is based on a true story. Calcutta is part of the new wave of singer-songwriters and is one of the artists we listen to. Now we are allowing ourselves to let whatever feels authentic flow naturally, something that perhaps, for reasons of time, has not found a voice in previous years.
The reference to Calcutta was meant ironically, following the line “I had a rough time in Ibiza”, which is based on a true story. Calcutta is part of the new wave of singer-songwriters and is one of the artists we listen to. Now we are allowing ourselves to let whatever feels authentic flow naturally, something that perhaps, for reasons of time, has not found a voice in previous years.
In the album, you also mention a ‘Hotel Miramare’. Is this a real place?
Yes, the Hotel Miramare in Cervia. It’s a true story from many years ago: a place that was later closed down and to which we were never able to return, with many tears shed at not seeing our friends from back then again. These are memories that have only resurfaced now.
Yes, the Hotel Miramare in Cervia. It’s a true story from many years ago: a place that was later closed down and to which we were never able to return, with many tears shed at not seeing our friends from back then again. These are memories that have only resurfaced now.
On the cover, you’re standing behind the closed doors of a metro carriage – an image that evokes a ‘Sliding Doors’-style scenario. Is there a particular reference there?
Rather than a specific reference, we imagined ourselves travelling. We developed the idea, and that’s how a story emerged about a fictional girl visiting Paris. In the album trailer, you can see her taking a photograph with a camera, and that photo then became the album cover.
Rather than a specific reference, we imagined ourselves travelling. We developed the idea, and that’s how a story emerged about a fictional girl visiting Paris. In the album trailer, you can see her taking a photograph with a camera, and that photo then became the album cover.