Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody
Shooting the Cinematic Metal

01.10.2015

The resonance and confusion that erupted several years ago when Rhapsody, one of the world’s leading power metal bands, broke into two separate entities, have all but settled down by now. Fans of the legendary Italians are no longer debating whose "Rhapsody" sounds more epic and bombastic after keyboardist Alex Staropoli and guitarist Luke Turili decided to go their separate ways. The two musicians have lately been not so active either. However, this calm does not mean that the creative hearts of both bands are barely beating. The person I’m talking to today, who is none other than Luca Turilli himself is definitely twiddling his thums. In addition to turning the handles and pushing the buttons in his own studio, this past spring he completed a new full-length album of his own version of Rhapsody. The album, entitled "Prometheus: Symphonia Ignis Divinus", was released in the summer and once again proved the outstanding talent of its creator. Read on to learn about the creation of the record, finding inspiration and other interesting things in the life of the father of “cinematic metal"…

What is happening in your life in your life at the moment? What did you do between the two albums of your new band? It’s been three years since the release of the previous album...

The three years that passed since the release of my previous album "Ascending to Infinity" in general were devoted to the creation of my own studio. I started the business in the new company Luca Turilli Music Production for creating music for the entertainment industry. For video games, movies and all that stuff. Creation of the studio took almost a year of my life. I did a lot of work, it was not pretty easy to put all the pieces together - a huge number of computers, each with a bunch of various software, and other equipment. What I’m particularly proud of is the fact that I was able to build one of the most powerful systems in Europe for writing, mixing and mastering of orchestrations. I am very glad I was able to use the whole system for writing music for Rhapsody too (for the purposes of this interview, “Rhapsody” means Luca’s current band, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody – ed.). It was a kind of test of the new studio. For seven months, I wrote the music for the new album, three months were spent on the production and recording. And then another 15 days to mix. In general, the work took more than a year, from the moment I stepped into the studio until the album was ready for release.

Tell me about the new Rhapsody album. What did you want to achieve with this creation? What is its fundamental difference from the previous album?

In some point of view, this album is like a mirage of the previous one. With a cinematic point of view ... You know that we call our music a "cinematic metal". This time I spent more time and effort to work on the orchestrations. I am very proud, because today a lot of metal bands use orchestration in their music, but to create the orchestral parts they almost always hire another guy. If I had done the same for Rhapsody, it would be just crazy, it would be a great paradox. Our music is 90% linked to the cinematic influence, and if I'm going to pay someone on the side, I shall not feel like I’m the composer of my music. Therefore, this time the writing process took a little bit longer. This applies not only to songs, but also to all the orchestrations. Every little detail takes a lot of time. But I am very happy with the result, because that is the kind of music, which I’m in love with. For me it was also important to make as much variety in every song as possible If I used the same choirs and orchestrations, the process of their creation would be very boring. So I tried to write parts for a variety of songs, using different ways and styles. In the end, we got quite a lengthy record about 70 minutes of playing time and even a little more with a bonus track.

Насколько я понимаю, “Ascending To Infinity” не был полностью концептуальным альбомом? Есть ли  какая-то концепция в лирике нового диска?

Да, все верно. Несколько песен прошлого диска были связаны между собой, но в целом альбом не был полностью концептуальным. Во время работы над прошлым релизом я впервые получил возможность сочинять на совершенно другие темы. До этого момента все предыдущие альбомы были основаны на двух фэнтезийных сагах нашего с Алексом  собственного сочинения. При работе над “Prometheus” я решил пойти тем же путем, что и при создании лирики для “Ascending to Infinity”. Я снова сочинял на отличные от фэнтезийных миров темы, которые на сей раз связаны с эволюцией духа. Лирически это главная тема нового альбома.

The new cover artwork is a bit unusual compared to your previous releases. Why did you decide to turn to some kind of futuristic style this time?

This time I wanted to present something more realistic and alive on the album cover. In the past I have worked with various graphic designers, and they were all pretty much good. However, the previous artworks always lacked realism. This time we also wanted to look cinematic, not just sound cinematic. In a way alongside with new music I also wanted to do a graphic representation of Rhapsody. I was looking for a designer who, like us, would be looking for inspiration in cinematic masterpieces, would work with models, create his works using a lot of different ways, combine different styles and techniques. Simply, he should not be just an artist. And, in my opinion, he has perfectly done his mission.

Listening to your solo work (especially the albums “Prophet of the Last Eclipse” and “Lost Horizons”), I notice that you use a lot of electronic instruments and effects on them. Looking at the cover of the new album I get an impression that it also contains electronics. Is this indeed the case?

