Q. Can you please introduce yourself and your band? Hi everyone. My name’s Damy and I’m an Italian musician / composer better know from my metal project PULVIS ET UMBRA. I hope you’ll enjoy the reading ... cheerz ^_^
Q. Why did you choose to name your band “Pulvis Et Umbra”?
I found the expression on a latin dictionary I used at school ; Pulvis Et Umbra is taken from a quote of Oratio which says “pulvis et umbra sumus” (it means “we are dust and shadow”). I didn’t like the English sound of the quote so I prefer to keep PULVIS ET UMBRA expression in its original language. It sounds coolest in my opinion.
Q. What inspired you to become a musician and in particular, form a death metal band?
There’s a nice story behind this when I was kid my older sister spend summer vacation in UK families and one year she bought me a METALLICA mc tape. At the time I wasn’t neither into rock/metal music and listening to that tape totally changed my life, it was a sort of illumination. I started collect CDs and Tapes from other hard rock/heavy metal band and at the age of 11 I made a paper ESP explorer guitar headbangin in playback while my father was dining. He said me “you should get a real one” and few months ago I got my IBANEZ RX as birthday present.The idea of form a death metal band came more lately (around 1999-2000) because I got a band with a schoolmate plus other friends and we played thrash/death metal (band name was PHONEUTRIA). It was like entering a new world for me kuz I was still into classic heavy metal or thrash/speed; after PHONEUTRIA disbanded I started to collect more extreme metal release and decide to work on my band which will later took the name of PULVIS ET UMBRA.
Q. You have toured in many countries around the world. What is the greatest aspect of performing live in front of a crowd?
Well, there are many great aspect about it; the anxious before go on stage, the moment where you go on stage and start perform and having fun, watching people involved and when people come at you after the show to spend talking , buy merchandise or take photo/have a drink together. Crowd is the driving thing of a live show; you can be the greatest band of the planet but if audience don’t care about you or you act in bad way to them you cannot consider yourself a musician. I like to spend hours talking with people or having chance to see them even the day after in case we’ll get day off. I usually prefer to call “fans” as “friends because the feeling created after a good performance bond artist and audience together.
Q. What was the happiest moment of your musical career so far?
Hard questions because there were many… you know, the first EP recorded or the first show outside my country were indeed special memories as well as having my custom model guitar but actually the happiest moment is realize that music still help me to meet and connect people worldwide, like you.
Q. You just released a new album, titled “Atmosfear”. Can you tell us something more about the album and its themes?
Sure!! The album title is a combination of the words “Atmosphere” and “Fear”; title came as as mention to an Ukranian webzine and it talks about an astronaut who discover during his mission of being the only survivor of human race. “Space mission” is a connection theme between all my previous album.Main subjects of the lyrics are mood, personal point of view and feelings plus there are bunch of songs who talk about real people or other more conceptual like the status of divinities during the course of time or the virus infection.
Q. How does this album differ from your previous releases?
I think it’s because this album was totally home recorded and mixed by me except vocals that were record in a studio of a friend of mine. It was an interesting challenge that worth also the sleepless hours hahahaI also try to experiment new things during each album, I make music for myself at first and not for “sell”, as for each things people could like it or not.
Q. What does the future hold for “Pulvis Et Umbra”?
I’m working on new merchandise and planning the live shows for 2017. I’m also already working on new material to be record next year which will be even more different from this album . Actually I cannot share more details so keep yourself updates on my networks, hopefully if one day I’ll get enough money to buy a plane I’ll visit all my fans worldwide :D
