{"id":22148,"date":"2021-12-28T05:30:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=22148"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:09:26","slug":"pfm-cooks-up-a-pandemic-era-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/28\/pfm-cooks-up-a-pandemic-era-album\/","title":{"rendered":"PFM Cooks Up a Pandemic-era Album"},"content":{"rendered":"

An edited version of this story appeared previously in <\/i>Prog magazine<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"One of the most groundbreaking progressive groups of the 1970s, PFM is still making music of superb caliber today. Gathering safely in Milan\u2019s White Studios during the pandemic, the musicians recorded I Dreamed of Electric Sheep<\/i> (released October 22) as a group, while guest artists including Ian Anderson and Steve Hackett provided their parts via file sharing. The isolation brought upon by the pandemic \u2013 and technology’s role in both heightening that isolation and bridging the gaps \u2013 is a central theme of the new record.<\/p>\n

When drummer Franz Di Cioccio and four fellow musicians founded their group in Milan in 1970, they chose a name that they believed would be both unusual and memorable: Premiata Forneria Marconi. The name translates as Award-winning Marconi Bakery<\/i>. Today Di Cioccio laughs as he explains their thinking: \u201cWe are doing music the way bakers are making bread,\u201d he explains. \u201cWith our own hands, with all our ancient knowledge, working on it until it comes out the way we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Premiata Forneria Marconi\u2019s music builds upon a European\/Italian classical foundation, folding in regional folk textures, and applying those ingredients in the making of exuberantly progressive rock. \u201cIt\u2019s very tasty bread,\u201d says bassist Patrick Djivas, who joined the group in 1974 and today co-leads it with Di Ciccio.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s first single, \u201cLa carozza di Hans\u201d was a massive hit in Italy. With Minimoog synthesizer as a central component of its sound, the track represented a significant departure from the kind of music then appearing on Italian music charts. Premiata Forneria Marconi drew inspiration from King Crimson and Jethro Tull, but the group filtered those influences through a distinctively Italian sensibility. The result was something unique: with a rock lineup augmented by synth, flute and violin, the band certainly looked and sounded different to Italian listeners.<\/p>\n

Even from the group\u2019s earliest days, the decision was made to focus on albums rather than singles. That was a gutsy move in the Italian music marketplace; singles were still the preferred medium. \u201cWe wanted the people to listen to the whole thing,\u201d says Djivas. And they did: released in 1972, the group\u2019s debut album, Storia di un minuto<\/i> was a critical and commercial success in Italy, paving the way for wider exposure.<\/p>\n

But the group\u2019s name proved confusing to fans. \u201cWhen we were playing a concert, the emcee didn’t want to say \u2018Premiata Forneria Marconi,\u2019\u201d says Djivas. And when the band started touring outside Italy, the name seemed even more perplexing. \u201cWhen we first came to England, they didn\u2019t pronounce [our name] very well,\u201d says Di Ciccio. \u201cThey thought it was the name of three guys: \u2018Which one\u2019s Marconi? Who\u2019s Premiata?\u2019\u201d laughs Djivas. So they shortened the band name to PFM.<\/p>\n

Starting with 1973\u2019s Photos of Ghosts<\/i>, the group released an acclaimed run of albums on the Manticore label, a record company created by another (much better known) three-letter group, ELP. Greg Lake had discovered the band while on tour in Italy, and subsequently signed them to his band\u2019s new label.<\/p>\n

Photos of Ghosts<\/i> marked an important change for PFM. Peter Sinfield (ELP, King Crimson) wrote English lyrics, and then-lead vocalist Franco Mussida sang them in English. Sinfield\u2019s words were completely new rather than literal translations of the original Italian. Djivas vigorously disputes reports that PFM weren\u2019t pleased with Sinfield\u2019s work. \u201cWe were very happy,\u201d he says. He singles out the lyricist\u2019s work on \u201cCelebration\u201d (from Photos of Ghosts<\/i>) for special praise. \u201cIt\u2019s totally different from the way we wrote it, but it\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

But PFM\u2019s greatest strengths in those years centered around its instrumental work. Complex yet rooted in melody, the band\u2019s recordings and live work showcased an ambitious yet accessible brand of progressive rock. A live album, 1974\u2019s Cook<\/i>, displayed the group\u2019s onstage skill, power and finesse. By the end of the decade, PFM had reverted to Italian lyrics and vocals on its releases.<\/p>\n

Though the group went on hiatus for a decade, PFM released more than a dozen albums between 1975 and 2013. By 2015, founding members Franco Mussida and Flavio Premoli had departed, leaving the rhythm section of Di Ciccio (now lead vocalist) and Djivas as the core of the band.<\/p>\n