Yeah, absolutely. This is a part of musical conception of my Rhapsody band. Already on “Ascending to Infinity” there are some electronic things, but of course on the new album there is even more. It’s because the music is influenced by the soundtracks so much. If you check out the latest big movies with the most modern productions, for example, “Interstellar”, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” or “Resident Evil”, in these films you can see how great electronic elements can be combined with orchestrations. I try to reach the same result with my Rhapsody music. I really like to connect modern sound with the traditional orchestration stuff.

Tell me about the members of the band that were not previously familiar to the old Rhapsody fans. How did the collaboration with Alessandro Conti (vocals) and Alex Landenburg (drums) begin?

I met Alessandro like 5 years ago, I offered him to sing for Rhapsody, and it was great, because the new songs have a great potential. He is not just able to sing higher notes in the Michael Kiske style, but also very operatic powerful notes in the lower register. So it was a great discovery for me to find such a good singer for my new Rhapsody band. And then Alex Landenburg… Alex Holzwarth, my previous drummer, recorded the drums for the album “Ascending to Infinity”, and then we made a photo session with him. But after that we decided to split, because he still wanted to concentrate on working with the guys of Rhapsody of Fire. I met Alex Landenburg and he joined my band immediately on that time, but he didn’t do any recordings for the previous album. On the new record “Prometheus” he finally performed his parts, and I was amazed by his talent. Both Alex Holzwarth and him are great amazing drummers, but Alex Landenburg was a great addition to the band. And, yeah, on the new album Alessandro sings a bit different, because I already know his voice, so I could compose vocal lines for him. This time I created more comfortable conditions for the realization of his talent. And of course we also have Dominique (Leurquin, guitar) and Patrice (Guers, bass), with whom I worked for many-many years. Now we have a great team of friends. A positive atmosphere in the band is also very important.

Do any other members of the band add their ideas to the creation of your music, or are you personally responsible for writing all music and lyrics?

In the past, all of the material for Rhapsody was created by me and my friend Alex Staropoli. We would compose all the melodies, arrangements – everything. It was normal to everyone and it was not discussed. Now I also composed all the material by my own, and it is not discussed with the rest of the bandmembers, because they love my music and completely trust me. We can call it a kind of "blind trust." But I always need the other guys to add the final cherry on the cake. Usually I compose all the stuff, then I make a demo, then, for example, I call my singer, and we make a kind of pre-production together.

You call your musical style “cinematic metal”, and you are known as a big fan of spectacular movies and soundtracks. What cinema masterpieces of the recent years have impressed you the most?

If we go back and start with the things that influenced Rhapsody in the beginning, first of all I should mention “Conan” movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the old ones. In general, I love everything from fantasy dramatic movies to horror, for example, “Evil Dead”, the old one too. And all kind of zombie movies. And about the ghosts too. “Paranormal Activity” and all that stuff. And of course the last Marvel movies about superheroes. I mean, I like whatever is based of the biggest production with a lot of special effects. Some days ago I watched “The Fast and the Furious 7” and… let me think what was also the last… “Avengers 2”. I really don’t miss any of the Hollywood blockbusters with a big production. And of course the music in these movies very important for me.

It has been almost ten years since the release of your last solo album. Should fans wait for your new solo record in maybe near future?

I'm afraid not. I was completely immersed in the work on the Rhapsody music – composing, arranging everything, as I said. In those days, when I decided to start a solo career, I clearly stated that I wanted to write a trilogy of albums. One album will be linked to the story of past, another one to the present, and the third one to the future. When this plan was fulfilled, there was no need to continue with this project at all.

Once you were talking about continuation of the story told on the album “Prophet of the Last Eclipse" (2002). Do you have a plan to finish this story as part of Rhapsody?

Ammmm…. At the moment, no. It was a great story, I really like it. It was based, it was influenced by the “Event Horizon” movie, if it tells you something…

Yes, I know this movie and love it.

A great movie with a very interesting plot and conception. I was really inspired by that. So, when I wrote the story for “Prophet…” there was, on the one hand, a sense of continuation, but at the same time, the ending could be called open, it is not clear whether the story continues or it ends. So, that's it.

I'd venture that Helloween influenced your style of music a lot in the early '90s. Do you listen to them now? What do you think about their latest releases?

I don’t know about their latest releases. If you ask me about my all time favorite albums, I will always name “Keeper 1” and “Keeper 2”. For me those albums are the top of the tops. I'm sure they are still very cool, but to be honest, I really have not listened to their new stuff for a long time. Almost all of my favorite albums were recorded in the '80s. Helloween, Crimson Glory (their “Transcendence” album).... I still listen to the old classics that influenced me many years ago. So if you listen to our new records “Prometheus” you’ll notice that the vocal lines I composed for Alessandro are pretty much influenced by Helloween.

