This is the second story that I owe to my friend Lefty. A few weeks ago he suggested that I become FB friends with Martin del Caprio. I checked out his FB face and it looked interesting, so I sent a friend request and was accepted. It was a bit later that I realized that he is a musician, so I listened to his music and really liked what I heard. Since I could find no biography data on the internet, I reached out to him and he was very open and helpful about it. Not only that, but we had long chats over things, and I believe an Internet friendship was born. Will that influence me as far as the appraisal of his music is concerned? Not likely, because I had already listened to all his music before reaching out to him, and I thought it was wonderful. I still do.
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| [photo by Numbphoto] |
By the way, it's so much harder when you prepare a story about an artist who's going to read what you've written. I mean, writing about Liberace is no problem, I don't believe in ghosts. (Although it would be so funny to be haunted by Liberace's ghost over something I wrote.) So, I hope that Martin and his fans show a little kindness and overlook whatever irks them, because it's all done with the best intentions.
One final note before the story begins: everything that you read here are either Martin's own thoughts from his bandcamp page, or part of a short bio that Tracy Mackay so eloquently and gracefully compiled for us. Thanks a lot Tracy! Here and there, there will also be some thoughts of my own.
Martin was born in Venezuela and raised in New York, where he currently lives. Following his increasing need to create, he studied music in New York for two years after high school but dropped out after failing to obtain the skills and techniques he craved. He excelled in theater and vocals, aspects that would progressively underlie his creation.
His evolution as an artist is based on what he calls “street knowledge”, a hands-on personal experience characterized by uniqueness and a somewhat dark voice that Martin has dedicated his life to finding. His work shows a personal conflict between outside forces that point him towards mainstream creation and the need to express something intimate, to be honest no matter what the cost and regardless of what comes out. He defines himself as an underground music artist more than a musician, as his work relies more on ideas and inspiration than technique.
The very first demo that he recorded some years ago was the Doors' People Are Strange:
His first album, In Absentia, recorded and released in 2007, creatively fuses a number of diverse musical influences into a unique artistic statement. This is how he introduces the album:
"This is my personal political record. Politics can be a very complicated subject and to be honest, I am not a good candidate for an in-depth political discussion. But some political situations in the last couple of years have affected me on a personal level."
Indeed, phenomena like xenophobia, racism, and inequality are examined. A standout track in the album is 17, a story about a young man's personal revolution. The video includes a very sweet gay romance.
Old Age, in the words of video-maker Philip Brocklehurst, "is a look on modern society and how we are all so close yet so far away, living our own separate lives, indifferent to the other. The poor and the wealthy are kept apart. The voices of the people call out to be heard by the masses. Artists strive for their creations to be known by the world. The world is falling apart."
Here's the link to the whole album:
Pequeno Pionero (2008), his second album, was quite a departure from his first one. Not only was it sung in Spanish, but its ethos was also Latin, tweeked through Martin's experimentation.
Unfortunately there's only one song from this album available on youtube, but fortunately it's one of the best: Plata Quemada
was loosely based on a book called American Visa written by Juan de Recacoechea. The title though is a nod to the queer classic movie of the same name. The song is about how obsessed we are about money and how much it dictates our everyday lives.
Another song from this album that has a movie-inspired title is Santa Sangre. There are more songs worth dicovering, like the title track, Vampiros, El Tirano and HipocresÃa. You can listen to them online, or, better still, buy the album. Here's the bandcamp link to the album:
In 2010 he released the EP Tropic of Capricorn, which is a particular favorite of mine. Martin was more reserved. He said:
"I'm proud of this EP and I'm happy to know that even if I was at my lowest point in my creative life while recording it, I was able to complete the project nonetheless."
The only track available on youtube (and that, only in part) is Crestfallen:
You can catch the EP in its entirety here. Check out especially the opening track, Let The Right One In, another title inspired by a (Tomas Alfredson) movie. It's a song Greg Lake would have proudly introduced to the ELP repertoire in their heyday.
