There’s not another band in the world that really sounds like Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. Within their general ‘sound’ there’s an overt eeriness that’s manifested that causes them to stand out and it helps set them apart from peers and contemporaries. Songwriter and frontman Kevin Starrs has developed a keen knack for harnessing those perturbing elements and injects them into the band’s compositions to effectively conjure unsettling feelings of trepidation and disconcertion as the music plays through. Creatively, they can be relied upon to deliver premium, first-rate material that tells complex stories, both lyrically and musically.
An Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats album plays like a sonic movie. Their newest album, Nell’ Ora Blu is probably the best example yet of how cinematic their music can really be. Largely instrumental, the music generates an intriguing atmosphere, often tense and mysterious, replete with suspense, uncertainty, and anxious anticipation. Because the story is acted out completely in Italian, the ambiance of both the story and album relies primarily on the music.
Nell’ Ora Blu, essentially translated to In the Blue Hour, is a story of corruption, conspiracy, retribution, heavy violence, and reckoning with a hint of betrayal added for good measure. In order to properly convey the vast array of desired emotions and movements, the music obviously needs to touch on areas never before explored by the band, stylistically speaking. Set next to any other release in the band’s discography, Nell’ Ora Blu is the most intricate and ambitious body of work Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats have ever attempted.
There’s an experience to be had with Nell’ Ora Blu that begins by listening through the album in one full take. Once it’s played through, read Kevin’s own complete telling of the story and then listen to the album all over again. It takes on a new life and you can take it in with a new understanding of the album and its overall experience.
Taking on the task of writing and recording faux soundtracks and scores to hypothesized film concepts is one thing. But Nell’ Ora Blue is not that. Kevin Starrs took the time to write and arrange a full story that’s acted out with marquee names from ‘70s Italian cinema. Most bands or artists might get lost trying to swing for the fences undertaking a project like this. For Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, it’s really simply taking that proverbial next new step forward.
It’s good to be talking with you again. The last time we spoke, we were talking about ‘Wasteland’, so it’s been a little while.
Yeah.
Tell me how things are, what’s gone on in your world.
A lot of the time it’s been busy. We did a lot of touring off the back of that up to the very last moment that we could, you know, before the pandemic happened. We almost got sort of trapped in Japan but we managed to get the final flight out of there to get home. So, we were lucky, really.
Ok, so you get back home and ride the pandemic out. When did you manage to get busy again creatively?
Kind of half way through 2020, I suppose. We actually had some tours booked in the US, Canada, and Europe, but it all just kept getting pushed back until it became clear that they weren’t going to happen. So, we had to cancel everything. At that point I thought that I should maybe just start working on new material. You know, I just got on with it, really.
When you made the decision to begin working on something new, was it a matter of just throwing ideas around and seeing what concepts might turn into something or did you have a preconceived notion about what you were going to do that obviously, ultimately, turned out to be this new project that you’re on now?
Yeah, I kind of thought about doing more of a soundtrack album or an instrumental album. Something a little bit different. But it just totally spiraled into something else until it became what it became. The initial plan wasn’t to do it like this but it just sort of turned out this way.
What was the initial plan like then?
Well, it was just sort of like an instrumental kind of soundtrack album. Shorter pieces and really just a more traditional soundtrack. I recorded some ideas for it but it was like, “This just doesn’t work without a story and having visuals for people to relate to.” It’s just not really that interesting, having an instrumental album. I worked on a story for it and then I thought, “Well, it’d be good if you could get some dialog, actually, to get people to visualize what’s happening.” So, then I found some actors, wrote a script, and decided to do it in Italian.
This was pretty ambitious anyway, but then to approach it in Italian…
Yeah.
There are already plenty of soundtracks and film scores and instrumental albums. This project is different.
You know, I’ve seen people describe this as a soundtrack of a movie that doesn’t exist but that’s not really what it is because the thing does exist. It’s not a movie but the scenes are there. They’re just in audio form rather than visual. It’s music that’s set to a story that’s been acted out by these actors.
When you were doing this and decided that you were going to take this direction, did you have actors in mind? Or did you even think it was going to get so far that you actually could reach out to famed actors with established names to become involved with this?
