The Band:
Skycrater
Country: China (for now)
Answers by:
Federico Lucchi (all instruments)
Skycrater is the project of Canadian musician
Federico Lucchi. If you read this document you will find out that he is a young
but talented artist progressing and improving with every step he makes. Currently
living and studying in China is another way to get
a more personal and special sound, surely, as he threatens with a third album
soon… Read on and discover all the details.
Hello Federico! Congratulations for your second
album that has just hit the market some days ago
Thank you very much, I am indeed quite
satisfied with the noticeable progress I did compared to my previous album,
Journey to the Other Land. The public response is growing too, and “Tale of the
Frozen Valley” has been well received and
reposted by a few metal fans on various platforms.
Skycrater is your band, a one-man band, you do
everything, so we would like to know a little about your musical background,
how did you start your Metal adventure?
I started
playing classic and Spanish guitar when I was 11 years old. I loved rock’n roll
and eventually switched to electric guitar. My family didn’t have a TV or any
kind of video games, so I spent most of my afternoons playing my own
compositions. In my late teens I started playing bass and discovered heavier
music, in particular Blind Guardian. I played bass in two metal bands in Canada, and somehow got attracted to the
sound. I published rock-pop and ballad music in previous years under the name
Skycrater, and “Journey to the Other Land” (2016) was my very first album using
a power-metal oriented sound.
Cool story. Why a one-man band and not sharing
the efforts with some other guys?
Maybe the
questions shouldn’t be asked to me, but to the other guys? (Hahaha) The problem
is my location and lack of contacts. Back in Canada (2015) I worked with drummer S.
Bilodeau but we didn’t manage to get a nice studio sound and eventually gave
up. I tried a few times with other musicians, but simply didn’t meet the right
guys yet. I’m presently living in a University which focuses on classical and
traditional Chinese music, and here no one is really interested in my
projects...
For now, but who knows if they will all end
playing heavy metal hahaha It called my attention that you are based in China,
Nanning, in the beatiful region of Guanxi to be precise, how did it happen?
I always
wanted to improve my singing skills. As my elder brother (who also drew the
cover of my recent release) chose to study Chinese Traditional Painting here in
Guangxi, I though it reasonable to join him for my own study since his
University also teaches music. Life is very cheap in China and it will allow me to survive on my
economies for a few years. I also like the Oriental Culture, and living here
after my study is quite possible.
Has the life in China, with its culture and
all around its style of life, infuenced your music some way?
Although I
am very accustomed to the local food, people and traditions, I am still quite
occidental. Nevertheless, Guangxi traditional music is part of my study, and it
surely influences my work, whether I notice it or not. I didn’t pick anything
Chinese on purpose yet, but I might use Chinese folk as inspiration in coming
albums.
Yeah, that’s it! In 2016 you released your
first album as Skycrater, with the name of Journey to the Other Land. That was
a good album, but I think this 2017 with your second effort, the great Tale of
the Frozen Valley, you have accomplished a great improvement in terms of composition and
feeling
As I stated
earlier, I entirely agree. "Journey to the Other Land" was more like
a test: I was trying something rather new to me, and still didn’t really know
where to start. “Tale of the Frozen Valley” is more complete, better
structured. I am learning as I go...
We could define Skycrater as a heavy metal
project with an epic flavour on it, do you agree?
The label
“Heavy Metal” always scares me a little because of its aggressive flavour, but
I reckon I couldn’t call my music “rock”. I aim much more at “epic” and
“powerful” than “brutal”. Thus I think “Epic Metal” is the best way we could
put it.
I give you the point. One album by year is a
high rate, how much do you usually need to compose and record and album, and
how is all the composition process?
I am a
music student with relatively lots of free time, thus allowing me to work quite
a lot on my projects. “Journey to the Other Land” took me 3 weeks, “Tale of the
Frozen Valley" took me 3 months… I generally start by writing a full story
which will be then divided into chapters, each one being a song. Only then do I
start looking for inspiration and melodies to match my songs. Once I have the
music I work on the lyrics, following the theme of the story’s chapter. I
record in my dormitory room, with very scarce material. The album I am working
on now is taking me more time, probably because I aim at a higher production
quality.
