Plateprat med Crizia Giansalvo

Hei!
Om noen spanderer i baren, hva drikker du?
Moscow Mule, but please in a copper bowl!

Om du skulle valgt et pseudonym/artistnavn?
I am lucky to have a unique and cool name, so I’d just go with it: Crizia 😊

Om du ønsker å få folk ut på dansegulvet, hvilken låt spiller du?
Today’s choice is Soul Clap by Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers. A brand-new funky groove explosion you can’t resist to shake yourself to.

Fem favorittalbum?
I will skip the classics (The Stooges self titled album is an all-time favorite), and tell 5 albums I am loving right now:

Peacemaker by Vera Sola

Iechyd Da by Bill Ryder-Jones

Dama Bëgga Ñibi (I Want To Go Home) by Aron & The Jeri Jeri Band

Dead Meat by The Tubs

Musow Danse by Les Amazones d’Afrique

Fem favorittlåter?
Same approach as above:

Charly (Romantic Heart) by J. Mahon

Blue Skies by Finnoguns Wake

Colours & Light by Project Gemini

Muñekita by Kali Uchis, El Alfa & JT

Real Doll Time by VR SEX

Hva har du hørt på de siste dagene?
Since January, I am using the 1001 Generator app. It gives you every day an album to listen and rate from the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. We can argue about the records chose, but it is nice to revisit and discover music. Also, I think it is important to listen to bad music, or what you consider bad music. Especially as an adult, often we’re too proud of knowing what we want and like. Never stop challenging your own prejudices, but sometimes, stick with them (sorry not sorry I gave 1 star to Close To The Edge by Yes). In the last days, I had The Doors, David Ackles, Barry Adamson and Suede.

Besides those, I listened on repeat to Love Can’t Be Borrowed by The Sextones,

Tresilian Bay by Huw Marc Bennett,

the compilation Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story,

the Next Wave Acid Punx series.

Undervurdert plate?
Reflections of a Soul Dimension by Edgar Jones. A northern soul masterpiece released in 2023.

Samler du på plater? Hvorfor?
I don’t consider myself a collector, in the way I don’t go after rare pressing, and stuff like that. But yes, I buy records, mostly vinyl. I started when I was a teenager in love with punk from the late 70s, it felt natural to want the music I loved on the original format, vinyl. A habit that just sticked with me.

Hva er den viktigste forskjellen fra da du begynte å samle på plater og hvordan det er nå?
The price. All the music lovers know vinyl are getting more and more expensive. It is an intricate theme to rant about: look at the general state of economy, how trendy vinyl became in the last years, and how difficult is to press them, etc. We can also extend the conversation on gig tickets, for example. Truth is, we need a new model to make music a suistanaible long term career for musicians and hobby for fans.

Favoritt blant fysiske platebutikker?
Shout out to Lefter Records in Berlin. An impressive collection of Turkish music, and folk music from around the world. First time I visited, I wanted to dig into the Cuban scene and came across an anthology of Lecuona Cuban Boys, the most important big band in Cuba in the 30s/40s. Not only the songs were fantastic (listen to Rumba Tambah),

but I also discovered a tale of music and war. The band was touring Europe when the II World War started, and they had to find a way to escape back to Cuba. There was one last boat sailing to New York, but the tickets were sold out. They made it by boarding as the official band for the trip.

Sist kjøpte plate?
A classic it was missing in my collection: the single Itchycoo Park by Small Faces. Perfect purchase on the first spring-like day of the year in Berlin.

Den beste gitarsoloen som noen gang er spilt inn?
Search and Destroy by The Stooges

Favorittsang på dialekt (ikke din egen dialekt)?
I was born and grew up in Abruzzo, Italy, but half of my family is from Spain and Venezuela. Since in my house we speak Italian and Spanish, I never learned the proper dialect of my region. I’d like to share the song Amara Me from the movie Film d'amore e d'anarchia by Lina Wertmüller. It is a mourning song based on a old chant in the abruzzese dialect, so haunting and beautiful.

Favorittfilm/TV-serie?

I finally watched The Bear, and what a serie and soundtrack! After the scene with Total Control by The Motels, I knew it was something special.

Vinyl, CD, Kassett eller Strømming. Hva foretrekker du?
Since I listen to music mostly via streaming, that would be a honest reply. Then of course vinyl, but if I have to support an artist I love, every format is ok. It happens that indipendent musicians don’t have a vinyl release to sell on tour, at that point a cd or tape is good.