I thought I may as well. Actually, there was one person I reached out to and I thought, “This could be really interesting,” but they never got back to me. It wasn’t really a big name but it was somebody that I thought could be interesting. Then I just thought, “Fuck it. Who do I really want?” Franco Nero was at the top of the list. Obviously Edwige Fenech was at the top. I just went for them and amazingly they said “Yes.” Once they became involved it became easier to get other actors to join up.
When they became involved did you feel more pressure to come up with a really good idea and concept?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I had to change the dialog. I had to make sure that it was really good because obviously their careers are on the line and they’re legendary actors. They don’t want to be involved in some garbage or anything. But once I sent them the script and they read it, they were happy to do it. They loved it. Franco said to me, “I like the fact that I’ve never done something like this before, so it’s something new for me.” He appreciated that.
When you got the actors on board, did you already have the full story in mind or did you reach out to them while it was still taking its shape? How far had it developed at that point?
I had it pretty much written out. The dialog was pretty much done. Then as I worked on it, I came up with some additional scenes so I brought in extra actors. The story developed a little as we were working on all of that. But obviously after I’d recorded certain actors, I couldn’t really add anything else. But the story did progress a little bit.
You made the decision to do this in Italian. What drove that idea? Certainly people who are familiar with the genres will understand the logic there but maybe not so much the typical person.
It’ll be hard for a person who’s not into the cinema or these films to really grasp it and understand why it was done the way it was. For me, it just made sense that it was authentic as possible to those films. But it just sounds better to me having it done in Italian rather than English or German or anything else. It’s a sort of poetic sounding language that they have. And it also adds to the mystery because if you can’t understand Italian then you’re not really going to understand what’s happening and you got to try and figure things out for yourself.
As far as Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats’ music is concerned, you guys have a very cinematic ‘sound’ to begin with. So, producing a record like ‘Nell’ Ora Blu’ is right in line with what you’ve given us with ‘Wasteland’ and definitely ‘The Night Creeper’ before that. So, this album works as that proverbial “next logical step”, as people say. Has creating an album in such a way ever crossed your mind in the past?
Well, I’ve always wanted to do a soundtrack to a real movie. But I don’t operate in that world, and I don’t know anybody that’s in that sort’ve field, so nobody is going to ever approach me, so I just thought, “Well, fuck it! I’ll write my own script. Do my own little thing or movie or whatever.” Then it all just kind of snowballed, really.
A film’s music can make or break the whole project if it fails to achieve some sort of atmosphere for the length of such a complex story.
Yeah, it really can.
So, you’re essentially creating the story as you go. Did you feel any pressure to convey necessary things, certain feelings throughout the full body of the work?
I wanted to make sure that everything was covered, really. In the end I ended up with something like three hours’ worth of music. I had to really edit it down. Even as it is, it’s still quite a long album. But, I had to tell the story that was there. The other thing was that I wanted to have it not just one style of music. It would’ve been easy to just go in and make a whole synthesizer album. You use a little synth, drum machines, acoustic guitars, saxophones, all kinds of different things. And different styles as well. That makes it more interesting to me.
With all of these things you’re doing, using different instruments, you’re literally telling your story as it goes, obviously. Did you find yourself having any concerns about being able to create something so effective with such intricacies in a story like this?
No, I just thought that if it doesn’t work, then I won’t release it really. Luckily it all just seemed to fall into place. There was so much music recorded. I think some of it is really good that I wish was on the album but you can only put so much music out there before it gets to be too much.
It’s been said that you used certain instruments on this album that brought you out of your comfort zone. Was that something that you chose to do or was it essentially prompted by circumstances forcing you into that position?
Yeah, I suppose it was a bit of both. I’ve always wanted to really push myself. But the fact that we were in a lockdown and we couldn’t travel and record together, then I had to sort of really take up a lot of other instruments as well. You know, stuff like playing keyboards. I’m not a very good keyboard player. I don’t understand it in the same way as I understand the guitar. It doesn’t come naturally to me, so I would just hit “Record” and start playing. Whatever happened, happened, you know. If I made a mistake, I’d just stop and record over it. It was quite a long process. I think in some ways it works because the playing is somewhat more unconventional. Like, if there’s been an actual pianist involved it’d have been totally different.
But I really dig the idea of it being more unconventional, you know.
Yeah.
It causes it to sound more unconventional in the end.
Oh, Yeah. Absolutely.
