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MEMORIA ~ Blade Runner: The Rock Project
Compiled, Edited, and Interviewed by C.A. Chicoine
MEMORIA was formed in Rome, Italy in 1991, under the guidance
of Mark Spatuzzi. Their repertoire was atmospheric rock influenced, spanning the genre from new age to
progressive rock. The group recorded two albums, and toured extensively. By 2005, the group went through
a line-up change, giving us their current incarnation.
The writing and arranging of the Blade Runner Rock Project started
in December of 2004. This labour of love was finally debuted in March of 2006 at the Nino Manfredi di
Ostia, in Rome, Italy.
Memoria presents a different way of watching the neo-noir
film Blade Runner. The idea is to translate, in music and words, the over-industrialized; multi-ethnic; dehumanized; polluted
environment; depiction of a dystopian future, with focus on the storyline and the character's relationships
and thoughts. The movie is projected on a screen accompanied with original music entirely composed by Memoria.
It is rock oriented, but doesn't neglect the ambiance of the cyberpunk film setting,and the amazing soundtrack by Vangelis,of
which is sometimes resumed. The songs pair with the scenes accompanying the movie's development, savoring every key element
in the film. The music enhances the vision, whilst the words reinforce the story. This show is an experience that not
only breathes new life into this classic film, but will leave an everlasting impression on you as if watching
the movie for the first time. You will be humming two or more of their songs for days to follow. You will
leave wondering if this was a dream, or was it something you truly experienced. You may even postulate
the possibility of a brain implant. In either case, does it really matter?
I stumbled upon this group whilst surfing through the YouTube videos
for Blade Runner fan related materials for the Multi-Media section of this website, (as I do on a regular basis).
It was their concert footage from their show in Rome of 2006 (with funny remarks made by Marco) that
caught my eye. I couldn't believe what I saw. So, I did a web search and, lo and behold, I found not
only have they a website...but they also have a MySpace account! I took in all they had to offer on the web.
But, I simply could not get enough of them!
Watching their demo preview (available below) was a special
treat. It captures their performance, and highlights a sample of some of their songs. It leaves you yearning
for more. When the show starts it is with as much intensity, and deep anticipation of what is to come, as with
Vangelis' opening. The angelic vocals of Carolina Di Gregorio shine through, stimulating waves of goose bumps throughout
your body. Her voice is strong and expressive, and her style perfect for the challenging material. The songs
Bryant and My Mind Lies overwhelm my senses, as tears well up in my eyes. Verso la Tyrell showcases
the talent of Marco Spatuzzi's guitar virtuosity, while Il fabbricante di ricordi provides a playing field for
keyboardist extraordinaire Alessandro Bianconi. Perfezione lets bassist Gianfranco Vigneri, and
drummer Federico Berchi take the lead in this up-tempo song, displaying their intricate and tight performing.
Demo sneak preview of concert. MEMORIA ~ Blade Runner:
The Rock Project live @ the Teatro Manzoni, December 4, 2006.
I contacted MEMORIA and had correspondence with their
founder Marco Spatuzzi. It was a thrill corresponding with him via email. His time and patience is very much
appreciated.
A special thanks also to Michele for his lyric translation of Bryant
(and two other songs not used in this article).
Be sure to visit the band's website. There you can
learn more about each band member's professional background and influences. Also visit their MySpace to
hear and download more of their music, read their latest updates, and see their performance schedule. Links
to both sites are located at the foot of this page.
I am thrilled and honoured to share with you, my
fellow Blade Runner Enthusiasts, this classic film presented in a new light. I present to you... MEMORIA
~ Blade Runner: The Rock Project.
Interview with Marco Spatuzzi
Q: Where did the idea come from to base
this project on the movie Blade Runner?