In 2017, PFM reasserted itself internationally, again recording vocals in both Italian and English. American lyricist Marva Jan Marrow \u2013 who began working with PFM on 1975\u2019s Chocolate Kings<\/i> \u2013 penned English lyrics for Emotional Tattoos<\/i>. Like Sinfield, she wrote new lyrics rather than translating from Italian. \u201cShe knows what we are thinking,\u201d says Djivas. \u201cShe knows what our ideas are, and she has the same sort of feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrow wrote English lyrics for the new I Dreamed of Electric Sheep<\/i> as well. \u201cHer lyrics don\u2019t sound like ours,\u201d Djivas says, \u201cbut she has the same way of looking at life.\u201d Both the Italian and English lyrics for I Dreamed of Electric Sheep<\/i> are inspired in part by ideas found in Philip K. Dick\u2019s 1968 similarly-titled science fiction novel (later adapted into film as Blade Runner<\/i>).<\/p>\n

\u201cFranz and I like science fiction movies very much,\u201d Djivas says. And they both found parallels between the world depicted in Blade Runner<\/i> and today\u2019s society. \u201cIt seems like there are two different kinds of people: humans and androids,\u201d he says. \u201cBut today\u2019s androids are not made of plastic and iron. They’re made of flesh like all of us, but they think<\/i> like androids, because they\u2019ve [taken] a little too much from…not exactly technology, but social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because I Dreamed of Electric Sheep<\/i> has substantial and compelling instrumental passages, listeners may find the Italian-language version quite nearly as appealing as the English one (the new release includes both). In addition to Di Ciccio and Djivas, the current-day PFM features guitarist Marco Sfogli, Lucio Fabbri on violin and viola, keyboardist Alessandro Scaglione, and multi-instrumentalist Alberto Bravin.<\/p>\n

The record opens in dramatic fashion with \u201cWorlds Beyond,\u201d an instrumental nod to the group\u2019s classical forbears, showcasing Fabbri\u2019s string work. Djivas says that the song is meant to chart PFM\u2019s history, from the musicians\u2019 classical beginnings to more modern \u201ccomplicated, dystopian\u201d sounds. \u201cAnd we wanted a song without lyrics,\u201d Di Ciccio says. \u201cWe wanted the audience to build their own meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another of the album\u2019s many highlights is \u201cElectric Sheep,\u201d with its crackling dialogue between Djivas\u2019s breathtakingly brisk bass runs and Sfogli\u2019s wah-wah guitar. The track\u2019s signature riff is referenced again in the tantalizingly brief \u201cTranshumance\u201d that closes the album. (A longer \u201cTranshumance Jam\u201d follows.)<\/p>\n

The album also features four guest musicians of note. Founding member Flavio Premoli and Luca Zabbini of Italian group The Barock Project both provide additional keyboards. Progressive rock legends Steve Hackett and Ian Anderson appear on \u201cKindred Souls.\u201d Both UK-based musicians have a long association with PFM. \u201cI first heard of them when [Jethro Tull] played Italy in the \u201870s,\u201d says Anderson. \u201cThey gave me a beautiful old violin as a gift; I still have it in my music room. They were the premier Italian Prog band then, and still are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hackett fondly recalls Genesis sharing bills with PFM in the early 1070s. \u201cWe were both young bands at that time, just starting out,\u201d he says. \u201cThey had a distinctive, original sound. They\u2019ve always been adventurous and melodic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic put a stop to public gatherings, PFM maintained a busy schedule. \u201cIn 2019, we did 120 concerts in Italy, and 20 outside of Italy,\u201d Djivas says. \u201cWe weren\u2019t even thinking about doing an album, but when the pandemic situation came, we thought, \u2018We can\u2019t waste time, especially at our age!\u2019\u201d Now with venues in Italy allowing full capacity, the group is scheduling concerts to showcase the traditional-meets-modern progressive sounds of I Dreamed of Electric Sheep<\/i>. \u201cThe prog scene in Italy has always been very powerful,\u201d Djivas says. \u201cAnd it still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here for much more from my interview with PFM<\/a>…<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An edited version of this story appeared previously in Prog magazine. One of the most groundbreaking progressive groups of the 1970s, PFM is still making music of superb caliber today. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,49,56],"tags":[4729,4730],"class_list":["post-22148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-new-release","category-prog","tag-pfm","tag-premiata-forneria-marconi","cat-41-id","cat-49-id","cat-56-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22148"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30913,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148\/revisions\/30913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}