Folder (English Interview)

Folder has been a cool Nu/Crossover Metal band from Italy. A lots of people ouside Italy still love their music, so, this is the interview with Folder translated in English for all the Folder's fans around the world :D

1) Hello and let's introduce yourself! Well, I have a music blog, and I have opened it because my first idea was supporting expecially all italian underground bands, playing in 1998/2003... when I was a teen and I was listening them! I bought some Metal magazines like Psycho!, Metal Shock, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound...
I still remember a lots of italian bands, their first demos, often reviewed as "best demo of the week/top band". People used "paper and pen" for talking with the bands, eh eh!

Mana: Hello! I'm Mana, and I was the singer. Yeah, I remember those years, too. I loved so much those magazines you were talking about, and today I'm not a fan of the mp3's files, I still love the real cd's!

Max: Hello to everybody! I'm Max, I was the guitarist. I bought those magazines too, and when Mana and I were walking down the street, at night, we went in a bookstall for buying some english magazines like Psycho, Metal Hammer and Kerrang; Mana still loves these magazines!



2) Folder: what is the meaning of the monicker?


Mana: The name was an idea of other guys, before I entered in the band. The meaning sounds as a "box full of styles"
 
Max: The name of the band was a Pablo's idea, the first singer of the band. Pablo has sung with Mana for a project, a mini-cd at the beginning of the band's activity, but I was not in the line up of the band, in that time.


3) Your music is so amazing: it has got energy, impact and modernity in the mood, still today! Can you talk about your full lenght albums
"Keep the flow" and "Right Things"?  I remember that "Drastic" and
"It's Tricky" were released on Rock Sound's compilations and some magazines like Psycho! reviewed you as the best band of the week... In particular, I remember very well "It's Tricky". These are two amazing songs; in your version, "It's Tricky" sounds very futuristic. You have worked with Stuck Mojo too.

Mana: Yeah, we appeared as guests on magazines, and a lots of music  magazines added our singles on their cd's. At my point of view, this was an amazing thing, e we have got a very important status.
"Keep the Flow" was more "full of passion, full of our own blood", and full of impact. Stuck Mojo and Limp Bizkit were our best influences. Well, I listen it today, I found it a bit unripe, but it is still a great enterprise :)
"Right Things" was more ripe with some classic rock mood without rap singing. I adore that album, but it was released only for the asian marketing.
"KTF" was released in a japan re-issue editon and both albums were appreciated by fans, expecially in Japan, and by musical reviewers.
I still remember that Tower Records and HMV with our big photos exposed in the Tokyo's stores!

(Lunaria's personal comment: I have found two russian web sites talking about you, too!!!)


Max: That was a great period, funny and full of gratifications.
We played shows on stage, there were more money and the things were organized very well.
"Keep the flow" was an album "straight in your face", it was full of passion, with all our blood inside, more artless and it's perfect playing on stage that kind of sound. There is a lots of sonic impact, inside. The sound was created by Alex too, the other mind in Folder project. But he died, and the sound was changed.
"Right things" was more elaborate, there are some experimental moods, the search of different music styles, it was more heterogeneous. Both our albums were appreciated by fans and by music magazines and we are labeled as one of the best italian band in Nu Metal scene. 
 
4) I like so much the cover artworks. In "Right Things" we see a big alien green face, very spooky... It stays in people's mind, at the first seeing. In "Keep the Flow" you have chosen a cartoon-colourful artwork. Why are the meanings of these choices?

Mana: Thank you! We care a lots about the graphic look of our creatures... They were two different approaches.
"KTF" was more funny and so a cartoon-artwork was more suitable.
The cartoon was sketched by Brad Lambert: you know, he has worked with Korn, System of a Down and Slipknot, too!
"Right Things" was more dark and introvert, and so a threatening alien was perfect for the music mood!
 
Max: Yeah, we always loved caring about graphic.
"KTF" has got two different artworks: the italian cover, the first we have chosen, was totally in orange. We call it "our orange album", a bit psychedelic choice, but we liked a lots, because it was full of impact.
(Lunaria's personal comment: yeah, I have read a fan's comment, on
 YouTube, and he was talking about that cover).
When the album was edited for Japan's stores, we worked with
Brad Lambert, he was very knowned, and so that is our most famous artwork.
For "RT" we have chosen an artist who loved playing with objects and perspectives.
He made amazing things: the alien was created with three bottles photomanipulated in an alien's face. We loved this artistic work and we used it for our album.
 
