It’s the law to start off all Jennifer Gentle articles with the sentence "Jennifer Gentle isn’t a girl but two guys from Italy." So that’s what we’ll do.

Jennifer Gentle – Marco Fasolo and Alessio Gastaldello – are signed to Sub Pop records, and their album Valende is a thing of frazzled beauty, like Syd Barrett and Nick Drake trying to arm wrestle after staying awake for a week.

From the spazpop of I Do Dream You through the gorgeous acoustically dreamy The Garden and Liquid Coffee and back to the downright deranged barking chipmunkery of Nothing Makes Sense, Valende offers the listener a ride you just don’t get from most albums.

Via the magic of the Internet, we chatted with Marco and Alessio about good food, bad movies and how crap Pink Floyd are…

Who are you, and where are you?
Alessio: I’m Alessio, drummer. And right now I’m at work in Venice/Italy.
Marco:  Marco, guitarist & singer. I’m from Padova, not so far from Venice.

Why should people buy your records?
Alessio: Why should people buy other records?
Marco: Because they’re good, basically. Also, we need money.

How did you go down at the SXSW festival this year?
Alessio: By aeroplane! It was super cool! We played 3 shows: the Sub Pop showcase was obviously amazing but I knew that before flying to Austin. I was totally surprised about Arthur Magazine Party and Chunklet Magazine Party. They both took place at Church of Friendly Ghost and it was a real ex-church!!! The atmosphere was super, I never played before with an audience like that, it was really fantastic. All SXSW is incredible!!!
Marco: The festival was so good, a nice appetiser for the US tour. We liked the people, the Mexican food and meeting other bands was fun too.

Marco, you used to be an ice cream man. What would a Jennifer Gentle ice cream taste like?
Marco: Butterfly honey and mock turtle, with some secret Willy Wonka powder right on top.

Did you see Pink Floyd at Live 8? What did you think?
Alessio: Yes, unfortunately…anyway I think it was 1,000,000 times better then some years ago, when they played without Roger Waters and with 10 session-men on stage. I think it was close to the late 70’s Pink Floyd shows… but I don’t like that kind of Pink Floyd so much.
Marco: No, I don’t watch TV that much. Anyway, current Pink Floyd sounds like an average blues bar band.

Are you fed up with people thinking that you’re a girl called Jennifer Gentle?
Alessio: Actually… I’m a girl called Jennifer Gentle and I want to be the new Cat Power…
Marco: All the reviews start with the same phrase: “Jennifer Gentle isn’t a girl but two guys from Italy”. It’s a bit boring, but there’s a feminine side to our music that we like very much – so Jennifer Gentle. In the end, it’s a good description of our music.

Jennifer Gentle – are you a witch?
Alessio: Yes, sure.

How many men have walked on the moon?
Alessio: I don’t know, but Armstrong was the first one who played trumpet on the moon.

What’s the Italian music scene like?
Alessio: Do you know Eros Ramazzotti? Laura Pausini? They are the most famous Italian singers… so you can have an idea now…
Marco: Italian music is pretty disappointing right now, and honestly we don’t fit our national scene very much. We’re kind of outsiders, and we like to feel like that.

Preach about something you love (not related to the band) in 100 words.
Alessio: I love wine and good food. I know it is a post-card description of the average Italian man but… I love Italian food… I stayed for 2 months in USA and I have definitively understood how good Italian food is. I recently discovered a farm in which you can eat real natural food and drink excellent wine… it is incredible!!! I’m sorry for being so Italian and not enough indie rocker…
Marco: I’m into really bad movies – slashers, gore, wicked stuff. I particularly love early 70’s stuff, some movies from that era are totally crazy. There were some good Italian directors too: I love Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodato. Mario Bava’s Semaforo Rosso is better than any Tarantino film ever.

What’s on the Jennifer Gentle iPod?
Alessio: Today I uploaded After The Goldrush by Neil Young  and Real Gone by Tom Waits. Recently the most played are: Fela Kuti – Confusion, Miles Davis – Live Evil, Faith No More – The Real Thing…
Marco: I do not have an iPod… but I’m listening to a lot of early Queen recently… I’m a big fan of 50’s rock n roll, artists like Buddy Holly and Little Richard are simply extraordinary.

Favourite movie soundtrack?
Alessio: Komeda: Rosemary’s Baby; Goblin: Suspiria.
Marco: I like Komeda and Goblin too. Ennio Morricone is a master, and I love also those classic soundtrack composers like Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein. 

Motorhead have Cheese And Chive Ruffles on their tour rider. What’s on yours?
Alessio: Orange juice?! We don’t have a real rider… but I’d like to find good red wine…
Marco:  No particular requests. We’re still glad if they allow us to play…

Where do you get your lovely shirts from?
Alessio: From my girlfriend’s father: they are original stuff from the ‘70’s!!!

What are you going to do right now?
Alessio: I’m going to leave my office and take the train back home.
Marco: Trying to write a new song would be okay…

Learn more at the official Jennifer Gentle website

[story by Stuart Heritage]