Your live performances are not very frequent. Are you planning to go on tour with the new album?

Yeah, absolutely. And I hope we will be touring in Russia too. Many years have passed since I was there last time. Now is the time to come back. I’m not sure about concrete dates, maybe there will be even more than one show. It’s very important for me, because in some way I feel that some of my music is inspired by Eastern and Russian music. For example, if you listen to the old Rhapsody songs, you can hear that some of that stuff influenced by typical Russian choirs, that I really always loved. I really enjoy folk music from the East, and I like to bring these ideas into my music too.

What songs do you usually play or plan to play on tour? Are there, in addition to the new material, songs from your solo records or Rhapsody’s old classics?

Of course there are many old Rhapsody hits. And there is place for a couple of surprises from the Luca Turilli discography, from my solo albums. And of course we play some songs from the new album. In fact, to make a setlist for the upcoming tour is not so simple. We are still discussing  this, and we have changed the program completely already three times. Maybe we do some kind of vote on Facebook, so the fans can choose which songs from the new CD they want to hear, and would facilitate our lives at least in this. So it's all very difficult.

Do you have a pet? If yes, how it reacts to your long absence during the tour or in the studio?

No, this is my big problem. Before starting Rhapsody I had three cats that I really loved. And it was very hard for me, because of the band, because of the tour I absolutely have no time to spend time and take care of pets. It’s very sad for me during all my artistic career, because I love animals a lot.

In the middle of the previous decade, you had to change the name of the band because of copyright issues. Do you have problems with the title now after you've decided to split into two bands?

No, absolutely no problems anymore. I put my name on top simply because I need this little addition to not have any problems with the name “Rhapsody”, of course. You probably know that in the past there was an American band, which didn’t play heavy metal, they did a different style of music. But they stated that we cannot use the simple name “Rhapsody” for us. At that time, we had to change our name from Rhapsody to Rhapsody Of Fire, which was a very tragic moment for us, because the band was very successful at that moment, and of course, we didn’t want to change anything after all these years. And now and I have split up with my colleague Alex Staropoli, we decided what to do and how to start on the same level. It would not have been very good from my side to take the name Rhapsody with me, because Alex kept singer Fabio (Leone) with him and so on. Thanks God, there is a kind of compromise that we can use this name for both bands. If the condition had been to change the title totally, I would have probably stopped the band, because to keep the name was very important. Honestly, when I hear that journalists talk about my band like “Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody”, I feel a little bit unusual, because I put this little addition to the title just not to have problems with the copyright.

In what relations are you now with former guys of Rhapsody? Four years later, do you have any regrets that you decided to go separate ways?

No-no, absolutely not any regrets. Because from the artistic point of view, together we reached all that we could. Together we made two fantastic musical sagas, which was an amazing epic journey. Together we brought the end of this journey with the album number 10, it was the most important thing for us. After we finished the second saga, there was no sense for us to go together, because in the later years me and my friend Alex we didn’t have much fun working together. We had a different rhythm of working, for example I’m a total workaholic, I prefer working 24 hours a day, when Alex prefer to have more time to rest. But the great thing for us is that we decided to split in a friendly way and our music will not be totally different. Together, but in different line-ups we will always bring with ourselves a positive energy, positive message through our lyrics about love, respect and so on. So it will be a kind of paradox if we start fighting each other after our split. Now we constantly meet, eat pizza, have a good time. We speak about ourselves, our friends and families, about what we do in life. But we never speak about Rhapsody. This is a way to respect each other, you know. Rhapsody has become a kind of personal thing for us five years after the parting.

Is there a possibility that one day two of Rhapsodies will go tour together? If yes, who will be a headliner?

No, of course it’s not possible. (everybody laughs) We also always try to not perform at the same festival. On the one hand, it will be simply boring to watch both bands at the same stage, and at the other hand it will be very hard for us to decide who will play “Emerald Sword”, who will play this, who will play that. It’s very hard to organize such an event.

In 2010, you played in Moscow with Rhapsody of Fire. Do you remember this show? What are your impressions from the visit to our country?

The impressions are great, we all had a very warm welcome in Russia. I was really surprised by the whole eastern Europe. Starting from Poland and then moving further to the east I had a very interesting travel back then. As I said, many of my songs are influenced by Russian folk music, and I think my music is not so far from yours. And I see that Russian people really love the Rhapsody music too.  

Luca Turilli's Rhapsody on the Internet: http://www.ltrhapsody.com

Special thanks to Maxim Bylkin (Soyuz Music) for arranging this interview

Mikhail “IronMike” Shatalin
May 14, 2015
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