Different influences brought upon such band members has created a styling to LE IENE's liking. Some would say it as ska-punk while others say is a mix of this and that. With that said, an EP and album was released with a follow-up piece of a single track out this past summer time. The band talks of this content and much else below.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Le IENE was born in 2015 amidst the meanders of Ferrara's fog, from the meeting of four bold young men, each with their own musical experiences and projects behind them: Mastro on guitar, Eugi on bass, Giù on sax and Med on drums. The decision to compose all together in the living room allows the band to develop its own sound, the result of different musical influences, ranging from Punk to Metal, from Funk to Ska, up to Reggae and sounds typical of the Latin American and Balkan musical tradition. In 2017 the first EP "Fai la tua mossa" was produced, allowing IENE to broaden their horizons towards a European dimension, with the first concerts outside the Italian borders. In 2019, the pack expands with the entry of Vare on trumpet and together with Giù goes to make up the band's wind section. The album 'Immaginazione' is released, where the songs maintain the influences and sounds developed in the first EP, but moving towards a decidedly more aggressive style. The Immaginazione tour sees Le IENE play in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, passing through cities such as Milan, Munich and Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. The damned COVID-19 determines a setback in the path taken up to that point by the five beasts, without however preventing them from continuing to play and work on the composition of their next songs, anticipated by the release of the track 'Dolce Libertà' in August 2022.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
With the choice of the name 'Le IENE' (Italian for 'The Hyenas') we wanted to accentuate the meaning related to the concept of 'herd', a dimension where each component is an integral part, where the whole is never the simple sum of the parts, but at the same time each part is essential for the composition of the whole. As components, in fact, we consider ourselves to be five people who are characteristically very different from each other: getting along is often not easy, but everyone can always count on the certainty of not being excluded or left alone, precisely because the herd will always be there, even during the ups and downs of each one. The choice of the animal, the hyena, is due to its goliardic aspect connected to the famous laugh: essentially because we are nothing but five assholes. Moreover, the herds of this animal, which are generally numerous, remind us of all the loved ones we have met along the roads we have travelled in the van, people who are far away but whose affection we retain and who have become part of our great loving asshole herd.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
The headquarters of the band, or as we prefer to call our Tortuga, is located in Ferrara, a foggy city in the north-east of Italy. The city boasts a discrete underground music scene, relating to various musical genres: historical groups such as 'Strike' as regards Ska, or 'Game Over' as regards Heavy Metal, have achieved excellent results and goals throughout their history, playing in Italy and abroad on decidedly enviable stages. In addition to this, there is also a considerable buzz from the young and very young, with an appreciable number of solo artists and bands always willing to bring music and light-heartedness to the city, providing magnificent evenings. While we regret past years when the opportunities to experience live music were far greater, we still cannot complain.
4. How would you describe your style?
Certainly, if we were to label ourselves, our style would still remain in the Ska-Punk vein, but in the composition of our pieces we always feel that we must bring together the different influences and personal tastes of which each member is the bearer, in the light of their different personal histories and previous experiences: from those who have played in heavy metal bands, to others who have had direct contact with musical traditions outside the continent, to those who have had no direct musical experience but have had their musical influences through dancing and performing; everyone tries to bring their own contribution to the creation of a Ska-Punk style that is however original and bears the "IENE" signature.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
In 2017, the original four-member line-up gave birth to the first EP 'Fai la tua mossa', which allowed IENE to broaden their horizons towards a European dimension, with their first concerts outside the Italian borders. In 2019, the album 'Immaginazione' is released, where the tracks maintain the influences and sounds developed in the first EP, but moving towards a decidedly more aggressive style. The damned COVID-19 determines a setback in the path taken up to then by the five beasts, without however preventing them from continuing to play and work on the composition of the next tracks, anticipated by the release of the track "Dolce Libertà" in August 2022; from the works in the pipeline that are being released, one can see the band's desire to further develop the sounds modelled to date, with tracks that are markedly heterogeneous from one another.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
We are working on a second single that we would like to release with the new year, followed by an ep/album for spring 2023 to be promoted during next year's summer festivals.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We've been working since 2018 with Elisa from Kob Records for the concerts issue both in Italy and abroad (Germany, Switzerland, Austria etc.) and for now we have a few concerts until the end of the year and we're already getting ready for spring and summer 2023. For possible booking: kobrecords@yahoo.it.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
As we have repeated in other replies, the COVID-19 setback was a resounding slap in the face for everyone, which also forced everyone to reschedule individual commitments and life plans. The uncertainty that has characterized the world of music for the past two years has forced each of us to be unable to afford to continue on the highly structured path that we had set ourselves as a band. We are therefore going back to playing because we can't be without it, but as of today we do so without pretense: we simply aim to live each stage giving our all and hoping to be appreciated by as many people as possible who have the chance and desire to see and hear us.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
All our tracks are available on Spotify and YouTube (on the latter you can also see our official videos of the singles we have released over the years), we also have Facebook and Instagram pages to get to know us better as a band and follow our adventures. Also via Facebook and Instagram, where you will find a shop section where we present the merchandise available, you will be able to contact us and we will reply directly to you if you are interested in the material (albums, EPs, vinyls, t-shirts, various merchandise...), with the possibility of having it sent directly to your home. For any curiosity about the band we invite you to consult this link https://linktr.ee/LE_IENE.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
We would like you to feel involved and represented in some way, partly by the words of the lyrics (which is not always possible as we sing in Italian and play a lot abroad) and partly by the sounds of the riffs and songs. We would also like a listener to remember how cool the trumpet player is.
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