5) In 2000/2003, Nu Metal was born. It was mixed with Rap, and I have still the first demos of italian bands riviewed on Psycho!
Expecially, I remember Anacroma, a great band.
What do you remember of that time? In your opinion, will Nu Metal ruturn and arise from his ashes, one day? I remember the war among the listeners of old Style Metal (Thrash, Heavy, Power...) and the listerners of the Crossover/Nu.
I have talked about it with Samsara, another Crossover band, too.
Some readers of Metal Shock or Metal Hammer often denigrate Nu Metallers, or called them with dirty words, such as "Hip Hoppari", an italian slang full of hate against B-Boys and people into Rap.
I find this an example of music racism. Surely, in Nu Metal's scene, some bands were mediocre or without personality, and the scene slowly decay over itself. But there were also a lots of bands who created a new sound, never listening before: I cite bands like first Korn, Soulfly, Coal Chamber or Spineshank!
Folder too, have left their mark in the Italian's scene...


Mana: Well, I was a big fan of so-called Nu Metal, but I prefer more the label Crossover. I listening a lots the Crossover bands, and still a day my favourite bands are Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and so on... I never noticed the hate among the listeners of the "true pure Metal" and "Crossover's fans", but it could be. You know, when something or somebody becomes famous, other people become envious and some bands in Nu Metal were real superstars!
Yeah, I suppose that Folder was one of the most important band in the Crossover Italian scene... Linea 77, Addiction and other names were famous too. I have beautiful memories of the old scene.... And I still remember the KM we made with the van, up and down for the Italy! From Bolzano to Salerno, we went through all whole Italy! eh eh!

Max: One thing I love, in the music, is its democracy, you can do and listen everything, and there is, somehow, in some way, there will be a critical voice against you. I loved so much that genre, even if I was selective, I adore Hip Hop and Metal, and the style was funny, but I didn't appreciate all Limp Bizkit's albums, for example, I prefered Hed Pe or Stuck Mojo, Korn and Deftones, Spineshank, but not P.O.D and Linkin Park (I respect these bands, of course). In Italy we have very good bands, those Mana was talking about, they were the best way of the Italian Scene, but there was also the Hard Core scene, who has got a lots of followers, Browbeat, Big House Burning, Livello Zero, Crackdown, just mentioning few names...


6) I'm feeling sorry thinking about your split up... Have you ever thought about a re-union?
In that period, Facebook and Youtube were not the mass medias that are today, and for a band could be difficult having some publicity. In my opinion, some of our italian bands, who are splited up, should have had a good success if they should having used the social networks. People use them for having publicity without spending a lots of money.

Mana: No, we don't have thought about a re-union, but maybe we could do only a gig. (Lunaria's personal comment: we are waiting for it! :D) Actually we have some engagements and it's not easy organizing the event. About social network, I don't know... Internet was both harmful and useful for music business. It killed the selling of albums, but has brought more visibility for all the bands.
In my opinion, as all things, internet too should be used with intelligence and often people don't use brains.
I think that the decay of Nu Metal's scene was causated by
"peer to peer" among listeners that destroyed the little bands like us...  The promotion without costs is a legend... If I'll planning a band, after my experience in all these years, I will watch the richness of each member player: today without money power you can't do nothing. Sad but true.

Max: Yeah, maybe it is sad, but in my opinion we splited up because we have said all we wanted to say, and we have begun some new things. No, we don't thought about a re-union. Maybe one gig, for friends. In my opinion, social networks don't make the life easier, they give you visibility but everyone can be watched, and people sometimes don't follow a band for her quality but choose following the trendy band with more followers. I think this is tiring, you must be online 20 hours on 24 for promoting your band or pay someone who does this for you or cheating on counter! This is not for me!



7) What kind of music do you love listening and what are you doing, actually?

Mana: I was out of the music business for 4 or 5 years. After Folder's experience, I founded Idols Are Dead. Some weeks ago we have begun playing something, but it is still underground.
I still listen to "old school Nu Metal scene" such as Korn, and so on, and I love some italian rappers like Salmo and Club Dogo and some american rock such as Nickelback, Shinedown, Daughtry and so on... 
 
(* Salmo worked with Dope Dod for "Blood shake" and Club Dogo are one of the first Rap band in Italy)

Max: I listen to every music's style, there are a lots of good music, in the past and actually, I listen a lots old Heavy Metal, Folk... a lots of bands.
 
8) Finish as you want!

Mana: Thank you and congratulations for your music blog and for "taking out of the grave" our old memories! :)

Max: Thank you for this interview and good luck for your music blog.
I thank each Folder's fan, one by one, expecially people who still  listen our music and keep it alive.