1. Hello Raffaele, I hope you're feeling fine? For the start, please tell us, how did this all begin? What was the reason of your interest in alternative, psychedelic music, and was MUSHROOM'S PATIENCE the first band you played in? What projects are you taking part in right now?

Raffaele Cerroni: I think that a real reason not exist but is important to know where come my interest for avant-garde music. When I was a child I passed much of my time to produce noises with the help of my old Grundig tape recorder on the kitchen table while my mother saw a monster son working on the table with papers, plastic bags, forks and knives, empty bottles because I was fascinated from an Italian radio in the early '70 ties of radio theatre shows. I listened noises of horses, doors, steps, people, cows and animals. I imitated this show and talked without sense about a false theatre opera. Later, after some years I discovered Edgar Varese, Luigi Nono, Luciano Berio, Luigi Russolo, Pierre Henry and also the German electronic kraut cosmic music of Ashra Temple, Tangerine dream, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Popol Vuh, Cosmic Jokers, Klaus Nomi. MP isn't my first band because I've played whit some different bands in prog rock area and also post punk area. My first band was a Genesis cover band. I know it's very strange but I think that I have a prog rock soul again. Psychedelic sound is a consequence of my mind chaos. The Gruppo Folk Urbano Sperimentale Divisionista was my favourite project of my past!


2. Last year your tracks appeared on the together album with polish project OUTOFSIGHT. How do you like the music of OUTOFSIGH and how do you judge releasing of this album? Are you satisfied with the cooperation with War Office Propaganda?

R.C.: Yes it was a chapter of MP path, about WOP… they are corrects and they are producing excellent music come from east Europe that is an important reality. OUTOFSIGH is an excellent band that have ideas and taste.


3. How did you find the cooperation with Albin and his record company Hau Ruck!? Why did you decide to leave Hau Ruck! after releasing the album "Water"?

R.C.: Excuse me really much but, I have nothing to say about HR!


4. What's your impression after Punch Record festival? And how did you like Leipzig? Do you have any plans for next concerts?

R.C.: Leipzig is a comfortable town where seems always Sunday. I love much Leipzig. I will have always beautiful memories about Punch Festival because it was a hot party with much friends. This is the correct tension for a musician. Rare beautiful moments in the life more to have played with many fantastic artists of our scene.




5. Your latest 10 inch vinyl "Psychedelic Breakfast" will be released by Punch Records. Will you tell us a few words about the music we can find there, and about people who helped you with this album?

R.C.: This 10" will be the passport for a new MP music style oriented in another artistic way where will be possible to find some talented friends inside: Mercy Design from Germany, Maya Nadir from Germany also, Roberto Fiorucci our ex bass player from 1988 till 1995 co-author of "Dicer's Oath", Mushy an Italian Industrial revelation, Post-modern and also my friends Lloyd James and Joanne from NAEVUS. Tairy (AIT!) will appear on "Automatic Suicide" the song that you have seen in bella Leipzig. This is the first volume of a long serie of collaborations of different artists that I love much… really much!


6. In my opinion, Tairy from Punch Records took under his wing very diverse, original and specific projects. This way, something like "avant-garde family" has been created, where everyone supports each other. That is a great phenomenon, which allowed to fulfill this stiff post-industrial scene with more freshness, optimism and joy.

R.C.: Sure, don't forget that Tairy is a north Italian guy and he is collocated on the border where is possible to see Europe much better than here in Rome, so he is in a perfect position to organize our Italian style mixed to European style. He is on a special tower where he can observe without disturbance what happen in Europe. He is really intelligent and have collocated around Punch the better delicatessen of our scene. Joy and optimism are also the consequences of his excellent strategy.


7. How and when did you meet Jurgen Weber? Does he help you with recording each of MUSHROOM'S PATIENCE album? Did you take a part in recording the album of NOVY SVET? And maybe you have any other together projects? Are you going to release the next albums with the help of Jurgen and frl. Tost?

R.C.: Now isn't possible to tell that J and U help me because they are the 50% of MUSHROOM'S PATIENCE. Since "Roma Wien", "Spirit of the mountain" + "From the mountain", "Eaten alive" + "Solo tracks" of Klanggalerie till "Water" they are always presents so we can tell today that two members of MUSHROOM'S PATIENCE are the same persons that we know also as NOVY SVET. I would change name without them. I feel that now MP is a perfect reality because after 22 years of activity under this name I have a perfect creative synergy with other components. Our artistic approach in the music is secret. I think that other projects together are possible always under the same star. I've written only one song on Chappaqua "pagota of paranoja". The next our album will be write by Raffaele Cerroni, Juergen Weber, frl. Tost and Clau DEDI like since 2001.