Er du en lyd freak/audiofil?
Not really a freak, but I do appreciate a good sound system. Berlin has a bunch of beautiful jazz cafés inspired by Japan's jazz-kissas. They have audiophile sound systems and play only vinyl. I was recently at Rhinoçéros bar for a listening session of the album Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis, organized by No Room for Squares.

In our daily life, we use music to isolate ourselves from others, having our headphones on while commuting for example. The whole experience of giving attention to a full record, with no distraction, surrounder by strangers, and with that kind of clean and layered sound, is so enchanting. There is always a moment, where every one has their eyes closed, move their feet and heads to the rhythm. Feel that collective bonding via music in a chiller setting, compared to a gig or a club, is very powerful.

Hva spiller du musikk på hjemme?
I have a Pro-Ject Juke Box E record player, red coloured!

En bra spilleliste du vil dele, hvorfor?
The Colectivo Futuro’s Music Worth Sharing is my fave playlist to discover exciting new music.

Musikkbøker som du vil anbefale og hvorfor?
Two recent books that help to imagine the different model for music I mentioned before: ‘’Labels: Making Independent Music’’ by Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward, to understand how to nurture an independent creative process in a extremely polarized music business

and ‘’This Must Be the Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better’’ by Shain Shapiro to be more aware of the duty we have in a community to keep the music scene alive.

En roman som gjorde inntrykk på deg?
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett. A twisted autofictional stream of consciousness, the way she enact books to describe her life reminded me how I let records describe mine.

Hvilken konsertopplevelse kommer du aldri til å glemme?
Church of Misery in Rome because I have absolutely no memories of the concert itself. I am not very into doom metal, but their gig was such a tripping experience. They flew me in another space and time. As soon as the gig was over, I doubted if I truly experience it physically, but what their music made me feel in my mind is still lingering today.

Hvor vil du reise for å oppleve musikk?
Brasil and Nigeria are two dream music destinations of mine!

Har du noen hobbyer eller interesser utenom musikk?
Culture and knowledge are very important to me. Reading, photography, architecture are some of my major interests. In general, I am a lifelong learner and spend a lot of my free time studying new stuff.

Er det en musikksjanger som du gjerne skulle brukt mer tid på?
More than a genre, I wish I spent more time on Italian music growing up. I had a sort of snobism for many years, and really didn’t care about the music from Italy. A few nights ago, me and a Hungarian friend met a Brazilian dj in a bar in Berlin. We had a conversation about how your opinion on music from your country change once you move out of it. You see the way people from other countries perceive it, compare the way you see foreign music scenes, and somehow you must deal with your sonic identity and relation with your roots.

Pretty obvious, but since I moved to Berlin I want to dig into electronic music.

Hvor gammel var du når du «oppdaget» musikken og hva gjorde at du ble hekta?
My mum wrote a short diary page for my first birthday, and she said that my favourite thing to do in the house was playing with the stereo and that I was truly happy when I listened to music. My parents weren’t music lovers as I am, but the radio was always on, everyday. One of the first band I liked were Placebo. The videoclip of Pure Morning made such an impression on me.

Har musikksmaken din endret seg?
My tastes got broader and more varied in terms of music genres, but I would say I still prefer groovy and rhythmic sounds above everything else.

Et musikalsk tiår som du ville reise til om du hadde en tidsmaskin?
The 60s, no doubts.

Er du nostalgisk?
After reading Simon Reynolds ‘ book Retromania, I found out I am more nostalgic than I’d like to admit.

Er det noe du har lyst til å lære deg?
It is about time I learn to play an instrument, I am on the fence about bass or drums.

Den best kledde musikeren?
Janelle Monae is the absolute queen.

Er du introvert eller ekstrovert?
I am at a stage in life where I can be a happy extroverted person.

Mental alder?
My age, 37. It was, and still is, a hard work to let the different versions of myself communicate between them: the child, the teenager, the adult. I don’t wanna deny any of them.

Har du et favorittord?
I love the word zizique, which is a peculiar French slang for music. Boris Vian used it for the title of his essay En avant la zizique... Et par ici les gros sous from 1958, which can be considered the first book against the music industry.

