INTERVIEW 64. nicola lampredi (brothers in law)

It's not hard to see how this three boys from Pesaro (a city located in the already famous east "indie" coast of Italy) are committed to music: their aesthetic is an ode to the music they love - think c86, early The Mary Onettes, dreampop, jangly guitars and surf music filled with sand - and there's a genuine feeling of amazement when they look at their short career and how much has happened since the beginning (from playing with bands like Dum Dum Girls, Wild Nothing and Still Corners to flying to the US and playing at SXSW a few weeks ago).
Last January - following the release of an EP and single - We Were Never Being Boring released their debut album Hard Time For Dreamers. A collection of energetic and dreamy songs that feed hearts aching for some jumping around and at the same time satisfy any desire for melancholy, darkness and contemplation.



Shortly after arriving back home from SXSW, Nicola answered some questions. You can read it below.

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01. What time is it? How's your day so far? And where are you now?
6:40 pm. I'm at home answering questions for this interview while listening to The Sounds: Jeopardy.

02. What is your first musical memory?
When I was a kid I remember listening to "Bad" from my parent's boombox and dance a lot to it... I guess my first musical memory is Michael Jackson.

03. When did the band started? And why the name?
We formed in late 2010. Initially we were a duo: two guitars and a drum machine. Our first digital Ep came out in spring 2011 for Tannen records. A year later, when Andrea joined us on drums, WWNBB and CF rec released the Ep Gray Days.
The name of the band is a "true story". Jack and Nico are actual brothers-in-law.

04. If your music was a planet, how it would look like? What's Brothers In Law aesthetic…
It would be a planet without continents or borders...the planet imagined by John Lennon!
A planet where everyone does what they can, without being forced.
We think of our sound as involving, direct and dreamy.
It's a free born sound..that doesn't come from reasoning but from the heart.
These are Brothers in Law!

05. Where do you record your music? Could you send a photo or describe the place you record your tunes?
We have recorded our first album at Studio Waves in Pesaro.
Paolo Rossi (Studio Waves) is a good friend and he has always worked very well with the band.

06. 'Hard Times For Dreamers' is your debut album and was released early this year. Lots of jangly guitars, reverbs and hints of dreampop, surf music and new-wavey/post punk-ish elements. Since you're name deals with family members I'd say you could be the youngest son of The Mary Onettes (their early material); Felt and Sonic Youth could be your uncles and Veronica Falls, Sea Lions and Crystal Stilts could be your older siblings. What were your ideas and references for the album? How did you wanted it to sound like?
We love The Mary Onettes, and Felt is one of our favorite bands! It's always flattering to hear these names when talking about our music. Crystal Stilts is probably the band we all share love for.
We like it when we write songs (as it's been for Hard Times For Dreamers) and all of our influences mix together, shifting the final result from the original idea that Giacomo, for example, had in mind...I think it's beautiful when this happens.We'll try in the future to make our sound more and more "ours", as Lawrence managed to do with every Felt's album.

07. You were recently in Austin for SXSW. How was the experience? Share some highlights of your time there.
Playing at SXSW was totally unexpected for us, considering that our first full length was released last January. It was a great experience, unforgettable! And also a great chance for our band to be known abroad. We hope to be back next year! Too many SXSW's highlights to squeeze in this interview...

08. Time and place to listen to Brothers In Law.
Where you want, when you want.

09. Too soon to ask if you're thinking about the next release? How's the rest of 2013 looks for the band?
Definitely too soon..The rest of 2013 we'll try to play as much as we can!

10. Italy's east coast seems to be a fertile place for indiepop/dreampop bands. How's the scene in Pesaro and the region? Any other bands we should be listening?
The paradox is that Pesaro has (and has had) tons of great bands, but no venues! And in the end it turns out to be quite a boring town.. Maybe it's a little bit for that reason and a little bit because Pesaro is on the ocean that bands here create a sound that goes from post punk to dream pop. 
Everyone here tries to make music!
Some bands that we love from Pesaro are Be Forest (Nicola's other band), Young Wrists, Soviet Soviet, General Decay and Versailles. In the region we recommend Karibean!

11. Anything else you feel like saying?
Have a good one!