jj mazz
Luca Mazzieri, aka jj mazz; press photo courtesy of the artist.
Luca Mazzieri is jj mazz, from the Apennine Mountains of Italy who debuts his self-made video for the motorik synth romp, “Asshole”. Found off his forthcoming first album MoFo available now from his cassette label La Barberia Records (Be Forest, Brothers in Law and Baseball Gregg) that he runs with Giovanni Papalato; Luca balances his time playing guitar with the band A Classic Education while nurturing a solo outfit of home-woven sounds. The result are rumbling chords, peppy percussion, synths, and dreamy vocals that burrow their way into the consciousness and stay for an entire season or two.
The video for “Asshole” combines images of the artist juxtaposed with images of eels, and fish featured from an aquarium. From here locales of Italian hillsides and the trademark skull mask of jj mazz appears in the surreal stream of images. The song “Asshole” moves the insult title along Euro freeways that are driven by guitar rhythms and a drum that keeps the BPMs and RPMs steadily ticking away on a magical voyage. Don’t get mad at us if after the video has ended you find yourself repeating the refrain of “just an asshole” to yourself while strolling & strutting leisurely down the road. Read our following interview with jj mazz’s Luca Mazzieri.
Tell us about your work with A Classic Education, toward focusing on your solo work as jj mazz.
Ace is a five pieces band so I used to be more focused on my guitar’s line trying to feel what Jonathan wanted to “say” and giving my touch.
jj mazz is me by myself and….I have to play all the instruments [laughs]
But I think, at the end, it’s not so different because both bands are rock & roll…like same attitude I mean and attitude is the only think that matter.
Describe for us what sorts of focuses and feelings impacted your debut album, MoFo, and I’m also interested in hearing about the founding of La Barberia cassette label that you and Giovanni started.
Mofo is a collection of 7 broken-neck love songs.
Is my new way of living. My old demons…faced in a lovely place!
I try to put in jj mazz all the stuff I love: Johnny Jewel, Dirty Beaches and Vincent Gallo.
I think Apennine Mountains help me a lot to find a way and I think I got it.
La Barberia Records started in 2011 in the Barber Shop (Barberia in Italian..) of Giovanni’s father, Rodolfoand we started with some really diy secret gigs: Giovanni and I are really music lovers and collector so start pressing cassettes was very natural…. Be Forest, Brothers in Law, Baseball Gregg and the local folk singer hero Setti…. all play in the barber shop and are on cassette for La Barberia… Really proud!
Now we press even CD and vinyl but jj mazz will be on cassette.
Luca Mazzieri, aka jj mazz; photographed courtesy of the artist.
Who and who may have inspired the song, “Asshole”, and tell us about the making of the aquatic juxtapositions of the video.
I’d like to say is for myself, just to remind me always to stay true….. but it fits well for a couple of guys i know….
I made all the video with my iPhone…
I found this abandoned pool during a walk and everything started… the skeleton (is my alter ego)… the fishes…feeling dumb underwater….
We say shit floats so an aquatic situation got its symbolic address.
Describe to us what life is like in the Apennine Mountains of Italy.
It’s a kind of life I’m starting to love. Playing a lot with Ace I was always on the run and I think I was a good party-man. Now I spend my free time walking around with my girlfriend. We have a lot of small lakes, rivers and woods…my evening in spring and summer are in the garden with a good wine, smoking cigars, playing guitar with my three cats.
I can’t see a lot of shows and I miss it but I feel fine.
Summer plans for jj mazz?
jj mazz live will be a trio (bass drums and guitar) and I have 25 minutes of show. I’m really in love with DIY situations so house concerts, dive bar or opening act in small festival could be my cup of tea.
There is this beautiful venue on the beach in Marina di Ravenna called Hana bi… should be magic so….Chris, can you hear me?
The jj mazz album MoFo is available now from his cassette label La Barberia Records.
