Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Claudio Melchior
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory connected to music is a toy piano, one of those made of plastic with a very fake sound, that my parents gave me as a present in the early 1970s (yes, I’m old…I was a kid in the Seventies, but I was already there). It was a wonderful toy, and it opened up an entire world for me. I didn’t exactly grow up to become a great pianist: during adolescence I switched to the guitar, which felt much more rock’n’roll, and that’s the instrument that has stayed with me ever since. But the game of music, with all its magic and sense of discovery, started right there, with that little plastic piano.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My passion was born by listening to the artists who created their masterpieces in the 1970s and 1980s. At first it was rock music (in those years, you almost had to be rock) and then electronic music in the 1980s, which I didn’t actively search for but ended up listening to constantly, with MTV and the radio always on in the background. When you hear someone creating something so beautiful, capable of telling their own world and making you feel those emotions, it’s natural to want to try as well. To create something new, to tell something of your own, and to see if you can move someone, even just a little.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
At the center of the project there’s a man (a musician who is no longer very young) who still has a strong desire to play with life and with music, but at the same time feels that time is tightening. It isn’t infinite, just like any song that inevitably ends after three or four minutes. That awareness creates a strong urge to stop those moments, to hold on to emotions, and to leave them somewhere that can last. I’m currently working on my third release, which will actually be a four-track EP, entirely dedicated to the theme of time: time passing, time already gone, and the sense of things slowly slipping away as life moves forward. I started writing these songs in search of answers to questions that have obsessed me for as long as I can remember. Now that the songs are written and recorded, I can say that I haven’t found a single answer: but the questions are beautiful. And the songs too. I have high expectations for this new work.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
If I were describing my past, I would definitely talk about electronics and analog synthesizers. But if I talk about the present, and the direction I’m moving toward, what I’m chasing is a form of pop music: hopefully not trivial, but at the same time aligned with the contemporary pop ear. Acoustic guitars, Fender Rhodes, organic instruments, and arrangements inspired by the way music was built in the 1970s. The idea is to make music that’s accessible, but not plastic.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
That’s a very hard question! (laughs)…I don’t know if there was a single turning point. Many things have changed over the years, of course, but my feeling is that I’m still doing what I was doing at the beginning (hopefully a bit better now) without any dramatic breaks or revelations that suddenly changed everything. What has changed, maybe, is the courage to be more direct and less defensive in what I say. Irony used to be a kind of shield; today it’s more a tool to say things more clearly.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
There’s only one truly essential tool: time. Writing a song usually takes me months (months of attention, reflection, failed attempts). Lyrics and melody need to feel perfectly right in my head before I can let anyone else hear them and start the production process, which is long as well. I don’t release music often, only when I feel it’s really necessary. It’s about time, and hitting your head against the wall until you’re satisfied. Everything else is just an accessory and could easily be replaced.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I write in Italian, so my main references today are Italian songwriters: artists like Giancane, Caparezza, The Zen Circus, and a lesser-known band from Rome that I strongly recommend discovering, Il Muro del Canto. Their songs are very poetic and deeply real. What connects these artists for me isn’t a specific sound, but the importance they give to lyrics and storytelling. That said, for Italian songwriting over the past decade, the real point of reference is Brunori SAS, in my opinion, the best of them all.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I divide my time between music and teaching at university, where I do research. Since my academic work focuses on society and communication, the attention I’ve learned to give to observing the world and people inevitably flows into my lyrics. As a result, my songs rarely deal with the classic themes of pop music, especially love. Across my albums I’ve talked about the meaning of life, the questions we ask ourselves, the nonsense, the doubts, and the contradictions that accompany our existence. At some point I realized I had become an existentialist. 🙂
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
The message is that reflecting on life and on who we are isn’t useless: it can actually be beautiful. It helps you live a deeper, more layered life, rather than a flat and monotonous one. The emotion I hope to convey is sincerity and human closeness. Listening to my songs should feel like discovering another person’s most intimate thoughts, and realizing that some of those thoughts are shared.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That life is beautiful and should be lived fully, because it doesn’t last forever. Spending your time on something meaningful, and trying to leave something behind that can last, feels incredibly important to me.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Honestly? None… I try to let my music live mainly through digital spaces. My real dream is to find more and more people willing to put on headphones and press play. I discovered early on that being on stage can be wonderful, but also very stressful for me, and it has always generated a lot of anxiety. Occasionally I perform live with a guitarist for small situations, but it always costs me a great deal of energy. Today, for better or worse, music can travel and reach listeners even without tuning a guitar and facing an audience. And that’s a space where I feel more comfortable.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Without a doubt, Leonard Cohen. I would love to observe him, to understand how he composed, how long it took him, and what kind of mental and creative process he followed to achieve that magical balance between poetic lyrics and musical completeness. Unlike many other great poets, Cohen wrote songs that remain memorable even if you hum them without words (just “la la la”). Reaching that level of quality and balance is, to me, a peak that very few artists have ever achieved.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
My music is available on Spotify, YouTube, and all major digital platforms under my name, Claudio Melchior. In any case, here are some links:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ClaudioMelchiorMusicSwag
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/24HuQEN19sEFHZpg6Yt2rn
Website: https://www.claudiomelchior.it
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Maybe finding the courage to return to live performances. 🙂
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope they discover the sincerity and the immense effort I put into trying to create the best songs possible. It’s a continuous challenge and a daily commitment that I’ve carried on for years. I hope this comes through, especially in the new songs that will be released in the upcoming EP, which I expect a lot from.
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