Pitti Galaxy, Planet Funk

The Tuscan-Campanian band enters the Pitti Uomo orbit with an exclusive US Polo Assn. event: after six years of silence, the groove astronauts present themselves with a new record (with the producer of U2) and a new show suspended between live and electronic

BY ROLLING STONE

JUNE 12, 2023

In space no one can hear you scream, claimed the famous claim that launched the Alien saga in cinemas. Perhaps, it can be. But if Lieutenant Ripley, played by a masterful Sigourney Weaver had had Planet Funk's groove available, his battle with the evil xenoform would have been less insidious. Six years of silence that kept Planet Funk away from the scene, a deafening void resulting from a global drama, the covid 19 pandemic, and a personal one, the tragic death of the bassist and founding member of the band, Sergio Della Monica. Fast forward to today, we have left the pandemic behind and Planet Funk are responding to the newfound desire for dance and socializing and they do it in the only way they know how: with a new high-profile album, produced by Cenzo Townshend (a real veteran, already working with sacred monsters like U2 and the Rolling Stones, even if we will have to wait until next autumn) and a series of live shows that will deliver them back to their cheering people. An appointment, the one that marks the return in style of Planet Funk, which winks at the world of fashion during one of the most awaited moments by fashion victims from all over the globe: the Florentine week of Pitti Uomo. The Tuscan-Campanian training, active since the end of the 90s, will in fact be the protagonist of the event launched by US Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (produced and distributed in Europe by the licensee Incom of Montecatini as regards the clothing line) scheduled for June 14th in one of the most evocative Florentine settings, the Torrigiani Garden, already home to the first fashion show ever held in our country. Planet Funk will present their new show during the evening, which is presented as a hybrid form of live and electronic music, accompanied by the voices of Dan Black (with whom they recorded the famous Who Said) and Alex Uhlmann. We find Marco Baroni on the keyboards while Domenico Canu takes care of the guitars. The electronic part is, as always, entrusted to Alex Neri, a long-time DJ and part of the artistic direction of the historic Florentine club Tenax. We caught up with him to talk about what's cooking on the planet of funk. which presents itself as a hybrid form of live and electronics, accompanied by the voices of Dan Black (with whom they recorded the famous Who Said) and Alex Uhlmann. We find Marco Baroni on the keyboards while Domenico Canu takes care of the guitars. The electronic part is, as always, entrusted to Alex Neri, a long-time DJ and part of the artistic direction of the historic Florentine club Tenax. We caught up with him to talk about what's cooking on the planet of funk. which presents itself as a hybrid form of live and electronics, accompanied by the voices of Dan Black (with whom they recorded the famous Who Said) and Alex Uhlmann. We find Marco Baroni on the keyboards while Domenico Canu takes care of the guitars. The electronic part is, as always, entrusted to Alex Neri, a long-time DJ and part of the artistic direction of the historic Florentine club Tenax. We caught up with him to talk about what's cooking on the planet of funk.

Hi Alex! How are you and how are Planet Funk? We come from a path, for Planet, long and difficult. Six years ago we were recording a new album and midway through the album we lost a member, which is Sergio Della Monica. We have obviously been bent over by suffering from losing a friend, we have been a family for 20 years, between the pain and the reorganization of the band we found ourselves in a dark moment. We thought about finishing the album without Sergio but also about ending PF's career there. There was the covid period which was another hard time for everyone, including me. But it was also a moment of reflection: once the pandemic was over, we got together and we finished and reproduced from scratch the part of the album that we had written together with Sergio and then we wrote a series of unreleased songs together for an album that will be out this fall .

What can you tell us about the new record? The next single, after World's End, is still a song by Alex Uhlmann, it's called Any Given Day, out right now. In the wake of the single we will do a summer tour and then in the autumn, with the release of the album, there will be a winter tour in the most suitable places for this formation, we will also see what the market offers us.

Is it legitimate to say that the disc is the son of a mourning? He is not the son of a mourning in my opinion, but of a rebirth and a transformation. I believe in mourning in his oriental vision, death understood as a transition to a new life rather than the end of it. The death of a certain type of Planet Funk, the beginning of a new course. Among other things, the album will also feature the debut of a new singer. So Planet Funk different but faithful to our DNA. If one hears us, he recognizes us, always. Our sound is that. We – and I don't say this as a boast but as a fact – have always been a very honest group, we've always made records when a need arose from within us, we've never done it for contracts or recording standards. And when we met again everything was born in a very natural way.

What can you tell us about the collaboration with Cenzo Townshend? It was lucky. We made this record the old-fashioned way, locked in a home studio, where we wrote it, arranged it but didn't mix it. We then sent the mixes to Cenzo, whom we had met in London during the first period of our album and his work is a huge added value. The mixes now have a sound you know, I was told on the first single that we are very similar to Depeche Mode.

Well, that's a compliment. It is, but then I understood why. He is the author of a good 80% of Depeche's mixes, consequently also the approach to the voices is the one usually adopted for them, so that's where the similarity comes from it wasn't something sought, to understand each other. But come on, I think it's a compliment (laughs)!

