My
collection of Italo Disco interviews would not be good without this interview,
an interview with the legend and, probably, the best male vocalist in
Italo music, Ken Laszlo. |
I was always wondering
how you came to choose your artistical name Ken Laszlo - particularly as Laszlo
is a Hungarian name and you are Italian.
The fact that
I'm Italian wasn't a limitation to the choice of the name. I chose that name
because it sounded good: we thought it was nice and the production liked it.
There was a point of reference, however: Victor "Laszlo" is the Czechoslovakian
husband of Ilsa (Ingrind Bergam), co-protagonist with Humphrey Bogart in well-known
Casablanca. In this film, Laszlo is a "clandestine" stalked by the
Nazis trying to get away with his wife to the States.
Clandestinity was the principal point for my name. An excellent parallel to
the recurrent situation for singers like me, who gave their voce to a great
number of songs for the emerging Italo disco productions. Who could have been
considered clandestine more than us?
Can you tell us please
your real name and where you were born? - if possible, more about your life
when you were a child!
My name is Gianni
Coraini with one "R" instead of two, as many think. All my fans know
my real name. When I was a child, I sang in the church choir of a small village
just outside my city, Mantova. People say I sang in tune with an angelic tone.
Later when I was in my teens I had my first experience with a band. At 15 I
was ready to perform in ballrooms: I used to have four concerts a week at the
time. It was way too much and yet an essential training. I had much practice
and little theory. I learned how to play the flute, the sax and of course the
keyboards. I noticed I could achieve remarkable results even being self-taught.
I tried for the bass guitar going out with one of the best bass players still
around, Fiorenzo Delegà. He's a great friend and co-producer and co-author
of my latest CD "Future is now" that can be found on the internet
and in stores. We spent a lifetime together. Anyway, I've always had a great
limit trying to play instruments with strings: I can't stand my finger-tips
getting sore and so I quit. Then I spent some time, you'll sure surprised, deepening
my singing technique with another great friend of mine and great singer, Alan
Farrington. He's co-producer and co-author of my latest CD too. And finally
I started seeing a kid who was much younger than me and yet a real genius in
composition and arrangement: he taught me the secrets of creating melodic lines.
He's a great musician and producer of "Future is now", too. That having
been said, mostly I grew up performing around stages. The real gym is the crowd.
On stage you can develop bodily communication, other than musical communication.
But that's another matter...
You are not just an
artist who has a marvellous voice, but also one who is very musically educated.
Can you tell us how it all started?
Thanks for your
compliment! I like you considering me musically well-educated. I didn't attend
any music school. People say that but it's just a legend. I'm self-taught and
everything started as I said before. I have never denied those rumors because
I couldn't. That's right! It might sound nonsense but I've never had the chance
of deciding anything about Ken Laszlo because I didn't own the name. Unbelievable!
It's one of the most incredible facts that people can't imagine. Ken Laszlo
is the most representative name of Italo disco for his songs and for his voice
but the person who owns that voice and sang those songs is mysterious and reserved.
And it's not his nature!
Your
first Italo Disco song is one of the greatest italo songs ever and it is
'Hey
Hey Guy' from 1984. Can you tell us how you met Sandro
Oliva and then Gino Caria who worked with you on this one and other
songs? Sandro Oliva and Gino Caria were my first fellows, but not the only protagonists of that success. Nobody's ever said this before. The real creator of the team was an exceptional musician as to cleverness, instinct and creativity: Claudio Cattafesta, unforgotten and late lamented guitarist. People need to be friends to do magical things. Claudio and Gino were great co-producers and co-authors too; they passed away too early. For personal reasons that I'm not allowed to reveal, Claudio Cattafesta didn't appear. I don't mean to understate the work of the other authors, because they were important too, indeed! That's the thing nobody's ever said before. |
I hope you are in a
situation to tell us the real truth about the composers who wrote 'Hey Hey Guy'
and solve one of the mysteries in Italo Disco. Apparently it is true that Sandro
Oliva wrote the song (it's written on the record cover), but I have information
from a very reliable source (which I'm not allowed to disclose), that says the
names of the real composers are still a mystery. Who are they!?
They are the
team I mentioned before. I can't and I don't want to say why it was only Sandro
Oliva and later Gino Caria the ones who were credited as the real composers.