Martin was graceful enough to answer a couple of questions for us, and his answers were both enlightening and intelligent:
Q.: Which are the acts that you admire and/or have influenced your work?
A.: I admire singers like Diamanda Galas who I feel not only challenges you as a listener but is genuine in her art. I also love and admire Cuban singer La Lupe. I absolutely love the music and voice of Scott Walker!
I dig the music of Serge Gainsbourg, Willie Colon, Neneh Cherry, Grace Jones, the Doors, Depeche Mode, Tom Petty, Esthero, Carmen Consoli, Santa Sabina, Bebe, Martires Del Compas, Sneaker Pimps, Me'shell NdegeOcello, Mecano, Garbage, Nikka Costa, Girls Against Boys, Bjork, Iggy Pop, PJ Harvey, Manu Chao, Enrique Bunbury, Yoko Ono, and Nine Inch Nails to name a few.
I'm influenced by artists like Lou Reed, Recoil, Mercury Rev, Charly Garcia, Mirwais, Death In Vegas, Gaby Kerpel and Tom Vek.
The second question involved gay sexual politics.
Q.: Where do you stand between living freely and outside the system as a gay person (the romantic sexual outlaw notion) vs being recognized in society legitimately, and leading a life that's as close to the straight model as possible (monogamy, raising a family, etc).
A.: On a personal level, I'm not really a relationship person. I'm not opposed to having one someday but I don't actively look for it. I enjoy my freedom and such. But on the flip side of things, I think for those who invested a lot of themselves in long term relationships should be recognized by the law just like the heteros are. It's a question of civil rights. If you want to legally adopt children and make them officially a part of your family within' a same sex marriage, then you should have that right. Religion, people's biased attitudes notwithstanding. Just like in the hetero community, we got all types of gays with different agendas in life. Sometimes I feel we're missing the bigger picture by comparing ourselves constantly and that is equality for all. Someday if I decide to marry someone and have kids, I'd like to know that I'll have that option and that it'll be recognized by the law.
I will editorialize here and say that I really liked his answer. We don't all have to be clones of each other. Diversity in thought and way of life only enriches us. And Democracy means fighting for the other person's civil rights, even if they are of no use to us personally.
His next album, X (2011) is a “decadent, sexual love record”, the obscure expression of his subconscious. It marks the beginning of his career as an experimental visual artist. His videography work has led him to participate in several international festivals since 2016, granting him awards and places as a finalist in more than one.
Anon, an elegant tribute to 80s Pop, opens the album in style:
The second song is Afterglow, a song that carries a Joy Division essence, albeit slightly less pessimistic (or is it?):
"no pitch no vision
where has it all gone to now!?
the way the way it felt
it's the way the way it was
no concept in this life of yours
there's no Afterglow...."
Blow Job (featuring Black Sifichi), another great song, comes with a VERY sexy video:
Yet another title that reminds us of a great movie: Murmur of the Heart by Louis Malle. This video is dedicated to our lesbian sisters:
Dream Boy shares its title with another gay movie classic, the one by James Bolton:
I don't think that I need to tell you what the title Suddenly, Last Summer refers to. Interestingly, Martin uses film auteur Michelangelo Antonioni's words to preface the song:
"The films I like best are those in which the images convey a sense of reality without losing their force of persuasion. Films that are made without affectation, without indulging in romantic extravagance or intellectual excess, films that look at things exactly as they are: not backward or forward, or from the side, but face-to-face."
To listen to the whole album, go here:
His next album, Godard (2013), is dedicated to one of cinema's greatest, Jean-Luc Godard. His photo adorns the album's cover and this quote of his is found on the album's bandcamp page:
"Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self"
As Martin says, "this is a sort of soundtrack album I've recorded with music producer Jamie Muffett in the first half of 2013. It's my 2nd full-on collaboration with him. You could say it's an album that was created on the spur of the moment, which is why I decided to call it Godard. I feel it captures the fragmented left field ideas that he incorporated so much in his film work."
