Samuel Sámel
ARCADIA
Interviews are usually "suffered" by one, maybe two musicians. But when you get the opportunity to talk to (almost) the whole band, it's hard to resist. In this way, we were introduced to the Italian ArcadiA, a hard n heavy band that went through a big change, which they completed shortly before the pandemic. About that, but also about being a full-time musician even if you're a band that's just starting their campaign to conquer the world.
Hey Arcadia! Fitst of all, you are relaltively new band that hasn´t get to our area yet. Can you introduce yourself to people around here?
(Simone): Hi guys! We’re ArcadiA from Italy and we’re very excited about this interview!! The band was formed in 2016 as a cover band of classic hard rock music like Europe, Dio, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses and more amazing bands like these. In 2017 we started thinking about writing our first full length album, and we managed to do it and to publish it in 2019. We are 6 members, Gianluca, the singer, Simone and Francesco, both at guitars, Lorenzo on keyboards Ivan, on drums and Alberto on bass.
In 2017, you decided to change your band from cover band to band with their own songs, identity and started to write your own songs. Why you came with this decision? What were pros and cons of being cover band?
(Lorenzo): We decided to change because we realized that we enjoy doing our own music more than playing covers, but we still play some of those beautiful songs in our shows together with the songs from our first album! We think that the main pro of being a cover band (in Italy) is that it’s much easier to find gigs and more audience, and potential fans. But we decided to do our own music mainly because we got tired of doing only covers and we felt it was the right time to begin doing it, so this is the major negative thing of being a cover band!
When it comes to your own music, who was inspiration for that music?
(Francesco): A big inspiration when it comes to writing, is the 80's rock / metal scene that inspired for the most part our sound but we also like to get some ideas from more modern productions so as not to be "something already heard". We like to combine what has influenced us the most with everything we find interesting in the most modern music scene, trying to create something new that best reflects our tastes.
Our sound absolutely prefers the melodic dimension and we like to work with the objective to create lines and riffs that remain impressed after a few listenings. In our songs you can find a mix of very different sounds and genres, from hard rock to power metal, up to the progressive!
In late 2019, you came with your first full lenght album „Hands of Time“. Have you managed to go out on tour with that album? If yes, what was reaction of fans?
(Ivan): Unfortunately we didn’t manage to go out on tour with “Hands of Time”, but we were able to play some gigs, and then, right when we were planning to do a tour, the Virus showed up and we were stopped by this terrible tragedy that shook the world and still is. Anyway we really enjoyed the gigs we did before this period and we hope (and think) that people liked them too!!
We really hope to get back on the road rocking with you!
I expect you are still active even in those crazy times. How would young band reach to new fans during times without possibility of live shows?
(Alberto): About this we care to say that we are really thankful for the opportunity that you and other magazines give, to share our passion and reach some new amazing people! Other than this we also publish some videos every once in a while, and in our private socials we share also contents relative to the band’s music.
Even some famous bands are trying to promote themselves with some cover songs. Weren´t you thinking about reaching to your old covers?
(Simone): Sincerely we didn’t think about the option of recording covers, but maybe it could be an interesting option to keep it up with the social media frenetical rhythms, also because we can’t play live, which was the main source and the best way to stay in touch audience and fans
Your album „Hands of Time“ is already over 1,5 years old. Do you have any material and plans for its successor?
(Francesco): We are currently working on some new music while passing this “stall” moment, but when it will be over we will keep promoting our debut album “Hands of Time” for a while before releasing new music! We can spoil you that the new album will be different from the other one, also because the lineup has changed from when we wrote “Hands of Time”, and the influences of the new members are coming out in this album, making it something more evolved. Another cool thing is that we are recording the album entirely by ourselves!
These days, it´s common that younger band reach out for famous names to be featured in their songs to get some extra publicity. Do you have some plans of that kind? Who would be your dream feature on your songs?
(Lorenzo): In our latest album, we have a featuring with Fabio Dessi, the singer from Arthemis and Hollow Haze! We are also planning to include some cool surprises that we’re sure you’ll like in the next album but we’ll not spoil anything for now.
You already had chance to play with some big names of hard´n´heavy like Blaze Bayley, Vinnie Moore, Kee Marcello, etc. What was it like? Who is that dream artist for you you want to share stage with?
(Lorenzo): Through the years we had the amazing opportunity to share the stage with several important musicians, extremely positive people that still live music with the same old passion even though their undeniable hit songs! These experiences brought us lots of emotions that we’ll always keep in our memories! About the dream featuring, we’ve never wanted to play with someone in particular but if the opportunity to play with some really famous artists shows up, we’d be thrilled to do it!!
You are (I expect) not full time musicians. What are you doing in „normal life“?
(Ivan): The majority of the band members are actually full time musicians. Some of us, along with the activity with their bands, are studying in conservatory, like Alberto, Lorenzo, Simone and myself. Francesco runs a recording studio and Gianluca is a surgeon. So for most of us, “normal life” is related to music all day long!
If there is anything you add, to tell to our readers, your fans or haters, this is the place :)
(Everyone): In first place we would like to thank you all for supporting us and for reading this magazine! We’d like to add that if you want to buy our merchandising, you can contact us on our private social media profiles or on the band’s official pages! Don’t forget to check out our album and our videos and to share them if you want!! It’s been a pleasure to have this little conversation with you, and we hope to see you on the road!!
ARCADIA:
LINE UP
Gianluca Codroipo – Vocals
Simone Martinelli – Guitars
Francesco Bartoli Benevelli – Guitars
Lorenzo Bocchi – Keyboards
Ivan Lazzarini – Drums
Alberto Fontanella – Bass
Simone Martinelli – Guitars
Francesco Bartoli Benevelli – Guitars
Lorenzo Bocchi – Keyboards
Ivan Lazzarini – Drums
Alberto Fontanella – Bass