The voices on the telephone
from the beginning of ‘Hey Hey Guy’ belong to you and to Mark Tower
(as Sandro Oliva said in the interview). Some fans consider these words a little
bit provocative. Can you tell me how you or someone else decided to put these
words in to a song? I would also like to hear your opinion about the whole song
from your perspective!
We thought that
the dialogue thing was a good idea. It was ambiguous or ambivalent. Actually
I think lyrics can be exploited in any way. The most innocent song may hide
unintentional allusions. Hey Hey Guy was a great song musically and stilistically.
Hey Hey Guy' was a huge
success throughout the world and has probably been the most frequently played
song from Memory Records. What is the secret of this incredible success in your
opinion?
The secret for
every song is in his pleasantness. From the melodic line that you find yourself
singing the next day to the right word in the right place.. and also the typical
Italo dance sound.
Ken,
your next song, which also became a huge hit, is 'Tonight'.
Can you tell us more about this song please? Do you think that
the non-vocal sounds are more important than the vocals in Italo Disco
music? |
Ken Laszlo is the artist
who stayed undiscovered for many years. On the opposite side, some artists or
projects became well known thanks to strong coverage in the media, especially
in magazines, but you were, and still are the NAME in italo/eurobeat music.
Why is that you stayed in the shadow?
I did for the
reasons I told you before: I wasn't the one who could decide what to say about
me. It's complicated: I'll try to be brief, but I'll have to go backward in
time! At the beginning, Ken Laszlo was just a name linked to a hit. It was "normal"
that the person you saw performing wasn't the one who actually sang the song
(in Italo disco productions at the time I became Ken Laszlo, I mean). Other
singers with a nice voice went through this. I was a "clandestine"
singer; sure, one of the most wanted by the producers, but they paid me just
for my voice. I couldn't pretend to be an artist, I couldn't pretend a contract.
They would have never let me sing if I did! It was completely natural!
Their main purpose was selling records. There was no need to control the artist:
arranging gigs and promotions with a good-looking substitute was much better!
You'll agree it was completely nonsense! Then again, it didn't go that way for
Hey Hey Guy: it was such a great hit they couldn't risk to defeat it with a
substitute. They needed the real Ken Laszlo, the actual singer, to go on but
I had to live with specific conditions.
Are you a private person?
Almost two years ago in Mantova there was an italo party, and I was there and
only heard you were there too, but many people didn't know that you were around....
What is the reason you didn't introduce your self to the fans. Every single
fan would be so happy and delighted to meet you.
I couldn't stay
due to a previous commitment, so nothing in particular! I'm not a shy person:
I really had to go away.
Can you tell who Mark
Tower is (his real name) and something about him please? He is also one of those
italo disco artists we know little or almost nothing about.
He was asked to collect ideas about Hey Hey Guy's lyric. Then it was tweaked
when I got there. I never knew what kind of relationship he had with the production.
I met him when I was recording Hey Hey Guy.
Is it true that you
haven't done many concerts, and if true, why? - there were other italo artists,
who were, if I may say, at concerts all time ;-)
That's not right!
When I was very famous I performed everywhere and I was a very appreciated television
guest. I used to hit the headlines of the most important magazines. Then this
exciting success stopped with the third single "Don't
Cry".
"Don't Cry" didn't climb the charts like "Hey Hey Guy" and
"Tonight". The name "Ken Laszlo" got victimized by the disagreements
between the French and the Italian production. They couldn't sell out the name
to the French. The Italian production didn't accept the offer and it was hard
to find a new balance to go on. I couldn't personally buy the right to use the
name because there was a new offer by Mauro Farina. Anyway, you need to wait
for better times: I started singing on payment. Very sad indeed!
You worked with Mauro
Farina and Giuliano Crivellente for many years now and still do. How did
you meet them? Do you get on well together and have you been satisfied with
your work with them? By the way, Mauro is my favorite producer ;-)
I see your point.
Mauro Farina e Giuliano Crivellente are great productors concerning the merchandising
but I'm not satisfied, if I have to think about the ten years spent under their
"art direction". They were they one who decided about Ken Laszlo,
while I wasn't allowed to because the conditions didn't change. I couldn't decide
due to the famous deal I told you.
It's clear that I've never liked this thing but I could either live with it
or give up the adventure started with Hey Hey Guy! I had never been able to
express my opinion about the songs. I was Ken Laszlo, and yet I wasn't! I think
I've made myself clear.
