The Biggest Rock Band In The World That Nobody Knows

A few days ago, during the delivery of the MTV Awards for Best Music Videosthe band Måneskinfrom Rome, Italy, was censored during the television broadcast.

The reason was similar to the awkward moment that Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake experienced in a Super Bowl. As they introduced themselves, Jackson was seen with one of her breasts. Her unfortunate incident in 2004 cost her her career and cleared Timberlake of all blame.

However, this time, both Damien David, the singer, as the bassist Victoria Angeliswho was seen with one of her breasts while playing the bass, were removed from the cameras for more than 40 seconds of the transmission, which unleashed the fury of the fandoms on social media and put the already dying music video brand back on the map of cultural relevance. But this is not the point.

The Måneskins – who had also just broken it on a smaller platform, but packed to the last corner – were not being besieged by anyone

A few months earlier, during the second weekend of the Coachella festival in Palm Springs, California, as the temperature dropped in the Indio Valley, the Måneskins left their dressing rooms behind the main stage, where Karol G had just made her debut. . The Colombian left her dressing room surrounded by friends, agents, manager, press and loved ones after the historic presentation.

The Måneskins – who had also just broken it into a smaller stage, but packed to the last corner – were not being besieged by anyone. They blended into the crowd with an almost tourist freedom. A few months after Coachella, Julio Correal filmed them on Instagram of him ‘hanging out’ at Lollapalooza Chicago like ordinary attendees. But the truth is that they are not. In fact, Måneskin is the biggest rock and roll band in the world that hardly anyone knows about.

(Also: Coldplay continues to dazzle Bogotá: this was their first concert).

Who are they?

“We are from the north of Italy, near Venice”, says Victoria de Angelis from somewhere in that country, where they are resting after a hectic post-pandemic semester of shows and premieres. “We met in Rome, during our school years”, complements Damiano, the singer, who is a kind of post-punk Elvis with an air of Rob Halford, from Judas Priest, and the silhouette of Dave Gahan, from Depeche Mode.

When I comment on the references, he laughs cheekily. “I’m the one who listens the least to other artists within the band,” answers the Roman, while impatiently playing with a soccer ball. “I don’t have many outside inspirations, actually. Also in the band I am the least passionate about other groups. So I know them, I’m not the most follower. I always try to do what feels natural to me, and I don’t try to copy what others have done.. In general, it’s all very random and intuitive.”

Victoria, 22, desperately takes the ball from him. “Not anymore,” she chides him, and she looks at me apologetically. “Everyone here is a bunch of kids,” she exclaims with a smile. They are hers, including her. She shows them walking freely through the festivals they command, to which tens of thousands of people go to see them. The attitude, completely punk, contrasts with the naivety and innocence of their behavior in interviews, and with the powerful and sexy image they project on social networks.

Everyone here is a bunch of kids’, he exclaims with a smile. They are, including her. She shows them walking free through the festivals they command

But Måneskin knows that he is starring in a role. Victoria and Damiano have become symbols of a generation whose greatest transformation of society, beyond the fight against climate change, inequality and injustice, is indisputably sexual and gender.

For the band, the transformation is of rock as such: the leadership of other times, occupied exclusively by frontmen like Axl Rose, Freddie Mercury and Bruce Springsteen, is shared. When Damiano David and Victoria De Angelis get on a platform, the idea of the leader of the group vanishes to open the field for an explosive duo in every way.

(Can read: ‘It would be daring to say that I am the voice of a generation’: Feid).

The seduction of the public

They start their shows with Zittie E Buonia powerful song whose style fuses the rock hard from the eighties with the best of alternative rock from the nineties. Thomas, the guitarist, takes a position on the left side of the stage, while Damiano is located in the center and Victoria, on the right. Each of them occupies a place that expands and contracts with the fluidity of rhythm, a sonorous tank car of heavy metal, punkeyeliner and leather.

Zitti E Buoni It is the appetizer of an exciting and powerful show. The song won the San Remo and Eurovision festivals in 2021, two famous contests for not rewarding songs of this genre. “It was an incredible moment,” recalls Victoria.

“It was thanks to her that we began to travel, meet many new musicians and meet a thousand incredible things. We had very little chance of winning Eurovision because it was a rock song. In Italy we face this same problem because the music industry told us not to do rock, because it is not the music that is in fashion. It was good to risk doing it and try it ourselves even if it wasn’t the most commercial thing. That had a major emotional impact on us.”

