Paolo Bandera – “Whatever sound I am listening to, I really like it LOUD”

It’s absolutely impressive, but it does not surprise me, I knew that you’re a heavy collector. And, as expected, I see a lot of what I can call ‘heavy’ stuff, things like Swans, Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, Boris, New Blockaders… you with Sigillum S and maybe even more with SSHE RETINA STIMULANS are known for having mostly done works without compromises. Are you really listening most of the time to this kind of stuff? When you’re at home, do you listen that loud, with the stereo amps, or with headphones? In the first case, does your neighbours try to kill you?

Well… I do listen to very heavy and “difficult” music (noise) most of time…. but not always! In any case, whatever sound I am listening to, I really like it LOUD… unfortunately, this means a lot of headphones hours, with open air amp blasting every now and then (neighbors are spared thanks to my very thick walls and triple glass, isolated windows). Confrontational volume is part of the game / fun, so….

Bowie seems to be the most evident exception… or maybe you have other pop bands? Do you have any of the Queen records, maybe?

My roots go back to the decadent, glamorous and tough 70s, so the Bowie / Iggy / Reed trinity is intrinsically part of my DNA. At the same time, I have been buying thousands and thousands of records since then, going from one genre to another with perverse pleasure, without forsaking anything…. this includes (besides the obvious full industrial / experimental range) a lot of kraut rock, prog, punk, new wave, metal, electronic sub-cultures and much more.
I have indeed a lot of “unexpected” tastes… but this doesn’t include Queen at all!
Rather West Coast singer-songwriters or 80’s electro-pop… up to, most recently, Antony / Anohni and Xiu Xiu, which I really adore.

What’s that stuff in (I guess) Japanese? I know you’re a sort of fan of that country and that you’ve been there often alone or with the family…

Yes, I have a real passion for Japan and have been quite lucky to be there many times. What you see in the pictures are sample of my endless collection of Japanoise (from Merzbow, Hijo Kaidan, Masonna upwards) and other kings of the unique Japanese extremes, from Keiji Haino to Otomo Yoshihide and many others (from free jazz to minimal field recordings, etc.)…. I truly appreciate both contents and form of most “unusual” Japanese music, on top of the country itself (people / culture, landscape, food, drinks…. I love them all)!

Drinks? So what’s your favorite drink in Japan?

Absolutely Sake… and then Nikka Whisky and various Japanese Craft Beers.