You made some great songs with Jenny.
Can you tell us more about her, who she is, and the songs you made with her?
'What
A Lonely Night' is the great one, then 'Whatever Love' (recently we heard
a eurobeat version, released for Asia Records) etc.
No answer, no
comment! Ask the productors...
How did you get into
singing Eurobeat songs?
I can't see how
I could have refused: it's always a question of good songs or bad songs. The
new style augured well as to sales and the production adapted. I wasn't involved
into choosing the songs and my proceeds on sales were relative, so...
You and Gino Caria are
the two of the best vocalists in eurobeat. What does this mean to you?
Nothing in particular.
The strength of the Dance genre has never been the vocal ability of the singers.
Gino and I have never had contenders but I don't think it's very significant.
Do you know the exact
number of italo disco and eurobeat songs you have sang so far? ;-)
I don't know!
Do you?
Which song(s) could
you say are your best and could you give us an explanation?
The first three
are the most inspired and beautiful.
Do you like italo disco
and eurobeat music? I would say you do, because you probably couldn't remain
for so long in these music styles.... Or are you perhaps a bit tired and that's
the reason you are going in a different direction these days?
I'm not tired
of the music that made me famous. I like all music when it's nice. I'm going
to the right direction so I'm offering nice music and, if I may say so, intelligent.
To me music is very important. At last, when I got to be master of my artistic
destiny buying "my" name, I had this strong desire of offering different
songs! My last work transmits this but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna sing
anymore Italo disco songs or Eurobeat songs... or rather, I'll finally be singing
Italo disco and Eurobeat songs that are mine and not of other people. People
may like it or may not like it.
At this point of my career the important thing is to make good music that I
like. I hope other people will too.
Lately we can hear something
new in your music, with a move from italo to eurobeat. While you’re still
producing quality music, I would say you are turning your music in to a style,
which italo fans are not used to hearing from you. I would really like to know
why you made that decision!
At last I realize things I like, or at least things I decide if I like.
Of course I'm also talking about new Italo and Eurobeat songs. Songs with a
different artistic depth: not better, just different. I want to get artistic
satisfaction from what I do. If my fans love my voice, I can't see how they
could possibly dislike my new music. Not only would I like to be Italo disco
Ken Laszlo, but also Pop-rock Ken Laszlo. If my fans are fond of Hey hey guy,
Tonight or Mary
Ann, those songs belong to the past. You can't live in the past: Here and
Now, Flower and Butterfly, Free Man, The Line are my present because Music is
freedom. Any way I am going to sing new Italo Disco and Eurobeat songs, just
not only that music genre. I'm not just an Italo disco singer.
Did you, and do you
still have close friends amongst italo disco artists and producers? If so, can
you please tell us something about it?! I would also like to know how you are
all spending your free time out of the studio, where you have been going, what
you do to relax, and have fun, etc. I think every italo fan finds it interesting
to know what their beloved artists are doing after work in the studio, and what
they do to relax. I could tell you how I am spending time with my friends, ha
ha....
I know every Italo disco artist and producers but I'm not close to anybody
except my first Team and the present one. I paint (go see my paintings on www.myspace.com/kenlaszloofficial),
I compose and read a lot, I meditate. I usually cover 30 km a day by bike, 15
km running and 5 km walking. I sing! I go out with real friends and musicians.
I live!
I couldn't possibly
discuss everything about you in your musical life, but if I didn't ask you something
that is very important, could you please tell me?
Here and now
is very important! It's important the concept of love!
In your career since
the 80s, you were working on at least a couple of songs with producers, who
are among the best in italo disco and eurobeat music, and they marked that period.
In your opinion, what is common to all of them?
They have in
common a strong opportunism. It's up to you to decide if it's either criticizable
or praiseworthy.
Is it possible to share
with us the happiest moment in your italo disco career?
I've had many
happy moments. The happier was when for the first time I could check my popularity
observing the reactions of my fans.
Now, an opposite question
;-) Can you share with us the worst moment in your italo disco career? We would
like to hear your explanation of course.
The worst moment
was when I couldn't buy my name.
Do you have message
for your fans?
Yes I do: open
your ears and especially your heart when you listen to my music . . . Ciao!!!
Thank you so much
Ken for this interview. I wish you all the best in your music career ahead and
to enjoy yourself a lot!
©
Zeljko Vujkovic - February 2008 |
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