Il Teatro: Kalàscima

After what was a fantastic evening of dancing and frenzied music, after we had slept through the morning and whiled away the afternoon, we met the six member Kalàscima for a send-off dinner before their morning departure to Chennai. With a total of ten we crowded ourselves onto the orange sofas on Palladio’s verandah, sitting down for plates of spaghetti carbonara and ravioli.

Kalàscima was in the middle of their India tour, the week before their Pink City performance electrifying the stage at Austin’s famous SXSW music festival, and while the band had seemingly been playing nonstop, they took the time to speak with us about their experience as a band and their feelings towards India.

Kalàscima, Tell me what was the inspiration behind its beginning:

We began Kalàscima when we were very small, 15 years ago.  At this time I was 15, Ricardo Lagana was 17, and his brother Federico was only 12!  Only later did Massimiliano, Aldo, and Riccardo join.

We started off with a simple sound, very dry and very simple.  However, we have curious minds and as we grew we wanted to expand our range with a more diverse music.  I mean we were kids only, but we really had, even then, this drive to make good music.

Our area, Salento, is very famous for its folk music; our style developed in learning the musical traditions from  older generations of musicians, some of them our grandfathers or uncles.  Tarantella, the music we play, is common in the region’s festivals, however young people do not view it as “cool”.   Even though it is not a fashionable music, we very much love it and feel it can grow and express perfectly what we wish to say.

How do you approach traditions:

We have never been real traditionalists; it is important to see traditions as changing, reflecting what is happening around them. It will be a sad day when our traditional music finds itself in an airless box, unable to grow or adapt.

Since some time we have been experimenting with electronic music and the wondrous world of the loop machine, a welcome technology which can achieve a very fantastic energy of sound.  What electronic sound does it allows us to take our music to a more psychedelic trance like state, with more layered rhythm which can be difficult to maintain through simple playing of instruments.

We try however to remain sensitive to the rhythm of tarantella and the spirit of tradition in our adaptations, we want our sound to been seen as fresh and exciting, but not to compromise on our values as musicians.

What is the inspiration behind your songs & their lyrics:

Each of our songs tell a story, maybe they are classic folktales we grew up with or instances from our own lives.  Sometimes the stories we tell are beautiful and other times melancholic. We write the majority of our own work, however, we adapt some regional songs to reflect Kalàscima style. The majority of our lyrics reflect social themes, lately often about migration and the psychology of exile, longing, and the creation of a new home.

These songs come from a very intense rehearsal schedule and lots of hard work in Casa Kalàscima, the name we have christened our small studio where we hibernate in the winter when we are not on tour.  Right now we are working on something that is a little closer to our roots, looking at the purity of rhythm through the synthesis of a very diverse sound.

How do you feel your music has been appreciated by the India public:

Observe that wherever music goes it creates some feeling of magic, that if this feeling is absent it means the musicians are not playing properly.  Music should create a spirit of togetherness in the public.  There is always a time in the performance where everything syncs: song, dance, rhythm.  I believe for Indians our music is not so far from their on folk music. The music of tarantella is one possessed of a rhythmic mantra, while Indian folk music is principally based up the buildup of a vocal mantra.  Within these two styles are a connection of shared qualities, it is difficult to describe but I can feel it within the music and I believe the audience recognizes it as well.

You cannot but help enjoy this music and the spirit of happiness it creates.  Whoever listens is forced into a feeling of joy, the spirit of a festival.  It is contagious and allows the public to let down barriers; the music speaks honestly its own language.

Now tell me, how is the food?

What!  Fantastic, Carbonara like this we have not had since in Italy.  In India, in Jaipur of all places! Amazing Barbara, how do you do it?

::Barbara blushes::