A: We can start by saying that for us, as of course for many people
around the world, BR is not just a movie. We are not trying to give any new explanation of the story. It's
just the fact that this masterpiece, in our opinion, can be seen from many different points of view without loosing anything
as long as you preserve the essence of the movie, which is the "emotional power" given by the characters, the atmospheres,
the music and the plot itself. We think that this "power" is so strong because the movie recalls, in a supreme creative way,
archetypes stored somewhere in our human subconscious. But this is another story. Our work is just a different
point of view of the movie. We don't provide any answers. We sing and play throughout the scenes as the
story goes along. Alessandro and Gianfranco, and I had the idea to base the project on Blade Runner after seeing
a work based on the movie Nosferatu made by Daniele Pomo and his band Le Rane Strane. They are all good musicians. We
took the idea to create a show around a movie from them. During the gig Daniele plays the drum and sings at the same
time. He is amazing! Their music is pretty different from ours. I would say it has more of an "Italian
style" flavour to it. But, that is just my opinion. I find it a really great show. I have seen them many
times without ever getting tired of it. I believe they are actually working on another movie, "The Shining"
by S.Kubrik.
Q: Who are the big Blade Runner
fans?
A: Marco Spatuzzi, which is the guitar player and the main composer of the show, is the #1
fan of the movie, and a great fan of Vangelis, of course.
Q: Tell me about the process of how you created the compositions. You selected scenes, and themes? I imagine
you must of had several other songs that you maybe tossed aside? Or is what you wrote what you worked on? How did the process
come about?
A: As
you can image we really had a hard time writing the music and songs, and making them fit in the scenes; getting
the pauses at the right time; playing the dialogues from the movie in and out. The composing process evolved
every time we discovered a better way to proceed. To give you an idea, we used to watch the scene many times, trying
to get the mood of it, the rhythm of the scene, pretending there was a metronome clicking above the images. This was very
useful in respect to the movie rhythm and letting the music grow with it. We had to decide if the scene should be
a "song" or an instrumental. Scenes have different durations and this meant that the armonic structure of a song had
to be adapted to this duration. So, the original music idea created by one of us, most of the time, was really transformed
to fit in the scene. There are so many ideas, songs, and themes that we tossed aside and often we were like: "The music
is great! But, doesn't match the movie! Pris is not saying this or that". Or, "Deckard is running and hunting, the music
must be more intense here". Something like that. The lyrics (not the vocal notes) were written at the end to give a
better understanding of the story and to fit the words with the dialogues from the movie. When we play live we have the metronome
click in our ear-monitors. The click is synchronized with the movie so we know how to play, and when to play, as
the movie progresses. We have to stay focused the entire 2 hours! We knew that performing our music around
this movie would be a big challenge. During the composition we were worried about it. We decided
to create everything as a tribute to the movie, not to give our personal view of it.
Q:
Memoria seems like they caught the true essence of the film. You focus on the story and the characters'
relationships
and thoughts. With light of the "Final Cut", are new songs being considered? Or will you stick with the version of the
film you have? Would you consider doing a song about the look and mood of the film ( like the rain, neon lit streets, and
gray sky) ?
A: Good
question. We're actually using the Director's Cut. We'll see what happens after we view the Final Cut. About
the mood...I can say that we tried to give every song, and especially every instrumental song, the taste of it. Above
all, on the 1st half of the movie, we do end with zhora's death. This part of the movie has a slower rhythm. We
tried to do what Vangelis did over the long scenes without any dialogue.
Q: Were the composition of the
songs a collective effort?
A: I did the main work around the scenes. The real collective effort
was the arrangement of the songs during practice. It required over a year, beside the work at home, around the scenes. We
spent every single weekend in our practice room in Federico's house (the drummer) in Calvi, a small town in the country east of
Rome.
Q: The group seems real tight. It
is my understanding that a few of you collaborated before (Berchi, Spatuzzi, and Vigneri). As a group how long have you been
performing together?
A: We have been playing togheter since early 90's the new entry is the singer Carolina
Di Gregorio. She gave us great motivation with her energy since she started working with us. She also did a great job,
together with me, with the lyrics. Also Federico wrote some lyrics in some songs, and Gianfranco too.
Q: Have considered getting
copyright permission to release your performance on DVD?
A: We have not planned to release a DVD. This is mainly
a live show. We asked permission to play the movie
during the concert. We mute all the music and most of the dialogue.
But the movie remains the essence of the show. Those who come to the show are expected to watch the screen and follow
the movie by listening to our music and lyrics. But, this kind of show is new, and people sometimes don't
know what to do. We initially had the screen off to the side of the stage. But, this seemed to confuse some people as
to our methodology. So, as a result, we decided to put the screen at the center of the stage after realizing that people
felt like they were at a tennis match!
