Vampire Pop Strategy are an electronic/poprock duo formed in 2006 in Bologna, Italy. The two members are brothers Francesco and Marco Leoci, they started this project after some experience in an alternative rock band, having had used some visual arts and sound design to get to where they are today. They both took sometime to discuss with me the band's background and future plans since the release of their latest album.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Francesco: Vampire Pop Strategy are the two brothers Francesco and Marco Leoci.
In 2006 we started working on this project, giving a cut to our past experiences... we just wanted
to write our ideal music.
2. Why did you want this to be a duo type of band?
Francesco: We want to pursue our idea of song, play with other people would lead to make
compromises with other ideas and attitudes, but we want to maintain consistency in things
and are not willing to adapt to something else.
Marco: Using synthesizers and various electronic devices helps us to do all by ourselves.
3. How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Francesco: We could describe our music as synthetic pills of art pop.
Marco: We listen to a lot of old music, sometimes there are things that surprise us as they were more adventurous than many current productions. In particular we love David Bowie, Jacno, Suicide, Fun Boy Three, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, Gerald Donald, Serge Gainsbourg, Velvet Underground, The Stranglers, Happy Mondays, The Fall... We are also influenced by various writers and visual artists such as J.G. Ballard, W.S.Burroughs, Daido Moriyama, Andy Warhol.
4. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Francesco: When we started we wanted to create something that had an Andy Warhol-esque feeling,
a pop culture vampire...
5. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)Francesco: Our songs are about various things, all resulting from the contemporary environment.
Usually I don't write stories, I don't follow a narrative structure, a song for me It's not a novel.
I prefer to describe situations, journeys, feelings, social phenomena through an informal structure
as happens for example in dreams ... techniques such as cut-up and surrealist poetry influenced my
writing process.
6. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Francesco: Usually I write chords and lyrics closed alone in a small room, then start working with
Marco on the form to give to the song and recording the parts of the various instruments.
7. Was your songwriting and recording process any different than usual for this CD?
Marco: The process is the same as described before, the difference with previous releases is that in
"Windows Of Suburbia" there is a greater use of synthesizers in the arrangements.
8. What inspired the album title? Is it a concept album?
Francesco: Probably it may be thought it's a concept album, but it is not.
The title refers to a period in the past when we lived together in a house located in a suburban area...
In the air you breathed a sort of urban isolation, but that was at the same time fascinating, an aseptic
social place, without cultural history.
9. What are your expectations for the CD?
Francesco: We don't expect a popular feedback, we just hope to get in touch with people close to our ideas.
10. What are your upcoming tour plans?
Marco: We finished working in the studio only recently and if we had immediately started playing gigs we
would have to show something too similar to the past... we are instead trying to improve some aspects and
resume to play live this summer.
11. What plans do you have for the near future as a band?Marco: We are planning the second video for the new album.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Francesco: On Bandcamp you can find our complete discography.
13. What made you guys decide to form a band?
Francesco: We are brothers playing together since kids, so it is not a decision, it is a natural process.
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