Amazing… The producing and mastering tasks are
made by yourself too?
So far yes.
I tried to work with a friend who studies mixing and mastering for “Tale of the
Frozen Valley”, but he kept procrastinating and I
eventually lost patience and used my own mixes. I have no income whatsoever so
far, so can’t really afford a professional studio. In future things might
change.
I like
medieval fantasy (I am a big Tolkien fan), and try to mix in some philosophy
and deeper thoughts. I hate commercial songs without meaning, and even more
songs with aggressive or immoral meanings. I try to make an album with
different emotions, and a profound spiritual morality. So far I always worked
on making the album a complete story with each song being a chapter. It gives a
deeper feeling, a more complex emotional experience.
What bands have influenced your sound?
I very much
like the operatic-metal mix used by Nightwish with their first singer. My
biggest inspiration though is Blind Guardian, in particular their albums “A
Night at the Opera” and “Nightfall on Middle-Earth”.
One of the things I most appreciate in your
album are those epic moments you express so well, as in the fantastic Foul
Treachery
Thank you
very much for the compliment. Indeed I love the "epic" flavour in
power-metal music, and try to reproduce it as well as I can. Although, I feel I
still need to improve the vocals, and hopefully my next album will be one step
higher.
I also think you have made a great improvement
in the choruses regarding your first album, and in general more elaborated
songs
Thank you
again. I worked really hard on the backing vocals, and used more complex
structures for my songs, trying to avoid repetitions and often adding
“bridges”, a technique which I never used in my previous rock-pop compositions.
What kind of songs you enjoy more composing?
I enjoy the
more powerful songs, although I also need the calmer ones in order to “balance”
the album, and because of the story progression. Each song needs its feeling,
and I enjoy anything if I manage to grasp the feeling I look for.
How can any guy buy Tale of the Frozen Valley?
I sell
through CD Baby (an indie music service) on many web platforms like iTunes,
Amazon, Spotify, etc., and I have my Bancamp website. My music is also
available on free websites and torrents trackers. I don’t mind, I am happy as
long as people listen to my work. When I will reach a certain level of
popularity I will probably publish my music on CDs and Vinyls.
Very clear ideas, good. China is a very large
window to the world right now, but in terms of Metal in what stage you think
they are now?
I like
China’s traditional and folk music, but unfortunately their modern music
business is ruled by commerce. Everything is commercial: singers must be young
and beautiful (to magazine standards), their music must be radio-friendly and
their lyrics as futile as possible. It leaves very little place for unusual
projects like mine, and the only metal bands I know in Guangxi focus on very
“cheap” commercial thrash metal. I was told the rock stage is much better in
China’s North, like Beijing, but I didn’t experience anything so far.
Well, I was living for some tiem in Beijing and I agree that the
rock scene is richer there. Do you have the chance to make any gigs in China or that is out of the
picture right now?
Right now
it is out of the picture, the only stage appearances I do for the moment are
classic opera concerts (because of my operatic tenor study). I think it would
be easier to go live in Russia, Northern Europe or Japan, where my musical
style is more appreciated, but I am still without a band….
What are your plans for the future, Federico?
I just keep
going on. I like composing, practicing vocals and guitar. I keep learning and
getting better, and hopefully one day I will meet with enough popularity to
live of my work. I started my third metal album, aiming at a more elaborated
sound, with longer intros, more acoustic guitars and more complex backing
vocals. As I get better, I also see more clearly my weaknesses, thus I will
work hard to reach a higher level in quality in both music and lyrics.
We will be ready to listen to your third album
and appreciate the evolution on it. Thank you very much for your attention, if
you wish to add something…
Thank you
very much for this interview, I said pretty much everything I wanted to say. Cheers!
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