The ninth edition of Linecheck Music Meeting & Festival will take place from November 21 to 25 at BASE, a cultural and creative center in the heart of Milan’s Tortona district. Once again this year, the event is the main content partner of Milano Music Week, a widespread event dedicated to the music industry. Milano Music Week is scheduled for November 20-26 and is now in its seventh edition. The event will have its headquarters and district right in Tortona. Performances will take place as usual in BASE’s Ground Hall and in the Capsule, a box equipped for 360° filming and streaming. The Capsule features a 60sqm auditorium and state-of-the-art 3D immersive sound. The showcases during the day will feature performances by artists from different record labels and limited-capacity evening shows. This year, Linecheck will collaborate once again with INNER_SPACES review for the Opening Event at the San Fedele Auditorium. The closing party of Linecheck will instead take place for the first time in Bologna, thanks to the collaboration with Robot Festival.
Marta Salogni says the best line right away: “If you stand out, it’s a problem.” In short, to the tricky question of to be or not to be, one of the most sought-after producers and sound engineers of recent years has given her definitive answer. “If all goes well, it’s beautiful, as if you didn’t exist. So it’s better not to be noticed, or at most to be noticed for an excellent result.” The name is perhaps still new to the general public, but her hand can be found in the works of many leading artists, from Depeche Mode to Björk, from Bar Italia to Holly Herndon. In 2022 she also won the Best Producer Mpg Awards in the UK Music Producer of The Year at the UK MPG Awards. Today, starting at 9 PM, Salogni will be on stage at the San Fedele Auditorium in Milan for the opening event of the Linecheck festival. The opening event is included in the Inner_Spaces program. Salogni will play the songs from her album Music For Open Spaces, an album of ambient and avant-garde music released this year. After her performance, Francesco Messina will perform the album Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogico.
Manfredi Lamartina: Marta, when did you have your eureka moment looking at the mixing desk?
Marta Salogni: The mixing desk was my first love. I was 15 years old, in high school in Brescia, and I was part of a group of students at the Magazzino 47 social center. There was a concert hall there, and for the first time, I saw a mixer mixing desk, and I wondered what it was. I was fascinated by the fact that this machine controlled the sound; I fell in love with using the mixer mixing desk as if it were an instrument, positioned not on the stage but in the middle of the audience. I liked the thought of being both part of the band and the people attending the concert, without having all eyes on me. I could raise or lower the volume to create a different emotion in the listener.
ML: A great responsibility.
MS: It’s true, but people usually turn to the sound engineer if something goes wrong.
ML: How do you experience performing on stage?
MS: Going on stage feels natural to me because I approach it in the same way as I do in the studio. I use the same tape machines, so I feel just as comfortable in front of an audience as I do at home. I started improvising music in clubs in London, which is how I developed my method of composition.
ML: In Milan, you will be performing Music For Open Spaces, the album you composed with your partner Tom Relleen, who sadly passed away in 2020. What does it mean to you to play these songs live?
MS: Playing these songs live is an incredibly emotional experience for me. I have only performed the album in its entirety once before. I have decided to play it for the last time in Milan because I believe that this record should exist freely, even separate from me. This is also an opportunity for me to pay tribute to Tom in this context. It is especially meaningful to perform before Francesco Messina, as his masterpiece Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogico has been our favorite album since we first met. We used to listen to it every morning while having breakfast, so it will be a truly unique experience.
ML: How will you be performing the album live?
MS: Since my partner’s passing, I have treated the album like a photograph, wanting to preserve it exactly as it was the last time we listened to it together. I have not changed the mix of the record; it is a work of preservation. On stage, I will bring the original tapes on which I printed the compositions. I will interact spontaneously, using other tape machines to add and process delays, loops, and more.
ML: What was it like working with Depeche Mode on the album Memento Mori, which you produced together with James Ford?
MS: Working with Depeche Mode on the Memento Mori album was an incredible experience. Dave Gahan and Martin Gore are wonderful people who are open to experimentation. James and I had a lot of creative freedom, but they also knew when to step in if something wasn’t working. I really appreciate that about them. It was a small team, just the four of us, which created the perfect environment to explore not only the sound of the songs but also the themes.