After seeing the pictures of the Cage album had been done on Amiga ( at least partly), I was intrigued to hear the album especially when I noticed that Dario Mollo had worked with two of my favourite vocalists.I contacted Dario from the e-mail address on his website and he very kindly agreed to answer some questions for Crypt readers as well as allowing us to use pictures from his site.
The results are below, have a read !!
Dario, at what age did you discover the guitar......and is it your first love?
My parents bought my first classic guitar when I was a few years old and, yes, it was my first love.
Do you own many guitars, and what is your favourite?
I own approximately 10 guitars and I love them all. In this period I'm using a Fender Stratocaster which has been deeply modified.
Is rock music your favourite style of playing ?
Yes it is.
What kind of music do you usually listen to?
Classic 70/80's rock, like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin etc.
I notice at least one rock classic on each album....Dazed and Confused,The Gypsy, Stormbringer.
What is the rationale for these? Are you trying to improve on the originals, or reinterpret them?
I really enjoy playing these classic songs, it's just a tribute to these huge bands.
Can you name some of your biggest influences musically........ ?
Deep Purple and Van Halen.
Do you compose your music on guitar first, and when do you decide the orchestration for the song?
Yes, I compose with the guitar and the orchestration is decided during the composition.
You have worked with illustrious vocalists on the last few albums, notably Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin. Did you pick them for their different styles or for their songwriting capabilities?
For both reasons.
How did you find working with Glenn Hughes?
It's been an amazing experience, Glenn is a genius.
And..... any chance of a repeat?
I hope to repeat it very soon....
Any more illustrious artists you would want to do a project with?
Not for the moment.
Since the last two albums have been with Tony Martin, is this a project That has a lot more mileage in it for you? I mean, is this a stable band?
The last two albums have been "voodoo hill" and "the cage 2". They are both personal projects but the members are very involved artistically. .
What would you say were the major differences between the two vocalists?
Glenn is very instinctive and Tony's approach is completely different.
Any current plans to tour, especially my homeland of Scotland?
Not yet but I hope to do it in the future.
Radio in our country is very intolerant of classic rock music , although grunge based music and rap/metal is becoming more prevalent. Is it the same in Europe?
Here in Italy we have a lot of pop music.
Do you believe there is still a large market for classic sounding rock ?
Yes, there are a lot of people that enjoy this kind of music.
How do you feel about the current music market?
I think that there is always a place for good music.
Any particular bands you enjoy at present?
Many bands, I can find good stuff in almost every band I listen to.
Any songs that you would have loved to have written?
Highway Star or Whole Lotta Love or Kashmir or Aint Talkin' Bout Love or....
Your music appears to have a " classic " rock feel to it , but with a very hard edged guitar sound to it.... did you envisage this sound or has it developed over the years?
I play guitar trying to be as personal as possible and I play in a very natural way without planning such and such style.
Could you please tell us what you will be working on next?
My next Voodoo Hill album is almost ready.
I see you have your own studio, you must use computers in it, surely?
I use a lot of computers and I'm a beta tester of the programs I use for recording
Any particular software you prefer?
Steinberg Nuendo.
Any particular part of your studio that you prefer?
The control room.
Do you plan to go more into production , or will you continue to play ?
I enjoy doing both.
There is much consternation (and legal suits) over Peer to Peer networking ( as in Napster and Audio Galaxy), what are your feelings towards these ?
I hope that this will help to drop the prices, cds are far too expensive.
A lot of artists are finding it hard to get a record deal nowadays, do you see the Internet playing any part in spreading their music and helping them?
Maybe in the future, not now.
Digital Rights Management is starting to get attention and copyright protection CD's are making their way onto the market, do you think they will succeed? There are already guides on the Internet showing how these can be circumvented. Do you think that the companies will ever manage to stamp out piracy?
I think that you can defeat piracy by dropping the prices.
My 14 year old son also would like to know , how much do albums cost to make? He reads music magazines such as Kerrang and seems to think that all albums have budgets in the millions of dollars......
It's not easy to answer this question, albums can cost very little money or millions....
Any videos released for the albums.....or any plans for any?
Not Yet.
Do you have a permanent record deal with any company or do you negotiate a deal for each album?
I negotiate a deal every album.
