Casino Royale, 'Fumo' at the Cubo: "With the album, we came home."

Casino Royale were one of the leading groups in Milan's musical renaissance of the 1990s. Along with Afterhours, Marlene Kuntz, and others, they blended pop with experimental sound, from electronica to Jamaican rhythms, culminating in the release of the album Fumo, co-produced with electronic producer Clap! Clap!, the stage name of Cristiano Crisci. The band, led then and now by Alioscia Bisceglia, will present the album this evening at the Cubo (Giardini di Porta Europa, Piazza Sergio Vieira de Mello, 9 pm). Free admission.

Bisceglia, your relationship with Jamaican sound culture has always been very strong. How does this develop on your new album, 'Fumo'?

"When we compose, the melodic lines are supported by chords played on the upbeat, or often the songs originate from bass lines that are fundamentally reggae-based; they're often thought out and sung first. If you then give everything to Clap Clap!, the result is a bass music record that brings everything back to sound system culture, and so this time around, we've come a little more home than other times."

You've always combined celebration with social awareness. How do you maintain this vital relationship today?

"The party is in the sound, in the impact that bass lines and breaks have on you physically and mentally. Partying doesn't necessarily mean lightheartedness, although we certainly have a laugh and we don't just dance to 'warrior music.' The rest, the narrative, tends to share states of mind that are often anxieties or critical reflections on what surrounds us, this creates empathy. Feeling less alone even in frustration and anger makes you go home with something that in my opinion is satisfying, or rather useful, to move forward."

Casino Royale also means commitment; think of the Conchetta Social Center, still active and vibrant. What remains of the Milan where such experiences flourished?

Not much, for me. Milan has erased all these experiences that, despite their discordance with the system, have always brought excitement and creativity as well as representing a refuge and an alternative to the traditional social model. Ever since I began writing in Italian, Milan has always been at the center of my attention. Just today I listened again to Cielo, a song I wrote in 1992; it's incredible how it feels more relevant than ever. Milan risks erasing even Leocavallo from our memory, which represents a collective memory and history. However, there are fringes of new humanity, of young people with whom we should share our old paths and absorb their new stimuli and insights. In a certain sense, we should reunite and recognize each other; this would help preserve a certain spirit and the resulting alternative practices.

How did your relationship with Clap! Clap! begin, and how much did working with the producer influence the new album?

"I met the genius Cristiano Crisci when he called himself Digi Galessio at the Red Bull Culture Clash, and I was later fascinated by his work on ethnic sounds catapulted into the present. He knew Casino Royale, and now he's decided to give us something back: a much broader vision and sound for our work."