Exclusive Interview with OMETRA

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

CARLO: It all started in 2018, with my previous band we did a very successful crowdfunding campaign and we thought to use all the money to invest in PR Management and Booking agencies. The result was a catastrophe… No interested labels and no concerts offered…
We just wasted a lot of money for nothing…
I was so frustrated and tired of playing … the idea of going back to practice was making me sick…
Then I thought: I had to make peace with music!
So I started writing some songs in order to get back to ABC and regain my joy and happiness. Ometra was born at that point.

2. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘OMETRA?

Carlo: I would say the 90s. I was a teenager at that time and discovered all the bands that are NOW my favorite bands: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Days of the New, Screaming Trees, Melvins, Foo Fighters etc etc…. I grew up with Grunge and Alternative Rock!
Along with the above mentioned bands I would add all the metal music that “formed” me as a musician such as Opeth, Gojira, Anathema and many others… I think our music has a bit of everything

3. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

Carlo: We put it simply like that: Ometra is a Alt Rock Post Grunge band… never liked the labels (well who does!?!) but it’s useful sometimes!
We are a 3 voices band, every voice is important and there’s not a main one… depends on the song….
I feel lucky and honored to have a gift of expressing my feelings through music and this is my pleasure to tell my stories to others.
In some ways we are all connected and what has happened to me, could have happened to someone else… I want to tell everyone “you are not alone”. Exorcising my issues is healthy and makes me happy, and that is the main thing for me

4. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as POP?

Carlo: You are talking with a self-teaching guitar player (and vocalist) ;)
First I learned how to play guitar by listening to black sabbath (by ear)! Then I started writing my own stuff and my main focus at that time was only the RIFF: it had to be good and catchy but I realized it wasn’t enough… a good song is about the Riff, the structure, the arrangements, the melodies, the lyrics… you have to master all these things… and it’s a process of learning by doing!
In the past I was focused only on the guitar parts thinking that the other instruments would follow naturally… this is not the case. Each element is important and if all pieces do not match, the puzzle is incomplete! It’s just a matter of time and experience

5. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

Carlo:

I put it this way: A song is a story to tell

I was always into expressing my feelings: I have always been a shy guy and had problems to talk to others… especially about my inner issues. Music helped me a lot, it opens me up, it’s a channel where I can say everything I want to say! My rule is very simple: Write something that makes you happy, 100% sure it will make other people happy.

6. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

Carlo:

OMETRA saved my life many times, both artistically and personally. We released “CHOICES” and locally it has been a success! We reached the break even! We covered all merch/vinyl production costs and most part of the videoclip shootings! I am surrounded by marvelous bandmates, everytime we play there’s a lot of people, we got crazy fans following us everywhere, we received super positive reviews from regional newspapers.
Those things are important to me! More that reaching the global success. I am happy, the band is happy, people is happy during our concerts.

7. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process

Carlo: That’s a very nice question
I see the creative process as a multitude of sparks
I see sparks everywhere: in an article, in a sentence, in a conversation, in a percussive noise… everywhere…
I collect all these sparks and start playing in my basement studio.. I put down the main ideas then I start thinking about the structure, about the beats, about the vocal lines / metrics
This process can take few hours or some months! Depends on the song!
Once a track is done I send it to the band and we start playing it together: sometimes works perfectly, sometimes we need to adjust things! This is the “fine tuning” process!

8. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

Carlo: Coexisting with band members
It could be an issue sometimes… especially if there’s no communication between bandmates.

Very often you start a band with a bunch of good friends and very often you do not speak your mind because you do not want to hurt them! This poisonous silence is breaking bands and friendships in some cases. It happened to me several times…
Now I learned to speak to people and to show them what I really want to do with a musical project.
Everyone is aware of the role in the band and they put everything they have to it to help creating new music.

9. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

CARLO:

I would say my musical consistency
After all I went through (both musically and personally), after all the times I had to start over from scratch, I am still here writing music and playing in a fantastic band

10. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

CARLO: I SWEAR! I’ve never had an “encounter” with a hater!
in any case, if I did, I would respond with love!
a Hater is just waiting for a rough reaction from my part and I will never ever play this game!