The interview with Francesca Nicoli (Ataraxia), 
having been taken on 21 of April 2002

Francesca: The name was chosen long time ago and it has two meanings: the first points to the immanence of the spirit and the mind, and Ataraxia is a complete lack of motions, no negative senses. In that period at the beginning of the band there was doubt. After it we discovered step by step to fit the second meaning, that is not only Epicurean, but also can be found in the Stoics’ doctrine. That means a sort of overcoming of emotions, of senses in the positive way, which is to get a sort of balance of positiveness and the spiritual balance to forelife and also overlife. This is the state, that is not possible to be reached by human beings, because it’s the state of perfection, which is not typical for these ones. That’s something, which can be found in the art and the music. So, for us “Ataraxia” means simply a chance to get the true music, the state of peace, balance and wisdom. It’s actual, but difficult to be reached, to pursue the true music and catch some moments, some instance of that. It’s the real potency - we try together to reach the states, which we know about they will never be reached.
So, there’s fight to get it within us.

Francesca: I guess, there’re two kinds of lyrics and two kinds of seeing. We have done many thematic concepts, albums and other concepts, they were inspired by the will (in particular, I talk of visual and written lyrics), by voyages, experience – not only physical, but also mental – my way of writing is not directly a consequence of debt. I write for images, there is a lot of them in my mind, - so, I imagine colors, situations, and it do is quite difficult to be understood, ‘cause I don’t write in a simple way, but in some sort in a creative way. Everybody could give his own connotations for it, have his own sensations and find subjective perspective, opinion on our works and feelings. 
Yes, it’s emotional and figurative way of writing
I should describe my lyrics as paintings…

You lyrics, are they based on some literary school’s tradition?.. For some of them may be considered to be similar to few creative methods, which belong to the period since the last quarter of XIX till the middle of XX century, such as neoromantism, English modernism and others. Do you follow in the main any of them?

Francesca: Oh, I don’t follow any style. However, I like many genres of literature and art. I started from the beginning – the mediaeval literature, and in some lyrics there’s rewriting of the tradition. The verses are not written only in Italian, but also in Latin; not only in contemporary languages, but also ancient.
And there’s a connection with the impressionism, I’ve meant it while telling about the matter of images. When you look at impressionists’ paintings, you see many points, and it’s possible to get a complete impression only if you’re far from the picture, when you’re near you see the little pieces, which compose that. When you listen to us – I mean the music, texts and instruments and all, that is actual for us on this stage– you have a complete idea, and when getting near the lyrics – the small pieces of that.
I like all kinds of modern and ancient , sometimes I intermingle them to get a unity.
I don’t follow a single current of style, there’re lots of them, and things we compose – I’ve written many lyrics – are completely based on colors.

Francesca: I’m moved on and deeply stricken by what I see, either by architecture, paintings and writings. In the literature I’ve been influenced by Virginia Wolf, the contemporary English novelist. She wrote of things, following not in the sequence, there are placed in the row of remembrances, the one situation reminds us of the other, the next one talks of quite different state, you go backwards, forwards, up and down, - it’s in some sort a circle of ideas and thoughts. Then, I became keen on mediaeval poetry, but again, not only Italian, but also French, the songs of troubadours…

Francesca: Yes, and vagants’ poetry too. And I’m fond of many romantic poets, French and English: Merime, Bodler, De Lamartin, and also Byron, Shelley. and I like oriental stories, for example “1001 stories”, which tells of a wife, who had been narrating stories to vizier not for to have her head cut off till their number was past one thousand. It’s very typical flowery, imaginary way of writing the oriental stories, filled with colors, nature and things, reproducing nature.

Francesca: No, I don’t know Russian ones in particular, but I’ve listened to the bands from the Eastern Europe, I saw some of them at the festival, that took place in Leipzig, most part of them are linked not to the gothic, more to the folk. I appreciated the research into their counties’ history, that they did, and all of them managed to play the instruments, which are not of our, Mediterranean tradition and sound very different and very fascinating. And I like this act of taking the ethnic instruments and transforming the ancient into something new with using them, something, intended not to forget the past and to let the young ones understand the ancient roots through the modern values, the intermingling of the past and the future.

Francesca: Yes, it’s what we do. And I think, if you feel, that it’s possible, you could do so. I don’t like the following some standards: everything in English or in my native language. I like the spell and the sound of different languages. European languages have the same genesis, the common roots. And it’s good to do research and to transforms the words of different tongues and traditions into music. I like to explore and to change. I strive for style’s being not monolithic, but open-minded. So, this kind of linguistic research in music is very good for me.

Francesca: I remember one Russian bands, they played classical instruments. If I remember well, they were linked a bit to the classical music, but I doubt, ‘cause I cannot say it with confidence. You have a great culture of operatic music. I appreciated such classical melodies and their approach to the national cultural tradition, they’re cultivated, but very natural.

Francesca: I don’t think so, because we don’t bring ancient songs here as they are, in their primordial state. We transform them. The majority of our songs is not actually traditional, however we carried them from the past and revive traditions ourselves. In our works you can hear the modern instrument and find out the modern approach to what is tradition as we understand it. It’s important to filtrate the material we get from the days of yore for to make them actual in the context of modern time and conditions of life, we’re not the people from the Middle Ages and we must head for nowadays features.

Francesca: Our music is not just to show something, it creates a dark power, yes, it’s very mighty medium and not material, for it lies mid the all, mid the feelings, the thoughts. You’re able to reproduce through the music the magical combinations of numbers, to deeply strike the human senses , the music changes the mood and even the life of a person. I saw the people, who were in terrible psychological situations, and they improved in that state, managed to go over this collisions through the music. The ancients told, that the musician is only a God’s mean, which is used to reproduce His voice, and we believe, that we are acting the same parts: we think, we express the energy we carry from out, reproducing it unto the listeners, and they retranslate it again to us.
So , we want to improve something, not just to show.

Francesca: I think, the classic guitar is a great power and a great mean. It gives us chance to transform musically the tradition into something contemporary.
And lets talk of the stone and the water, the two inspirations, which are most important for us. I think, we’re able to transform the ancient stone and the power of water into something, that can improve our soul. I suppose the ancient stone to be a great power, for it’s historic power. The man drops the naked stone and transforms it into something valuable. This happened at the building of the cathedrals, for an instance. Many people born and passed away and put their energy into the stone. We capture the power from the stone, the water and transform it into music.

Francesca: I’m surprised!.. It was difficult to get news from the countries, which are far from us, before Internet. I should say, that Italy and Russia are common in the music policy and in approach to the modern but classical way of expression of true music!..

Francesca (laughing): Sure!

http://www.ataraxia.net

© 2002 Interviewed by Wolffanger & Wolfsblood of SEIDR

Copyright ©2002 Seidr webzine