Will you please write out a brief history of your career as a musician?
My first band was Polvo. We started playing together in 1990 and stopped in 1998. I played bass in Helium from 1994-1998.
Some of the songs on "Yesterday and Tomorrow's Shells" were written when you were still a member of Polvo. Do you think these songs would not fit in any of Polvo's album? I think a couple of the songs could have been Polvo songs, maybe, but I always had other songs I wanted the band to play. I probably could've put one or two of these four-track songs on a Polvo record, to add something different, but did not think it would be appropriate.
"Libraness" will only be a "one album wonder", or are you going to record other new songs with that moniker? I have more old songs, and I will also record some new music, in different styles. I think some of your songs have an incredible pop appeal, but developped in a very unconventional way. What do you think about it? Yes, I think most of my songs are basically pop songs, but I do not feel that I must obey any conventional pop-music rules with regard to structure or influences or instrumentation. I like to play and sing pop melodies, and I also like to write longer instrumental pieces, so I do both, and often combine the different styles in the same song. I have always been fascinated with those eerie oriental sounds you heard on Polvo's records and you still hear on Libraness. Where do they come from? Are you somehow influenced by oriental musicians? My biggest influence has always been rock and pop music, but I have always loved traditional folk music from other cultures, especially non-Western. Also, I usually use guitar tunings with a drone element, and this seems to lend itself to "eastern-sounding" melodies and motifs.
Would you please write something about your favourite songs on Yesterday...., how were they born, what are they about? One of my favorites is "Toy Plantetarium". It started with the casio keyboard part - just a strange repeating rhythm and then a melody like a music box. Then I added the guitar, bass and drums. I was happy with how it all fit together. I also like "New And Old Clouds" - it's just one acoustic guitar. There are several brief guitar moments I like on "Richard Petty". Richard Petty is a famous racecar driver from North Carolina. How did you get in touch with Mike Treff and Tiger Style? An old friend of mine was working at Tiger Style for a while. He called me and asked me to put out a record.
You recorded Yesterday and Tomorrow's Shells" all by yourself. Any anecdotes about recording? I didn't pay much attention to my recording procedures, which is why most of it sounds so lo-fi. But I feel that this project was a valuable experience, because I became more resourceful and open-minded about using different instruments and trying different recording techniques. In the future, I'll try to be more creative, but will also pay attention to the qualities of the sounds and be more patient when recording. Where do you live now? How is the music scene there? I live in Boston. There are lots of bands here. I am not involved in the music scene and do not know many bands. Mission of Burma was probably the best band from Boston, but that was a long time ago. The nice thing about living in a large city is that I can see other kinds of music, art, films.
Are you going to tour Europe? I have no touring plans now, but would love to play in Europe again - especially Italy. Thank you.

I'd love to know the lyrics from "Yesterday and Tomorrow's Shells"… I understood only a half of what you sing and the lyrics seem to be so GREAT! The lyrics are not so important, but here are some, if I can remember them.... (from 'Face on Backwards') "you put your face on backwards your eyes are pushing through you brain you're crossing through the line son your hand you're on another plane you put your face on backwards again and now you're going deep inside ...and I wish I were too, (from '24 hrs') "walk to the store it's open 24 hrs a day shop at our leisure walk back the way that we came see lovely snow it was white on the night that it fell now it's black like the roof that has served us so well soon april showers will wash it away by the way they want to sell our house when our lease runs out and if they shut that little store down we'll have to make the journey downtown"; (from 'hit the horizon') "scarf over mouth, we will ride toward the south where we'll carve a perfect statue out of cold december water and across the shallow river we'll burn a railway station and in every passing shadow you can see the whole creation with weapons in our pockets we will follow foreign rockets as they tumble through the sky and hit the horizon we'll meet up in the mountains by long-forgotten fountains and there beneath a cloudburst we'll vanish in the universe there is only wisdom on the other side there is only laughter on the other side we can tell our story on the other side". I can't remember if I told you about the little indie label I run, it's called Ee:lettro. I will have my first full length out in a month. The band is called CAndiES. The record will also be released in the U.S.A. by Turn Records http://www.turnrecords.com. No, you haven't mentioned the label. I will look for CAndiES over here soon. In the meantime, good luck with everything in your life. Thanks again. Best wishes, Ash

Giuseppe Marmina