That emotional impact shows when they play it live: as it builds toward the mighty choir, the three of them are transported across the stage and not a single spectator escapes them no matter how many 15,000 people are watching.

Victoria is the best player of the game: if you point a cell phone camera at the bassist close enough, she will pose you without a shadow of a doubt, she will smile mischievously and happily, and you will have on your phone and in your stories an unforgettable postcard, while Måneskin will have its digital capital on the order of the day.

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That emotional impact is noticeable when they play it live: as it builds towards the mighty choir, the three of them are transported across the stage and not a single spectator escapes them.

Despite enjoying a popularity on social networks that any rock band would envy, this digital theme is not something that excites them. Although on occasions, as in Eurovision, the mentions of the group’s name on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram contributed to the growth of their numbers on YouTube and Spotify, and the consolidation of Beginhis first number one in the United States, was achieved thanks to his virality on TikTok, (Begin is an original Four Seasons classic from 1967).

For Måneskin, networks are simply “a good way to connect with people”, reflects Ethan Torchio, the drummer. “It’s not that important,” Damiano argues, with some frustration. “We like them,” says Victoria, “but I don’t know… they are part of our job and we have to dedicate time to that.” Damiano raises his head and with a defiant look towards the camera, he adds: “Networks are like tourists when they come to Italy, who say they like Italy, but not Italians. I like social networks, but I don’t like their users”.

One more thing: when the Måneskin take over the stage with smiles and wavy metal hair, all the instruments sound louder than anything else that is happening in the current festival. “We love to sound hard,” say the four members in unison when asked about the volume. “We have the most punk engineer in all of Europe. Every time we go up on stage we tell him: don’t forget that this has to sound hard”, exclaims Damiano.

If you connect the dots, it’s easy to think that the Måneskin are under enormous pressure to surpass with every song they make some milestone already imposed by the click dictatorships and superficial aesthetics of Instagram and TikTok. Also given the fall of rock from its enormous popularity in the 20th century, it would be easy to think of Måneskin as the messiah of the genre in front of a generation possessed by reggaeton.

Did they resurrect rock?

“We don’t care about this whole idea of resurrecting rock and roll because we feel like it’s not our responsibility,” Damiano says firmly. “We just make songs that we like. At the moment, for us those songs are rock songs. If that’s perceived as refreshing, we’re really glad there are other people out there following our lead, but we’re more focused on our stuff rather than reviving rock and roll.”

(You may be interested: This is how ‘The song’ sounded, by J Balvin and Bad Bunny, performed by Coldplay).

your new song super model continues along the lines of rock and roll. “The United States inspired us. We had been three months in Los Angeles and what amazed us the most is this cinematographic stereotype of teenagers always trying to find success in some way in the best bars and clubs. It was a lot of fun for us because we recognized those stereotypes very easily.” At the end of July, super model it became the group’s second US number one.

Around that time they were also invited by director Baz Luhrmann to participate in the soundtrack of the biographical film about Elvis Presley. “Baz called us while the film was finishing and he thought we would be a compatible band with If I Can Dream, for what it meant to Elvis. There were a couple more songs, but If I Can Dream it felt appropriate. It came out very naturally, we didn’t feel pressured, we just approached the song understanding that the movie is about one of the most legendary artists of all time. We never felt like, ‘oh my God, we have to compare ourselves to Elvis’ or anything like that, we just enjoyed recording the song.”

Victoria’s role

Victoria also does not feel pressure of any kind to be the woman of the group or to become a role model., but he understands his responsibility. A woman like her plays an essential role in how young women are playing an instrument in this age of digital disruption and welcomes her current position:

“There is a lack of representation of women in the music industry in almost all aspects. Especially in rock, which is seen as a masculine genre, because we’re not considered aggressive enough, or I don’t know what. That’s stupid. Fortunately, I have never felt that inequality since I have been with the band, because they are all intelligent people. They are not stupid…

“No, it’s that we hide our stupidity well,” Damiano replies. Victoria lets out a laugh and continues: “The entire environment that surrounds me is aware and respectful of the subject as well. But I remember when I started playing the electric guitar and I was 8 years old, the kids in the class told me that I couldn’t play it, that I had to play the acoustic guitar. Even when it seems silly, it affects you in a certain way. So I’m glad I can stand up and show other women that they can make the music they love.”

ALEJANDRO MARIN
FOR THE TIME
On Twitter: @themusicpimp

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