Not very long after, the three met at a tie factory and began throwing about some musical ideas. These jam sessions were taped in order to extract any viable ideas that came out of the meeting. Between the three players there was enough musical ‘knowhow’ to make up a complete group, but only by remaining a recording project. Luca could play keyboards, bass and flute, Richard could drum and sing and Stefano could provide guitars.
The decision on what sort of music the three would play was fairly clear cut. They all had been through the prog finishing school and so the basis was all very ‘Topographic’. The actual discussion went a bit like this;
LUCA: So, what the Dickens are we going to be ABOUT, musically speaking?
STEFANO: Dunno, but I’m NOT playing any political stuff, or corny lovesongs.
RICHARD: Well, at my age, I’m not going to sing about maidens with long golden hair who meet goblins and wizards. Come on… that’s embarrassing.
SILENCE…
LUCA: Well?
RICHARD: How about we start by writing some songs about the elements…water…fire…air?
STEFANO: Mmm…keep talking…
LUCA: Well, seeing as you’re the best English speaker…actually being English and all that…you’d better write some words.
RICHARD: Well, if I have to write the words, then I shall want to sing them too.
LUCA and STEFANO: Bravo!
And thus, the band and the idea for the first album came about.
The name Mogador comes from the fact that the band rehearses in the aforementioned tie factory. Mogador is actually the name of a type of cloth used to make ties. It’s a cotton and silk blend that takes it’s name from the Moroccan port of Essauira, from where the cloth originates. It seemed fitting as name, and it was certainly a great absorber of sound too. The band now had a name.
Mindful that the band was not complete, and that a bassist would really complete the sound, Luca said he would ask his friend Paolo Pigni if he wanted to come and play. Paolo seemed to have the perfect credentials; bassist, singer, English speaker, prog fan par excellence, Paolo dropped by and after less than half an hour of playing raised a knowing smile; he liked what he heard and was in. In the end he relented, probably just to shut Luca up. Paolo thankfully saw and heard things that interested him and soon he was a fully paid up ‘Mog’.
MOGADOR I
The first album is a development of the elements theme with some other tracks bolted on. Paolo and Luca supplied two acoustic tracks that seemed to add to the whole bucolic feeling. Luca further lengthened the album with his opening scene setting piece and closing orchestral track. The album was recorded after a very short period of time of the band being together. The structures of the songs were written in Guitar Pro and were regularly swapped between band members for fine tuning and then learning. Drums and vocals were recorded in the tie factory and the rest was laid down at Luca’s home studio. There is no denying the roughness of the finished album, but it is a very worthy first outing. The self-produced album was released in the summer of 2009.
Upon the release of Mogador I, Stefano Lago announced that he wanted to play basketball more than he wanted to play in a prog band. Paolo, Richard and Luca wish Stefano every success in whatever ventures he decides to embark upon.
ALL I AM IS OF MY OWN MAKING
Before the seal on the cellophane of the first CD had dried and cooled, the new three-piece Mogador set about writing the second album. Richard had read of the story of a man who got trapped in a lift in a newspaper and it struck him as a viable vehicle for a narrative album. The other two agreed and set about writing the music. Funnily enough, the album is split almost 50/50 between Paolo and Luca, with Luca coming up with ‘side one’ (remember THAT?) and Paolo writing what would have been side two, had we have been together 30 years ago.
Mogador like to approach every musical project with a fresh set of rules and AIAIOMOM was no exception. It was decided that the album would be written and recorded in rough form using midi instruments as a first step. This, it was hoped, would allow the chance to ‘live’ with the music before finally recording the real instruments. The idea, we think, paid dividends and is reflected in the quality of the work.
So there it is; the potted version of how Mogador was formed three years ago and have so far produced two albums in as many years whilst having played together really very little indeed. Who knows what they might come up with if they got serious?
| Band Members: - Richard George Allen (Drum,Percussions, Vocals) - Luca Briccola (Keyboards, Piano, Guitars, Flutes, Orchestration, Backing Vocals) - Paul Pigny (Bass, Acoustic Guitars, Vocals) Past Members: - Stefano Lago (Guitars) Official site |
