Interview: Giancarlo Erra

While perhaps best known as the front man of the prog band Nosound, Giancarlo has a writing credit on the song “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” off of Schoolyard Ghosts

What is the story behind “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” and how did come to meet Tim Bowness?

Beautiful Songs You Should Know indeed stems from the start of our collaboration with Tim, that dates back to more than 10 years ago. We started working in 2008 I think, when we did “Someone Starts To Fade Away” for Nosound’s album Lightdark. But we were in contact before as Tim liked Nosound’s first album Sol29 and helped us selling it on Burning Shed.

After our collaboration on Lightdark album, we decided to do more and the bases for Memories Of Machines project were born. Our collaboration was joining my music with his unmistakable voice and lyrics/melodies, and we started working on and recording MoM first album Warm Winter.

In the meantime we also decided to meet in New York where Tim was living at the time, and there we recorded most of the album demos and parts that eventually made it to the final album.

Then in 2009 I moved to UK also helping Tim and Pete Morgan with Burning Shed and expanding my music work, so things accelerated as at first I was actually living with Tim so the work on the album was intense.

Beautiful Songs was one of the first we did, and one that immediately captured both of us, and I can still remember how easily it resonated with Tim and how quickly we knew it was going to be one of the main songs. I particularly loved the lyrics of that one, and so I was very happy when Tim asked me to have it also included in No-Man Schoolyard’s Ghosts (that contains other elements that were also present during MoM sessions).

What made you seek out Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree/No-Man drummer) for Nosound’s 2013 album Afterthoughs

As for Chris’ collaboration, it was a combination of factors to be honest. First of all Chris has always been one of my favourite drummers, being very dynamic and “alive” instead of overly technical while playing, and I always thought was a great loss that ended an important phase for Porcupine Tree. So as we were in contact and I always wanted to work with him, during a change of drummer in Nosound I decided it was the right time to ask him to work with me, and he gladly accepted. We met in Rome for some pre-production and then we recorded the whole album over a week in London, and it was a great time and surely a drummer that imprinted his own sound on Afterthoughts.