So, after this experience of playing some instruments that you weren’t so familiar with, have you found yourself paying more attention to some of them, trying to gain a new understanding of them, maybe?
Yeah, with the keyboards, I’ve really started playing them a lot. I’m really practicing. Especially as the recording was going because I wanted to make sure that they were as good as I could get them. Then I went and bought a bunch of analog synths for the album. After I bought them I thought, “Well, I guess I should probably figure out how to use them.” But yeah, I did do a bit of extra practicing on them.
Obviously there are people in the band who actually play some of these instruments, but do you think you might find yourself putting your own touch on things as you move forward in the future?
Yeah, possibly. Not in a live situation. I don’t think that I would become that comfortable playing it live but on my own in a studio I’m fine with it.
When you were embroiled in this project and all of these things were becoming layered on top of one another, the concept, the story, the music, the dialog, the feel and atmosphere, was there ever a time when you felt like you might’ve gotten in a little over your head here? Maybe like it was becoming too much to deal with?
You know, it’s weird. Not really. I was so into it for so long that it just became my reality for a couple of years. I just felt like I was in 1970s Italy, living in it for a few years. Kind of obsessed, not really paying any attention to anything else. In my own world, on another planet, really.
I know that this has a linear flow but were there pieces that were created that wound up being left out for one reason or another than could possibly surface in the future? Maybe something that you’ll try to develop into something else?
Maybe we can release something on a 7” or something. Maybe an EP or something. I’m not sure. But yeah, there were a couple of really good tracks that we didn’t get to use. And it would be a shame to not let people hear them, so maybe at some point we can release those.
When did you finally finish this thing up from beginning to final mix? How long did it take you to finally bring results from all of the work into fruition?
It took a couple of years. A lot of it was trying to get a hold of the actors. You send an email out to an agent and they might not get back with you for six weeks. That just kept dragging on. Some actors didn’t have agents so a lot of time was spent trying to contact people. Luckily I got some help from a friend of mine in Italy. He helped me get contacts for certain actors. Then the mix took a long time because there was just so much stuff going on in it. It’s not just instruments. There are sound effects, then trying to get the dialog filtered in a certain way to where it sounds like they’re on the telephone, all kinds of little things like that. Everything got finished last September I believe, then we got it mastered at the end of October or November or something. Then all of the pressing plants were really slow. There’s hardly any pressing plants left, so it all just drags out.
I’m sure it was probably a mixed bag of feelings for you, taking on a project that found you reaching out to agents, managers, and anybody else about casting this thing. You’re stuck waiting on responses which can take a while to get. Then you’re essentially directing the participating actors. You’ve obviously never had to deal with factors like that before.
Yeah, it was interesting to see into that world for a little while. There were some crazy characters to deal with.
Do you see yourself maybe doing something along these lines again in the future? Obviously you’re not going to want to repeat yourself, but did this experience maybe open a few doors for you with something different in some new and creative way?
Yeah, maybe years into the future we can do something like this sort of thing again. But nothing in the immediate future or anything.
There was a quote you made in a press release that I really like where Nell’ Ora Blu’s listenability is concerned. You stated that “It’s hard work for the listener. We don’t do easy listening!” Would you expound on that a little bit?
Well, I think all of our music is quite difficult to listen to. A lot of it is lo-fi, a lot of it’s distorted, just not easy to listen to. And this isn’t easy for other reasons because it is so long and so challenging and it’s in another language. There are all kinds of things going on, so it makes it difficult for people. And I totally understand that a lot of people are going to struggle. A lot of people won’t like it because they’re not going to want to spend the time with it. And that’s fine.
I read that you’re probably not going to do any real touring for this album. Maybe organize a handful of live engagements but nothing major at all.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s going to be the demand for us to go play 50 cities or anything. It’s just not that kind of album. We’ll probably just do a few shows in Europe, really. Maybe like six or seven shows and that will be it. We’ll play the album all the way through. It’ll be in seated venues in small theaters. There’ll be some visuals and some other things involved. I think it keeps it unique, you know. Doing a small set of dates rather than a full tour will make it more of an event.
I’m guessing that we won’t be seeing you guys over here for at least a couple of years then. Right?
I don’t think so. Not unless we can do one or two shows in the US. I’m not even sure if that would be possible.
