a cura di  VitoCamarretta  03/06/2007

E' senza dubbio una delle piu' interessanti band che hanno fatto capolino quest'anno. Mescolano chitarre ed elettronica, archi orchestrali e turntablism. Vengono dall'affascinante Leeds, ma fanno librare song nell'etere dal respiro internazionale. Hanno una predilezione per i Massive Attack e Dj Shadow (con il quale hanno collaborato e hanno girato il mondo accompagnandolo in un tour che ha fatto loro toccare 19 paesi in 4 continenti e che dal canto suo li ritiene "prossimi alla perfezione"). Hanno da poco siglato un contratto con la berlinese !K7. Solo alcuni dati indicativi sugli Stateless, paladini forse ignari del loro ruolo, di una rivoluzione dell'espressione musicale non piu' di nicchia e molto meno intellettualoide e vicina a linguaggi rinnovati. Fan dei Radiohead, dei Portishead o degli stessi Coldplay capiranno... Abbiamo voluto fare qualche chiacchiere con gli Stateless. Rispondono Chris James, la voce, e Dave, la batteria. L'invito all'ascolto (e alla lettura) e' obbligatorio. Stateless "Stateless" (!K7, Distribuzione Audioglobe) 01.Prism #1 02.Exit 03.Bloodstream 04.This Language feat.Lateef The Truthspeaker 05.Down Here 06.Radiokiller 07.Running Out 08.Crash 09.Bluetrace 10.Inscape Hi guys! The release date of your debut album on K7 is behind the corner. How are you living this moment? Chris: Loving it. We've been through some struggles to get this record out, so it's a great feeling to see the finished record and hold it in our hands, and say "ok we've achieved something, we've made our debut album". This is only the tip of the iceberg though, we're already writing album 2. David: It feels amazing. Having your first album released feels like giving birth to your first child. At least I think it does, I haven't had any babies. Why have you decided to call your band "Stateless"? Chris: Because we're Aliens. We like the name reflecting our feelings about the way we make music. No boundaries, no pigeon-holes, no rules. David: It's because we don't restrict ourselves to one type of music or try to fit into any scene. Oh and because the name 'Il Divo' was already taken. We have read that your album could be appreciated by fans of Portishead, Radiohead, and so on (it seems the man who wrote this info sheet forgot Unkle!). But let's go beyond these categorization... How do you imagine your potential fan? How do you imagine a Stateless fan?!? Chris: They are usually sex addicts…A Stateless fan could look like anything really, that's why it's an exciting band to be in. We get carpenters stood next to dancers at our gigs and everything between. David: Like Chris says, due to the nature of the music we make, Stateless fans are all types of people. We welcome everyone. Especially beautiful Italian girls. A propos of references, are tracks like This Language or Exit a sort of tribute (or maybe a love declaration...) to Radiohead??? Chris: No. Not at all. That song comes from an energy which is driven by the lyrics and what the song is about, and then the music reflects that. You could probably hear Radiohead in there because we love their band and grew up listening to them. But you can hear lots of other influences in there too, if you listen carefully. We're far too slutty to dedicate all our love to one band. David: I wouldn't mind us writing a song declaring our love for Radiohead, but they'd have to stop being so miserable first. This Language and Exit don't pay tribute to Radiohead, they pay tribute to feelings of rage and breaking free. Down here... where exactly? Chris: In Leeds, our town where we grew up, There's lots of ghosts walking those streets for me cause I've lived there many years...lots of memories. David: Fuck knows. There's something hidden (more or less) in your lyrics... Maybe a forthcoming revolution (not just from the stylistical viewpoint) or something like a new consciousness coming together with the sense of "frustrated epicism" emerging from some words as well as dull stresses of your songs and clefts on your rock? Chris: "revolution" is a strong word. I'm not Bob Marley, although I really wish I was. I just write songs about the world the way it feels to me. The world is changing so fast at the moment, it's exciting for me as a lyric writer. I think everyone can feel the changes. I don't feel frustrated at the moment though, I feel inspired. They're just songs really. Bloodstream... Is love so dangerous in your viewpoint? Chris: Love is the most dangerous and powerful thing on earth, apart from giant polar bears… I wonder if they love each other? After a female Praying Mantis makes love she bites off the head of the male, that's pretty dangerous. No girl has bitten my head off, so far… David: Yeah, I reckon love is pretty dangerous. Especially when you do it right. I suppose your first exhibition have been held in Leeds, a city which is revealing a surprisingly fertile ground for new music talents. What about the reaction of your first listeners? Chris: The reaction is good in Leeds. Everyone likes playing at home. I think our first shows were pretty bad compared with our shows now, but we were getting to grips with our sound, I think you make your mistakes on stage. Then you go away, reflect and come back stronger. David: I love playing in Leeds, the gigs are more like big parties. The Leeds music scene is on fire at the moment, people like Kaiser Chiefs and Corinne Bailey Rae have put Leeds on the map. But they can relax in their penthouse suites now cos Stateless are here to carry to take over. You could say everything about your voice but it's lacking in personality like many other male voices we heard recently. When did you begin fumbling with your voice? Chris: I've been singing my whole life. I was obsessed with music from very early childhood. I'm always messing about with my voice. David: I fumble with my voice all the time, but I'm still shit at singing. I prefer fumbling with drums. One of my favourite Stateless tracks is Inscape. What about the source of inspiration for such a lovely poem? Chris: It was inspired by a dream, more like a collection of dreams that developed. Its sort of half way between dream and reality, its also a bit mixed up and confused, the way that dreams often are. David: You've got good taste; Inscape is DJ Shadow's favourite Stateless track too… I imagine it's to early to speak about a tour. But are you planning to travel up and down to promote your music? Any Italian gateway? Chris: We would love to come to Italy. I really really hope so. Maybe you can start a ground swell of Italian supprt so we can convince the label to pay for us to tour out there... David: Italy is amazing. Get us out there immediately! I love Italian food, I love Italian culture, and I love Italian girls! In fact, I've loved a few Italian girls… VIDEO EXTRACTS Prism #1 @Barfly - London !K7 presents Stateless (video interview)