Marco Rinalduzzi

How did your musical journey begin?

I’ve always breathed music ever since I was a child. I still remember my mother playing music, but my strongest memory is from the age of nine; when hearing my neighbour’s guitar for the very first time – it was love at first sight. I fell in love with that instrument. So my parents gave me one and I started taking private lessons from a good teacher while at the same time I was studying the piano (which I still prefer to use in the composition phase). Those were also the years in which rock’n’roll was dominated the airwaves and you could listen to it everywhere. I remember Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and the great Elvis. Despite my classic approach to the guitar, I felt I had rock within my soul.

Is there something you are looking for in an artist that you haven’t found yet? Will you continue to produce?

This, for me, is a delicate topic. I find myself in controversy with the current musical universe that encompasses all areas. This concerns authors, performers, record companies, impresarios, critics, journalists and industry magazines. Everyone is guilty in some way, without exception. The mentality of “success at all costs” continues to be fed without considering what’s being sacrificed. Music has become a haven for losers. What am I looking for in an artist? Intellectual honesty; a very rare and mostly absent virtue. The young people who came to me all asked the same question: “How do I become successful?”. My answer each time was this: “I don’t know”. As a producer, however, I can say with great humility that I never chase after the summer trend or the lucky beak because it’s something ephemeral, typically only lasting a year or a few months. I have a strict approach when I work with an artist: it takes dedication, seriousness, and hard work. Otherwise there is no foundation for building a musical identity and a solid career. I say, with regret, that it is often not worth it. The rules of the game have changed and therefore also the costs and benefits. Supporting a project involves objective costs and, in short, you have to survive financially. I am referring in particular to the internet: the cd has practically disappeared and on the web you can find billions of mp3s for free which cut into the necessary earnings to cover those initial expenses. It was the evidence that guided me on the path of becoming artistic director and arranger for important names such as Gianni Morandi, Claudio Baglioni, Il Volo and Andrea Bocelli. I feel quite restrained by the idea of ​​following and producing a single artist, but my greatest passion remains to help young people who wish to face this profession with determination and sacrifice, which is why I am one of the founding partners of the Italian Entertainment Academy, together with Massimo Calabrese and Marco Lecci.

Our country has finally won the Eurovision Song Contest. Do you think there is an air of change?

To be honest I don’t think so. I feel happiness for Måneskin, whom I consider as a friends. These are guys who have been working hard for years, excellent musicians who offer real rock and sweat blood. But their results show how causal everything is. I’ll try to explain myself better: Måneskin’s music is not particularly revolutionary like that of the bands of the 70’s was. They did very well to find a trademark and ride on global success (with the victories in Sanremo and Eurovision), but I believe that favourable conditions have come to create an increase in the desire for rock sounds and to listen to real instruments, and they are serving that need well.

Is it possible to make a living on music in Italy? Or is something in the industry broken?

I have been living on music for forty-five years. As a professional musician, producer, arranger, teacher, I can do quite well. However, let’s think for a moment how difficult it is nowadays to take this path. Music doesn’t pay today. When I was twenty-one, in addition to working in the studio, I used to do ten or twelve evenings a month in various clubs in the city, and I’m talking about places that still offer live performances, places that “reek of music”. But the venues have drastically reduced (only Big Mama comes to mind) and with them also the possibility of making a living. It takes 10 euros per month (Spotify) or even nothing (YouTube) and you can listen and download everything. Given this, why should a label invest? I know several musicians of the highest level who, having found nothing better, play around for 50 euros a night.

Culturally, we are considered one of the most important countries in the world. Considering your work alongside illustrious artists such as Ennio Morricone and Andrea Bocelli, do you think we do enough to protect ‘Made in Italy’ in the music industry?

I consider myself a great scholar of blues, jazz, rock, funk and other genres, and it is through studying that I have seriously re-evaluated Italian music. I am also the author of songs that, for thirty years now, have been listened to on the radio and on TV. I’m sorry to say it but we are constantly flooded with foreign products. The radio obviously has its faults in this regard. I love to use the expression “colonizers on behalf of third parties” (which is already funny) but, returning to your question, the answer is no: in Italy absolutely nothing is done to support the domestic market. For a long time we have been used to listening to American and English music, and a little more curiosity would be enough to discover the great Asian, African and Latin American music. And you can be sure that there are crazy artists… I  had several doors slammed in my face when I proposed my artists to the big networks (two above all: Giorgia and Alex Baroni). The big hits were foreign; the Italian song always came later. If, on the other hand, we refer to countries like France, it is different: historically nationalist, the French have adopted percentage quotas to balance French and foreign music. I leave the conclusions to you.

You have played with countless artists, musicians and orchestra conductors, tackling the most disparate genres. What’s your secret? What approach do you need to have to maneuver so well among orchestras, live ensembles and studio sessions?

Well, I love playing the guitar (in power trio, jazz quartets, orchestras, etc.), exploring its potential and nuances… To be honest, I consider my versatility both a virtue and a flaw. It is limiting, in the sense that you do not have enough time to investigate, but it is still a feature appreciated by many artists and conductors. I remember when I was called by the owner of the Forum (a large studio in Rome): I was twenty-five and they needed a guitarist for Maestro Morricone’s orchestra. At first I was terrified and refused. Then I thought better of it and the next day I went to the studio for the recordings. I thanked the maestro for the opportunity he offered me and confessed that, unlike my colleagues, I was not very quick at first sight reading. Quietly he told me not to worry, that they had spoken very highly of me and that, if I could not read everything, I would have the freedom to improvise. It went like this: I played very little of what was in the score; finally the maestro came to me and said, “You were good, even though you missed some things. Anyway, I will use your recording because there are a lot of interesting parts ”. Since then I have often been called to play in his orchestra.

What’s your best flaw?

That of being authentic, often too explicit and direct. I get attached in a deep, visceral way, and if there is a misunderstanding, or I am disappointed in someone, it manifests as seemingly brazen. Some consider it a positive, others a negative. In short, I’m a bit pissed off most of the time.