8. You have mentioned you build your own studio record. Could you tell anything more about it? Will you use it just for your own projects, or other bands will also be able to record there their stuff?

R.C.: My studios are in society with another Italian man and it will be a music school, music rooms and recordings room. I put inside my experience as sound engineer for people that love my style.


9. Post industrial and neo folk scene is very strong in Italy, maybe even the strongest in the world, at least I see it that way from my perspective. What is your opinion about the scene that you are important part of? Do you still carefully follow what is going on there, do you listen to young bands? What new from Italy would you recommend?

R.C.: Italian people are always the inventors of different forms of avant-garde. We are the sons of artists like Luigi Russolo and in Italy was born much important artists. We aren't less important of German and French artists of avant-garde but they have advertised better themselves in Europe in the past. Now we have an important role in this scene much more than the past and I'm living this moment with a deep pleasure. It is not my habit to suggest anyone because my ego-system prevent me to do it.


10. Your name is held in great respect on the scene, you are a cultic person, you have been working for 20 years. How do you feel about it? Are you aware of that, how many people respect you? What do you consider as your biggest success during all these years, when you recorded so much music? Is music still your great passion as it was at the beginning?

R.C.: I played the first time in December 1978 in a school arena for 250 persons under the name "Dieter Craf" with my Korg and cable guitar inside an amplifier where my fingers made a shock circuit like a: "meeeeeee" for 1 hour and half. It was my beginning. After 29 years I'm the same person. 22 years of MP never destroyed the same approach in the music. To make troubles, disturbs to drive the listener till an a border line where is possible to love the noise much more than a melody. Music is my life, is my religion, is my spirituality. I don't know what the people are thinking about me because I have to work much around the music. I can tell only that the people are sending me all the love that I have need to continue my job well in a relaxed position. I don't know what I'm. I know that some persons have used me but I'm working for my friends people and unknown artists.




11. You have a record company Atropina Manufactory, where you release very exclusive and limited publications of projects that you are taking part in. Please, tell us why do you release this stuff only in CDr fomat and in very limited edition? You certainly know that many of your fans can't get these albums and copy them from internet. Do you have something against it?

R.C.: Isn't a label but it is an archive where you can find all my productions. I never found a Label interested to produce my other productions because I can tell that this productions are very hard to listen… I'm happy to know that few people have my cdr in limited edition… drive me crazy this… I'm a peer to peer supporter so I'm happy if someone download my music… this is the future… do not pay the music… only concerts.


12. Under the name GRUPPO FOLK URBANO SEPRIMENTALE DIVISIONISTA you have released two great albums. Did anyone else beside you take a part in it? I think it is fabulous, acid, analogue "fin de siecle folk" (my private name for describing this music) in the climate of early NOVY SVET or CIRCUS JOY. Sounds we can rarely find these days. Can we expect any other albums under this name?

R.C.: I'm happy you love GFUSD because was for me one of the best moments of my life. Terrorism in music. I love your definition about the genre… it was post atomic music. Today it's really hard to find music similar because technologies have destroyed the creativity especially for young musicians. In the end of 70 ties and also in the 80 ties we was in a place without modern instruments… only tape recorders, analogic instruments, acoustic instruments. I am 45 years old and also Circus Joy come from the same age… they are old like me. My secret is that today I have the same approach in the music I use modernity only as support for my music. I hope to produce always sound like GFUSD.


13. What about your projects such as ROBOCRAF, DIETHER CRAF or DOMUS CRAF? How do you manage to find the time to create the music for so many names and to do many other things? You have your own record company, you paint pictures. Don't you feel sometimes empty of ideas? Don't you have problems with finding the inspiration?

R.C.: Oh yes, I love to spend all my time for the art. I stay always at home and I hate to lost my free time in different manners. If someone want see me can come at my home with a bottle of wine. I feel the life run fast and I feel to have short time to produce my ideas. I'm also lazy so I need of 4 hours while a normal person use 1 hour. I run across the instruments, canvas every days and I haven't problem to find ideas because my life is based on a constantly research. I haven't got a wife and this is better for me because no one steal my time.


14. Thank you my friend for your time, and for answering my questions. Would you like to add something important, something that I maybe didn't ask you about?

I'm really satisfied of you questions because are really nice and intelligents...



rozmawiał: Tomasz Borowski.



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www.artcraf.it/atrofact.htm