Q: Do you have any plans tour the
UK or the US?
A: We really would like to play in other countries, but we need
someone promoting the show locally. And we have to translate the lyrics to English. And then we will for sure!
Q: I'm sure you heard the news of the release
of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Have you found yourself caught up in the excitement?
A: Excitement and fear!! Do we need to change everything?
Do we have to start again from the beginning and synchronize all the music to this new version? :)
Q: Have any of you made plans to attend the screening
of The Final Cut in Venice, September 1st?
A: I think we will wait and go to the cinema all together.
Q: Have any of you read the book
by Philip K. Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
A: Federico, Gianfranco, and I have. The reading of
the book was really helpful to give realism to the lyrics, and to get into characters' thoughts.
There are no plans of releasing a CD
at this time. If something develops, I'll be sure to pass on the info. In the meantime, you can download three
of their tracks at their MySpace.
I'd like to thank Marco for this opportunity
and for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope that Memoria do take the show on the road and tour the UK and
the US. There are a whole lot of other Blade Runner Enthusiasts yet to be exposed to their project. I wish them
all the success in the world!
Program
01. Intro L.A.
2019
02. Colonie Extramondo
03. Bryant
04. Verso la Tyrell
05. Il fabbricante di ricordi
06. Tempo bastante
07. Informazioni
08. La strada
09. Rachel
10. La strada (reprise)
11.
Io faccio amici
12. The Esper Machine
13. Mercanti di anime
14. Taffy Lewis
15. La morte di Zhora
01. E' ora di
morire
02. Ombre nella mente
03. Fermare il tempo
04. Perfezione
05. Il Dio della biomeccanica
06. Ne restano
due
07. La casa delle bambole
08. La caccia
09. Lacrime nella pioggia
10. La mia mente mente
*all
songs by MEMORIA
Upcoming Shows
To be announced.
Songs
Memoria
Bryant
Bryant
Bryant: Holden can breath okay as long as nobody unplugs him. He's not good enough. Not as good as you. I need you, Deck.
This is a bad one, the worse yet. I need the old Blade Runner. I need your magic.
Deckard: I was quit when I came in here. I'm twice as quit now.
Bryant: Stop right where you are. You know the score pal. If you're not cop, you're little people.
Deckard: No choice, huh?
Bryant: No choice pal.
I need you to retire them.
You must stop them.
You must discover why they’re here, and retire them.
I need the old Blade Runner
to catch them and to retire them.
It’s the only way we can get rid of them.
Retire them. Stop them. You are the only one.
You and I know, this will not end. You’ll never have your freedom!
Retire them. Stop them. You are the only one.
You and I know, this will not end. You’ll never have your freedom!
Bryant: The fourth skin job is Pris. A basic pleasure model. The standard item for military clubs in the outer colonies.
They were designed to copy human beings in every way except their emotions. The designers reckoned that after a few years
they might develop their own emotional responses. You know, hate, love, fear, envy. So they built in a fail-safe device.
Deckard: Which is what?
Bryant: Four year life span. Now there's a Nexus 6 over at the Tyrell Corporation. I want you to go put the machine on
it.
Deckard: And if the machine doesn't work?
Copyright © 2006 Marco Spatuzzi
Translated by Michele. Adapted by C.A. Chicoine
Memoria
My Mind Lies
My Mind Lies (La Mia Mente Mente)
Limited. Given a short life span. Is that your destiny?
Watching
as your life comes slowly to an end,
like a candle slowly melting. This is my greatest fear.
Four years that
seems to take a century.
I don’t know. How different would it be if your memories were real?
Wouldn’t
know what to believe in the end.
But, who I am has never eluded me.
For I am here. It’s not surreal.
Can
you tell me...
Do we dream our own dreams
Or maybe they’re someone else’s
Scenes from a play, or
movie.
Or from some book of spells.
Angels that fell from up high
Soar down like starships on fire
Their
light had been swept away
Only their remnants remain
Like memories being lost to time.
So, what is their left?
If my mind lies...my mind lies.
If my mind lies, my mind lies
If my mind lies, my mind lies
If my mind lies,
my mind lies...
Copyright © 2006 Marco Spatuzzi
Translated by Marco Spatuzzi Adapted by C.A. Chicoine
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