Did you get to see Cenzo work or did the production take place in different places? It happened partly in different places but I also got to see him work.

Were you able to steal any secrets from him? But, you know, more than stealing his secrets, we should be stealing his machinery. Even his technique is crazy, mind you, he has a way of mixing that I would define as artistic, especially in terms of approach. He takes the mix and basically brings it all analog, it's an experience to watch him work. Not to mention the study of him, which is amazing and which I think is Ed Sheeran. Seeing him work is absurd and you realize that, for us self-taught people, his work is just another job, it's another type of mix. Then, of course, you will judge for yourself.

What toy do you envy him the most? A series of compressors that are amazing. All valves. I have seen many producers, even very good ones, working, but he is different, his way of mixing is almost an arrangement.

How healthy is the clubbing scene? Look, I predicted it during Covid. the world of clubbing is now split in half: on one side the superstars who are practically unreachable given the cachet they ask for, and the other half of the world which is instead super underground, made by serious people, super passionate about vinyls and we, like Tenax, have made this choice this year, making a program focused on the search for the names of the future. We were among the first in Italy to make Loco Dice, Peggy Gou, Marco Carola, and therefore today we think it is no longer the case to name certain names, which have now replaced EDM in the world, and we threw ourselves into this scene which it has given us great satisfaction. There is an audience of young people who are very attentive to new scenes and good music: this really gives me hope and also gave me the good fortune of being able to reopen a market for me, because on the other side, I would have been a dead DJ, honestly. So good that there was the possibility to change, to explore and to jump into a new world. But we're not the only ones to have embraced this cause: Cocoricò himself will be doing programming this summer at Titilla that is very similar to what we did at Tenax this year. So he means that the club, the real club scene, is getting closer to research, to the underground, to what is its true nature. Cocoricò himself will be doing a program this summer at Titilla that is very similar to what we did at Tenax this year. So it means that the club, the real club scene, is getting closer to research, to the underground, to what is its true nature. Cocoricò himself will be doing a program this summer at Titilla that is very similar to what we did at Tenax this year. So it means that the club, the real club scene, is getting closer to research, to the underground, to what is its true nature.

What can you tell us instead of the live scene? Tickets are increasingly a luxury item and many small and medium-sized names have chosen not to go on tour for lack of sufficient economic return. As far as we are concerned, I must say that this hybrid solution that we have adopted allows us to reduce many costs: I am perfectly aware of the difficulties of live performances but I am also aware of the economic difficulties of our country. The truth is that we struggle to keep up with certain foreign countries. And consequently also the live shows. Which now have very high costs and if raw materials increase by 30% as has happened, it is impossible to make it a business for promoters, but also for those who play.

Do you want to share a thought about Sergio? For me, I speak on a personal behalf, he was a mentor, an older brother. He has grown me as a man, even from a cultural point of view he has made me know many things. He raised me as a producer, when I met him I was 29, I was very young. We shared a lot, for me the experience with him was more than just sharing a stage. Sharing the study then maybe it's almost like having. maybe it's more than having a wife! (laughs) A person with incredible values that I really respected.

When did you play for the first time at a Pitti party? The first time I think was in '93, there was still Meccanò, the historic Florentine club of the '90s.

Tell us the craziest thing that happened to you at one of these parties. I've always loved the meltin' pot of Pitti parties, there are 50-year-olds but also 20-year-olds, the gay world and the straight world, all together with a great desire to party, and this is the real characteristic for this type of event. I remember an incredible party where, at half past three in the morning, I found a nun at the console..

A nun!? Yes, because above where we were playing there is a convent and the nun came to ask me to turn down the volume. But smiling eh!

Well, she's still a nun. She was super cool, she looked like Sister Act!

ABOUT US POLO ASSN. U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the non-profit governing body of the sport of polo in the United States and one of the oldest governing bodies in the sport, having been founded in 1890. With an imprint multi-billion dollar global business and worldwide distribution through approximately 1,100 retail stores US Polo Assn. and thousands of department stores, as well as sporting goods, independent retailers and e-commerce channels, US Polo Assn. offers clothing for men, women and children, as well as accessories and footwear in more than 190 countries worldwide. U.S. Polo Assn. was named among the top five sports licensees in 2022, according to License Global. For more information use uspoloassnglobal.com and follow @uspoloassn.

ABOUT INCOM Incom, founded in Montecatini Terme (PT) in 1951, manages the apparel sector of the US Polo Assn brand under license. and produces and distributes important clothing brands all over the world. Furthermore, Incom is one of the main suppliers of military and paramilitary clothing to the Italian state both for what concerns uniforms and for technical clothing made with the special Float proprietary patent for floating garments. Since January 2008, it has been producing and distributing men's, women's, children's clothing, underwear and beachwear in Europe under the US Polo Assn. brand, recording constantly increasing sales results. For further information: www.incomitaly.com.

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