Er det et ord du hater?
Every word my name is mispelled with, eheheh

Favorittmat?
Pasta, pasta and again pasta 😊 A curiosity about my region, Abruzzo. We have a type of pasta called ‘’Chitarrina’’ that means ‘’little guitar’’. It is a long spaghetti-like pasta but smaller in diameter and squared. In the past it was cut with a tool called ‘’Chitarra’’ (guitar), hence the name. Cooked with a lamb tomato salsa is divine!

Favorittsport?
I do strenght training since one year, and it completely changed my life. As a child, I took dance classes and really regret I gave them up. Now I am doing a northern soul dance course online, can’t wait to shuffle and stomp on a dancefloor!

Har du et forhold til religion?
Growing up in Italy, you can’t really escape from religion. My family is not a religious one, but I was baptized and everything. I have this strong memory of being 9, I went to a spiritual retreat organized by the local church for the children who had to do the First Holy Communion. At one point, they gave us a paper brick and we had to write our biggest sin on it. Then we had an individual meeting with the priest to talk about our sin, and put all the bricks together to create a wall. At the end, someone destroyed the wall and everyone celebrated. I remember I felt so angry, because I thought it was unfair to put that shame in children. Or in any human being for being who they are. As soon as I turned 18, I quit the Church and never regretted it.

Om det finnes en gud hva tror du han vil si til deg etter din død?
Die and found out that God exists: it would be such a plot twist, I could just laugh. So, I hope God and I could have a good, loud laugh together.
Hva ville du at han sa?
That God has no clue on the meaning of life too, fully accept incertainity would make after life very exciting. I hope he is angry about that wall of sins too.

Hvilket forhold har du til musikkjournalistikk? Hvor oppdaterer du deg på musikk?
I did a bit of music journalism in the past, and I studied journalism too. I want to mention a tweet by Mat Dryhurst that sums up everything I think about music journalism better that I could: ‘’Losing music journalism is devastating. No archive, no history, no scrutiny, no culture, just atemporal confusion. No past, no future, no progress, just things happening.’’
I keep myself updated on music with magazines (DiscoPogo is an excellent magazine I discovered lately),

media outlets like Quietus, following journalists which tastes and/or approach to music I respect on social media, newsletters, visiting record stores, reading books (don’t call yourself a music lover if you don’t use books to dig into music), connecting with other music lovers, whatever on Instagram or real life. And mostly, having looong nerdy conversations on music with my friends.

Har du noe forhold til Platebransjen?
Yes, I work as a Quality Assurance Manager in music copyright and online licensing. In short, I analyze a crazy amount of numbers to make sure songwriters are accurately paid.

Har du noen personer som har vært viktig for din musikksmak?
All the people I met on SoulSeek back in the days. It may sound a bit controversial, because peertopeer service did a damage for musicians. I used to chat with many users: I don’t remember their names, gender or age, but those strangers opened the world of a young music lover living away from a big city, and with little money, to so much music.
Older music lovers say internet made too easy to access music. I am not denying this of course, but while they dealt with scarcity, I (and people my age) dealt with abbundancy from the beginning. Both need a method to navigate and build your passion. I used to study how soulseek users would arrange their files collection in folders based on genres. I’d randomly download an album and if it said something to me, I’d write to the user who owns it and ask them to suggest another similar record, or more information. Not so different from the stories I heard from older people, just a different medium and waiting time. But, I am happy I start digging into music in a time when it was accesible but still not overwhelming like today. Although I am now the older person maybe, so a younger true lover of music could still find the right method and prove me wrong.

Favorittplateselskap?
Keep your eyes on Maledetta Discoteca, a fresh new label from Rome. Italo Disco, Napoli Sounds, Library, Latin, Proto House are their flavours. Their latest release Bottazzi Is a prog funk gem!

Er det en musiker eller band som har fått altfor lite oppmerksomhet?
It is a never ending list. For anyone who watched Eraserhead by David Lynch, and remember the Radiator Lady singing scene: the song was written and sang by Peter Ivers. It is time the world discover his music, and crazy story.

Har du noe du vil spørre deg selv om?
«How do you feel?» Is a question I ask myself a lot lately.

Hvem burde jeg ha neste plateprat med?
IMustBe Leonardo, songwriter based in Berlin, label owner who release music on postcards. Don’t forget to ask about his time working with Steve Albini!

Crizia sin profil på Spotify