As cool as it would be to see, it’s understandable that you probably won’t make it back over here for a while. It’d be great to see you guys. And it’s been great talking with you again, also. I know you don’t necessarily prefer to do too many interviews, so I really appreciate the time you took here. Thank you, and I hope for great luck for you with Nell’ Ora Blu.
No problem, man. Thank you.
Always! So until next time, be well. Have a great day!
Thanks! You as well.
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS ONLINE: OFFICIAL / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM
NELL’ ORA BLU – Kevin Starrs
“Vengeance comes calling, when the law is not enough.”
Set in 1970s Italy. Franco Nero plays Giovanni Scarano, an untouchable and corrupt official who has destroyed his local community during years of power. His place in high office has seen him shut down factories, allowing his small town to decay into squalor with high crime rates and mass unemployment. He encourages police brutality. He steals from public resources and preys on the poor and weak. His ties to a compliant press, corrupt police force and criminal gangs, ensure that he never faces justice.
After the opening credits, we come in on the album with factory worker Claudio Marchetti (Giovanni Lombaro Radice) playing a secretly recorded tape to foreman Roberto Valente (Luc Merenda). On the tape we hear Scarano making outrageous statements about the town’s poor folk. For Valente this is the final straw. With their factory next to be shut down, he decides the only way for change and to finally stop Scarano is by killing him. Marchetti discourages his old friend from doing it himself, instead suggesting they get his psychotic brother Alessandro (Massimo Vanni) to carry out the murder.
Marchetti calls his brother and sets out an elaborate plan to take down Scarano. Alessandro agrees to the hit and immediately begins a campaign of harassment. He calls the Scarano family home, reaching his wife who is enjoying a lavish party while her husband is away. Further cold calls over the next few days at his home and his office drive Scarano mad with rage and paranoia. Alessandro steps up the pressure with aggressive stalking as well as taking compromising photos of Scarano with infamous Rome nightclub hostess Lucrezia (Edwige Fenech).
On the night of the killing, Alessandro is out in the countryside digging a shallow grave in quiet anticipation. He moves his car off road to remain unseen. Back in the city, Marchetti has followed Scarano to seedy nightclub, The Dead Cat, where Lucrezia is head hostess. He uses the phone behind the bar to call Valente and inform him of Scarano’s location. He hangs up as the house band of ‘deadbeats’ begins playing onstage. As they’re being booed off by a rowdy crowd, Valente calls the club and asks for Scarano. Lucrezia answers and waves Scarano over. While he’s on the phone, Marchetti places an envelope on Scarano’s table with instructions.
On the call, Valente poses as an anonymous businessman and tells Scarano that the cold calls are being made by a mutual ‘enemy’. Valente says this enemy will blackmail Scarano and destroy his career. Valente wants this ‘enemy’ to die and is willing to pay Scarano to use his connections to make it happen. He tells Scarano to follow the directions in the envelope at his table; He must drive out to the countryside location immediately, where there will be a large bag of money inside a phone box. He will wait for the phone to ring for further instructions. Scarano can’t resist a bribe, so blinded by greed and alcohol, he speeds through the late night Rome traffic and out to the country phone box as per directions.
As the blue hour arrives, the phone rings. As expected, it’s Valente. However, he begins reading lines from the bible. Almost immediately, Alessandro rushes in and stabs Scarano repeatedly, smashing the phone against his skull before slitting his throat. The ultra-violence is off the scale. Valente continues reading the religious scripture over the phone throughout the killing. The lines mostly coming from psalm 109, “Prayer for deliverance from enemies.” The body is spat on, dragged and dumped in the shallow grave.
The album ends at sunrise. Alessandro, having gone home after the killing to clean up, is now back in his car and on his way to meet his brother. A morning radio report announces Scarano’s body has been found as well as accurate details on the suspect. As he listens, Alessandro begins to think he may have been grassed up for the killing. Or was he spotted? Was he followed? Was his phone tapped all along? As paranoia sets in, he goes into a head spinning daze while driving. Suddenly, a balaclava clad man leans out from the car ahead and fires a hail of bullets at Alessandro. His car skids off the road and crashes into a fireball. The avenger has been avenged. You can never beat the house. End credits roll over a still frame of the fiery wreckage.
STATIKNOIZE 