AN INTERVIEW WITH GENTILESKY
4-1-26
PHOTO CREDIT: ROSA BRIANDA
1. Thanks for this interview! Would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band?
Thank you so much for interviewing us! I’m Yaprak, and I do the vocals.
2. Would you tell the readers a little about yourself, such as where you’re from and your background as a musician, and what got you into punk and alternative music? Take us down your musical rabbit hole if you would!
So the band is from Sardinia, Italy, but I’m from Istanbul, Turkey. So even if we all grew up in the punk scene, we have different upbringings and backgrounds. I was just a teenager when I first got into punk, reading about it for the first time in a Turkish music magazine, I guess it was a special issue about the 25th anniversary of punk or something. I’m talking about the beginning of the 2000s, btw, ahaha. It was the first time I was reading about The Velvet Underground, and I remember going to this pseudo-record store that would burn you CDs or dub tapes, and giving him a list of bands (Velvet Underground being the first) to make me a CD. I think that was my first ever contact with punk. After that, I met people around my age who were into punk in Istanbul in a short time, I think this was 2002. I started doing vocals in Poster-iti in 2003, and it lasted 3 years. Our drummer, Deniz, and I were still in high school, while Can and Ozgur were in their first years of university. We recorded an album called Sari Cizgiyi Gecmeyiniz and a demo for the second album, but before recording the second album, I left the band. So for me, it was really about finding punk and, fast forward, making part of a scene and a band, organizing gigs and everything.
3. Tell us about the band’s origin story—how and when did you form, and did you have a concrete vision for the project at the outset?
I moved to Sardinia almost 10 years ago, and that’s when I met Andrea, Claudio, and Simone. They had been playing together in different bands for 15 years (now 25 years lol), like The Rippers, Thee Oops, Sushi Corner, Love Boat, and so on. I had even seen Claudio and Andrea playing with The Rippers and Thee Oops live before even meeting them. They became good friends of mine over time. During the first COVID period, I started talking to Andrea about starting a band together, and it was clear from the start that Claudio and Simone would be part of it. It’s funny because when I first arrived here, I would joke that it would be a dream to play with these guys. And it actually happened. Almost 5 years ago, we entered a rehearsal room and left with our first song. I think we all had an idea of what we wanted; the connection was there, and we wrote the songs for our first album, Ways of Seeing, almost immediately.
4. What is the meaning of the band’s name and how does that tie into the music?
It’s a direct reference to Artemisia Gentileschi. She was one of the masters of Baroque painting in Italy and the first woman to be admitted to the Florence Academy of Art in the 17th century. Our first album, Ways of Seeing, has a hidden concept around the representation and gaze towards female bodies, and the title track is a reference to John Berger’s book of the same title. The tie is there, on a symbolic level: being a woman in a band, being the one gazed at on stage, and looking back at the ones watching me perform. The artworks I made for both albums are remakes of Artemisia Gentileschi’s work.
5. How would you say your sound has evolved over the course of the band’s lifespan thus far? How do you feel this context and experience informed the creation of your second album, Dream, out April 3rd via Slovenly Recordings?
Our sound has evolved primarily as a result of the stylistic choices we've made along the way. Sometimes these decisions have left us a bit unsettled and even led us to start from scratch on some parts. However, this process has helped us further filter and refine our ideas, leading to a sound that's different from our first album. That said, we've still retained some recurring characteristics, such as staying true to the band's live sound. Our live gigs have a vibrancy that is hard to translate in our recordings, but Dream has a closer feeling to it, and I really love that about this album.
6. As mentioned, Dream will be released via Slovenly Recordings. How did that relationship come about?
We all have a connection to Pete Slovenly. Slovenly Recordings pressed quite a few albums of Claudio and Andrea’s old bands, The Rippers and Thee Oops. I met Pete in Istanbul a long time ago, and I actually came to Sardinia for the first time with him to DJ at a festival here. I coorganized We’re Loud Istanbul (it’s a moving festival that Pete and Eunice organize around the world!), and with Gentilesky, we played at We’re Loud at the Tremiti Islands as well. So the connection is there, we are friends, and we’re at home at Slovenly Recordings.
7. Let’s dig into Dream a bit more. What else can you tell us about it—contents, writing and recording, etc.?
When we decided to make the second album, we took a break from touring to focus on writing it. We took our time; at times, it was even painful to focus on writing rather than playing gigs, but it was also much needed. At the beginning, we had different ideas about the sound. Between these two albums, we made quite a few more angular and distorted songs, and I guess it was our intention to continue that way. As we recorded these songs for a demo, we realized that recreating their energy in a recording wasn't possible. So we decided to put those songs aside and start from the beginning. And after writing a few songs, we realized we were heading in a more punk direction. That’s why we asked our friend Piff (from Shitty Life, Dadar, Slow) to come and spend a week with us to record the album, and it was the best decision we made. We recorded the album in mid-August with Piff, who also mixed the album. And our friend Nene mastered it. So by November, we had the album ready.
8. I understand you’ll be touring Europe following the album’s release. Are there any details you are able to provide at this time?
We’ll be touring in Italy following the album’s release. For the latter part of the year, we have a tour underway, and unfortunately, I can’t share details yet.
9. Who are some contemporary artists whose work you respect and you think we should be paying attention to?
From Italy, Dadar/Shitty Life, Hallelujah!, Essaira, Astio, Movie Star Junkies, Fera, James Jonathan Clancy, Claudio’s other band X-Nipples, Post Coital Tristesse, and many, many more I can’t even mention. From Istanbul, my old friends Die In Vain, and even if it’s not a band, I would love to mention the ANTIPODE zine series made with a lot of love and hard work by my friend Doga Sultan. It’s a zine/book documenting the punk, hardcore, DIY, and political scenes in SWANA regions. The second issue is coming up later this year, and you can buy a benefit t-shirt to support the second volume.
10. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Any last words for the reader?
Thank you so much for this interview. I hope that we can meet at a Gentilesky concert and dance together. And last but not least, no to wars and genocides!