The album opens with a tribute to Yukio Mishima's 1969 novel, Spring Snow:
"His conviction of having no purpose in life other than to act as a distillation of poison was part of the ego of an eighteen-year-old. He had resolved that his beautiful white hands would never be soiled or calloused. He wanted to be like a pennant, dependent on each gusting wind. The only thing that seemed valid to him was to live for the emotions--gratuitous and unstable, dying only to quicken again, dwindling and flaring without direction or purpose." (Excerpt from Mishima's Spring Snow.)
For the album's second song, Rache, Martin quotes Friedrich Nietzsche:
"I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses."
This album's soundscapes have elements of Krautrock, Brian Eno, Hal Willner, and Barry Adamson.
Year Zero comes on as a love song distilled through a nightmare:
Lies in Your Eyes reminds me of Robert Wyatt:
Martin prefaces Politician with this phrase from Andy Warhol:
"My fascination with letting images repeat and repeat - or in film's case 'run on' - manifests my belief that we spend much of our lives seeing without observing."
The album closes with Last Idol, an atmospheric masterpiece of conflicting moods:
Then Martin shifts gears to produce the retrospective Lost Illusions (2014), responding to the need to show the audience his evolution and provide guidance on his work. Adam is a new track:
"He, he was made from dust
And you, you crawl on your belly
To find him
To find you..."
... So is Piano:
"Dust clings to you now
will the keys sound flat when they're touched
what does it matter
why bother my bitter dreamer
let imagination take over
without touching the piano
the piano..."
Martin’s desire to bend the rules and explore reaches a peak in Notes from the Underground (2015), an abstract, electronic experimental album he recorded completely on his own, unlike his previous work where he always collaborated with a producer. In it, he was able to let go of the sound structure and melodies to just “go with the flow”.
Origami is found in this album. In Martin's words: "Origami is basically a spontaneous fold of sounds with the impulse of being able to soar in the sky and not be afraid to crash on the ground below as the aftereffect. It's an organic expression of our own sensibilities."
Andy Sowerby (Video Artist) says: "The video aims to capture a raw, organic, tactile energy by scratching and painting directly onto found super 8mm celluloid film. I wanted the film to feel like it’s barely holding itself together and the whole thing could collapse at any moment. The film spontaneously flickers and burns, until it loses stability entirely and begins to break apart."
There's another remarkable track on this album called Baton Rouge. Martin's friend, a very talented young film-maker named Philip Brocklehurst, has made a number of short films. Martin liked them a lot for their unique style and artistic nature, and felt that Philip was ideal for making a music video for Baton Rouge. The song's disquieting and elusive nature fitted like a glove with Philip's imaginative oeuvre.
As Philip says: "It started out as a music video but the story and narrative grew into something bigger. During the filming and the editing, it became a very surreal and very artistic epic music video with a heart and a soul. It's a music video like no other. Martin and myself both fell in love with this bold and creative new and unique style for a music video that goes beyond the conventional box and the standard norm, and becomes wholly original with its own diverse identity. It's a one of a kind music video that tells a personal story and uses the music at a crucial point to carry across the meaning and purpose."
Indeed the video uses silence, music and imagery to become haunting, beautiful and unforgettable. Enjoy it, unless you're underage or averse to the male figure in the nude... In which case, I don't think you would be reading this, so go on and enjoy Martin's and Philip's work:
You can listen to the whole album here:
Martin is currently working on an experimental film named The Antitheater of Ten. He did release a song in 2017, a beautiful one called The Motel Room Song. In his words: "This is a song from a lost record recorded some years ago. Not really sure why I never properly released it before. Perhaps the song comes off as a bit too sentimental and would make anyone feel quite vulnerable upon listening to it, but it comes from an honest place." Martin, we actually love sentimental!!!
Martin's artistic journey goes on. He will continue experimenting with sound and visuals, taking us on a journey to places still unexplored. I, for one, am willing to follow him on this journey.
Thank you. ^-^
ReplyDeleteI was happy and proud to do it, dear Martin! :)
DeleteExcellent work for MdC and Y/J!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot my friend! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!!!
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