Interview with Mardi Gras

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Liina Rätsep: I started to sing as soon as I started to speak, music has always been the most important part of my life and as a kid I would often spend hours listening to music, singing and playing. I started piano studies at a young age (I must have been around 5) and "wrote" my first songs when I couldn't even write properly yet. It was all quite natural for me - music schools and voice lessons, different music-related activities like choir and ensemble practices, bands and other projects just kind of came to me. I do and have done other things as well but music has always been there, no matter what else I do I always keep singing and creating. If it wasn't music, perhaps it would be theater or sports, who knows.

Fabrizio Fontanelli Hello! that's a good question! Music was a driving force during my school days, listening to records, tapes, whatever..we had this small gang where music was swapped and we discovered a lot of great great music. It was natural for me to buy a bass first, a guitar later. Ireland and its music played a major role. All the bands and songwriters I was listening at the time and had the chance to meet in person in my Dublin days. I can't do anything else than music I suppose

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Liina Rätsep: I like to spend time with my family, just relax and when possible, escape the city for a mini adventure. A little over a year ago I started practicing aerial gymnastics and improvisational theater, these are my two hobbies that bring me joy and also some lovely challenges. I should say that life in general inspires me and my state of mind is perhaps what impacts my creativity, there are periods when I have more "ideas" and these are often related to some emotion.

Fabrizio Fontanelli : I love to swim, just me and the water, that's the moment where a lot of ideas sprung to mind.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

Liina Rätsep: Well I was invited to join the band in 2018, many years after the foundation of the group - Mardi Gras had already published three albums before I came around.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: We're around since early 2000, we were an acoustic duo at the time. We were into stripped down versions of some classics from the 70's as well as some original stuff we wrote together. Then the songs started asking to be dressed in a different way and Mardi Gras become first a quartet and then a 6 piece band. So dynamics drastically changed. We changed a lot through the years, people come and go, the music remains. I think our songs brought us all together, the way they are crafted, the way we approach the live shows, the quality of our studio records. We're always pushing the boundaries forward as a band. That's focal to us.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

Fabrizio Fontanelli: We're a Rome based band. I don't know if Rome influenced our music. We never wrote about our city, maybe Rome influenced our videos, "Tried" was shot in very cool locations, a tribute to Rome's street art.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Fabrizio Fontanelli: I was listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival and Mardi Gras was their last studio record. Then I found out that Mardi Gras it's the New Orleans Carnival, a terrific mix of music, joy, colours and extravaganza. We had a lot of Louisiana people amused by our choice. So Mardi Gras means a lot of exciting stuff, colours most of all.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Our most memorable show was playing at Circo Massimo in our hometown, an amazing location. Circo Massimo is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium located between the Aventino and Palatine Hall, a shot away from the Colosseum. It was just amazing playing a live set there. Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones played there and it was like "Ok so this was their view from the stage"

Liina Rätsep: apart from the live at Circo Massimo, to me some other memorable shows were at the Kill Joy Summer festival, and of course my very first show with the band which was at the Crossroads live club back in 2018 - just a couple of years earlier I had seen the Winery Dogs there so that made it a bit more special to me.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Liina Rätsep: we don't have a favorite venue but we love big stages (we are six in the band after all, haha). We are very much looking forward to our concert at the Auditorium Parco della Musica on February 26th and as most artists, we would love to play various important international venues and festivals.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Yes we don't have a favorite venue. We love clubs, we love playing outdoor in the summer. We're playing Auditorium in Rome at the end of February, that's a special venue and it's the first time there with a complete Mardi Gras live show, it's a beautiful theatre and doing theatres is very exciting cause people is actually listening, not getting distracted by food, mobile phones or whatever.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Too many to mention! It'd be fun to share the stage with the likes of Paul Mc Cartney or The Rolling Stones. A sense of history!

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Liina Rätsep: most of all, have fun and experiment, practice, and keep your ears open. Something I would say to my younger self: trust your gut feeling, listen to your heart and believe in yourself.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Put your ego into the songs, not into yourself. It keeps you grounded and you have something that will make you proud.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Liina Rätsep: for me, probably "From Zero to One" to which I wrote the lyrics and the melody - the song is about the situation where one has finished a chapter in their life or maybe has lost everything with no idea how to go on or how to take that first step "to go from zero to one". The song came out shortly before the lockdown which is a curious coincidence - we all know a lot of sad stories from the pandemic years...and we know how having a good friend or a family member as a guardian angel by our side supporting us can make a difference when it comes to facing difficulties in life or accepting new challenges. I believe anyone can relate

Fabrizio Fontanelli: I'd say "Home Again" and "I Say yes": they mean a lot to me. My whole life is there.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Liina Rätsep: "Home again" has always been also one of my favorites together with "Satellites and me" and "Painlover". And I really love the new album "Sandcastle". "I Say Yes", "Shoes" and "From Zero to One" are perhaps among the songs that are more requested.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: We never asked our audience, but again "Home Again" and "I say yes" are between my favorite to play. "Painlover" too. A great moment even for the audience. And i'm very excited about playing live "Sandcastle".

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Liina Rätsep: a song can start from a chord progression, a little melody or just a phrase and the idea could come from anyone in the group. Many songs are written mainly by 2 or perhaps 3 people, but sometimes the whole band participates in the writing process in some way. Inspiration could come from anywhere, be it the news, a movie, some personal or non-personal event, a dream, feeling or a place etc.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: There are no rules, sometimes it's a lyric, sometimes a piece of music. You never know when a song arrives, you have to be ready! Fixing some ideas on a sheet or recording some part to keep it in mind. Then it's down to the band. Life is what inspires us. The world around and inside of us. The dark side that we have, that's a great territory to explore.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Liina Rätsep: We tell stories about life and death, betrayal, friends, gambling, war and peace, climate change and so on, even love. Messages of peace and hope, and consciousness among others.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Music is a great vehicle of emotions.There are always stories behind our songs. We wrote about death penalty, violence against women,narcissism....it's a great privilege to be able to express our point of view on some issue

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

Liina Rätsep: Yes! We just released a new album called "Sandcastle" and the first single from that album is "Lia's Theme" (check also the video). The album "Sandcastle" is different from the previous ones, darker and more towards symphonic rock as we included strings on this one and even a harp in one song. With the album came out also a book (available on Amazon) that illustrates the story of "Sandcastle" and together they form a so-called graphic musical.

Fabrizio Fontanelli: Our fourth studio album "Sandcastle". It's a concept album based on an original New Jersey story. We put music to eight chapters of the story and it was great cause we started from the scratch while they were doing the graphic musical Liina was talking about. It's actually great to read the book while listening to the record.
And shooting the video for "Lia's theme" was a great moment too, with the amazing Manuela Kali as a director.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Liina Rätsep: we present the new album "Sandcastle" in Rome at the Auditorium Parco della Musica on February 26th. This is something in the near future we are probably most excited about.

Fabrizio Fontanelli:. Yes, The live premiere of "Sandcastle". The graphic musical not to forget of course. The whole story is there.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

Fabrizio Fontanelli; www.mardigrasmusic.it. Our official website.Thats the best and more complete way

Liina Rätsep: apart from our website, follow us on social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook.