Florence turns paisley as local music heroes Go!Zilla take to the stage tomorrow evening at Glue Alternative Concept Space, with an opening set from rock marauders Dust & The Dukes. After years of touring, they are finally presenting their latest release “Modern Jungle’s Prisoners” in their hometown and local expectations are high. The Florentine had a chance to speak with frontman Luca Landi.
Michelle Davis: Tell us about your latest release for French label Teenage Menopause RDS, Modern Jungle’s Prisoners.
Luca Landi: The album is a sort of concept about the mind-prison imposed by modernity that we tried to represent as an urban jungle. We added synths, percussions and a bass line to most of the tracks in order to recreate a tribal-psych mood. While vocal lines and lyrics are more melodic and intimist than the past, fuzz guitars are ever-present! This is our third studio album and we’re really happy to release it with the help of our French friends and label managers at Teenage Menopause Records.
MD: Over the past few years you have toured extensively across Europe and the United States, playing at important festivals such as SXSW, Levitation France and Primavera Sound Festival. How has this influenced your music and your relationship as a band? How does it feel to be back in your hometown of Florence?
LL: First off, touring and playing around the world as well as meeting great bands is our main source of inspiration. We felt like we needed a rest after performing around 100 shows per year since 2015 with our last album Sinking in Your Sea. We were starting to “wither”! We’re just back from the first European tour with the new album and we feel reborn, also because the audience’s reaction to the new show has been great.
MD: The cover image of your album is by German photographer and member of Magnum photos Thomas Hoepker, especially renowned for one of the most controversial and iconic 9/11 photos ever to be captured. How did this collaboration come into being and why did you choose this specific image?
LL: We were looking for a picture that could represent an “urban jungle” and Federico (our bass player) discovered this amazing snapshot from the ’80s by Hoepker so we got in touch with his office and they granted us the right to use it. The fact that he was the author of such important and beautiful shots motivated us even more when it came to choosing our cover image. We’re really proud of it! The illustrations on the back are authored by Elzo Durt, who previously collaborated with us on our 2016 7’’picture disc release Gambling With The Crocodile.
MD: Would you say that the sense of being prisoners in a modern jungle can apply to Florence’s Renaissance build and overall city vibe?
LL: Actually, we had more of a “mental” jungle in mind during the writing process, but of course the city you live in conditions your way of thinking, so in a certain sense we’d say yes!
Go!Zilla at Glue
10pm-2am Saturday, October 20
Viale Manfredo Fanti 20, Florence
Free entrance with Glue/US Affrico membership card (info here)
