Influences: Christopher Ledger

Ad Reinhardt was a painter, part of the Abstract Expressionism movement that took place in New York around the 40’s. My favorite works of his are the Black Paintings, in which Reinhardt rewards the viewer who takes the time and patience to stare deeply into the paintings. The longer the viewer stares, the more they discover different colors emerging from the canvas, finding hidden treasures within. I find this a great analogy to my approach when I’m creating both music or paintings.

This track with the album ‘Untrue’, ‘Kid A’ from Radiohead and the ‘The Disintegration Loops’ from William Basinski are the records that I attempted to visually represent on multiple occasions in my art studio before naturally arriving to the point of simultaneously creating my music and paintings. These records helped me expose my deepest emotions and get further in touch with my inner self. In my opinion, this is a feeling that everyone who wishes to represent something visually must sense.

This was the first record (along with Concept 1 (Richie Hawtin) – 96:01) that opened my mind to see electronic music as an amazing form of art. While these records may be minimalistic, they are far from simple. I still remember asking myself as a teenager: ‘how can you make a track like this, with very few elements, and still be able to have a flawless listening experience?!’. I was mesmerized. It made me realize with a bit of time that the more minimalistic you get, the more you have to master your knowledge towards the medium you are using in order to achieve an impeccable result.

I think Debussy is a reference for everyone involved in piano studies. ‘Fur Alina’ is a deceptively simple track in the same sense as a Reinhardt painting. It is so minimalistic yet so emotional. Any person with little piano experience could easily attempt to play the few notes on the sheet, however only an accomplished pianist with a good ear can produce the harmonic balance and symmetry that the composition requires in achieving the purity of sound this piece of art is meant to have. I find this one of the best representations of what the words minimalism and art stand for.

I’ve always drawn since a young age and Hip hop and J Dilla in particular were the influences which led me to hold my first spray can. I originally come from a province of Rome where there wasn’t (and still isn’t) much to do. Hip Hop culture was kind of strong in the city when I was a teenager and it was the only form of expression you could get familiar with..so it was obvious, for a creative person like me, to get into the graffiti world. This activity and enthusiasm naturally evolved into an rising interest towards a more conceptual form of art which I’m deeply involved in nowadays.