Solo Noi has “The Magic Touch” Exclusive Interview
SOLO NOI
Where are you from and could you tell us a little about your upbringing?
We are both from South London. Bob had an Italian father and English Mother, John had Irish parents. They came from Limerick and Mayo in Ireland and met at the Galty More dance hall in London. John’s father worked on building sites around London and John lived with his 3 brothers and sister on a council housing estate in Orpington. Both John and Bob’s families were very into music. Bob loved the Italian operas of Puccini and Monteverdi, while John got into Irish folk with The Dubliners and the Chieftains. Upbringing was strict catholic. John went to secondary school and then University to study Economics where he started his first psychedelic rock band, Meat Axe Jackson and The Tri-state bootleg. They supported many touring bands - Supertramp, Genesis, and Dr John among them. Bob got a job in a fish and chip shop serving the customers and formed a songwriting partnership with Clive Allerby. John and Bob met in 1982 in a squat in London and began writing together from that point on.
Whats your favourite genre of music to make and what inspires to create?
We like a lot of genres, like 80s electro pop, AOR and indie rock but our favourite is pop jazz. We are inspired to create by the signs and conversations we hear around us - on busses, in cafes and pubs and on the media. Sometimes it’s just a label - for example “sell by date” became a song after seeing a poster in a cafe. "Dreaming of America” became a song after seeing the crises in America on TV with people trying to immigrate there from Central America. “The Magic Touch” was inspired by Johns friends talking about how art and love meet inside relationships.
Could you tell us about your latest project?
The Magic Touch is the current single - an unusual indie jazz pop song. It’s a happy track in a world full of bad news. All about a relationship that works on a deep level but has a simple emotional physical connection - love. It’s like an early Beatles song with jazzed up melodies. John uses his actor training to deliver a dramatic rather than melodic vocal, picking up a mix of genres as the song develops - On the outro The Doors influence carries the song to its conclusion. Still in production are a series of singles that move between genres and they will be released each month in 2024. Next up will be The Final Home, a song about finding a meaningful life among the challenges that we all face, then The Only One - about the journey through cancer and light rain - allegorical story of getting the wrong impression that everything is ok - when it is not and someone needed to issue a warning - In this case when John’s wife lost her life to cancer despite being told she would recover.
Who are some of your favourite musical influences?
The Dubliners, Mozart, Puccini, Bizet, The Beatles, The Stones, Cream, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, The Doors, Steely Dan, Pet Shop Boys, The Eagles, Madonna, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Damned, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Genesis, The Police.
Are there any notable people that helped you along the way?
Lucio Dalla produced and sung backing vocals on Bob’s first single for CBS Italy, Too Much to Me, which reached no 2 in the Italian charts. John was helped by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and Mason Rouge Studios, Gus Dudgeon (Elton John’s producer) and Tony Tavener (five star producer) They all helped produce his first singles with his London based band The Papers, reaching 3 in the indie charts. Malcolm Forrester at Panache music signed John for publishing and provided finance for his later career.
John later formed Kan Kan, a reggae/folk band with Simon Crowe from The Boomtown Rats, producing one album.
Besides music what are your hobbies and fun things you like to do?
John produces short films, walks on Dartmoor, volunteers to help out at the local Hospice and travels a lot, especially around Europe. He’s just got back from Paris where he played at Monmatre jazz club. He’s has also played in Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Copenhagan this year. He also writes poetry and is the middle of writing his first book about living in communes. John is program director of The Exeter Respect Festival, a multi ethnic music and dance event that takes place each year in Exeter and also runs a film company, Phlixa Productions. Bob is somewhat of a recluse who enjoys walks and nature talks about and around the New Forest in the UK. He reads a lot of research into science and politics.
Are there any changes you would like to see in the music industry?
Yep! The majors still dominate the industry and getting in is more difficult now than ever. Radio and promotional outlets focus on the existing stars - It would be good for some of the funds made by the majors to be spent developing new artists and royalties to be fairly allocated for streaming. Older musicians are treated with utter distain by most of the music industry. It still focusses on exploitation of the young with little concern for the impact this then has on their lives.
Brexit screwed up relations with Europe. This needs to be reset so that musician’s can travel freely.
What can we expect from you in the near future?
More pop jazz and exploration of multi genre music. We write and produce singles so we stick to 3.5 mins or shorter as far as possible. We’ve been asked to join a local research project that aims to develop young disadvantaged kids from 14 upwards into the music dance and performance industries that are dominated by the middle and upper classes. We are also starting our own local venue and helping to run our annual City festival ( the Exeter Respect Festival) .
Any last remarks
Music is the best communication tool in the world. It should be compulsory on every education curriculum, not a privileged add on for the well off and well connected. There are great things in this world and it’s right we should sing about them - love in particular. But there are dangerous things as well, sad events that turn your world up side down. We should not avoid singing about them.
Check out the official site at:
Stream their music on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CY5Uuixcmqz9OsSh5KycM?si=1wF94mU3QeGabc1369Pw6g
