Satellite Voices

Rome / Italiano

Alessandro Adriani of Mannequin Records

November 11, 2011

Introducing the man behind the pioneering Dark Wave label

• Text by Valerio Mannucci

Alessandro Adriani heads up Mannequin Records, one of the most interesting labels devoted to synth wave and dark sounds. A few days ago they presented the first Mannequin festival, a whole night dedicated to the label with artist such as Tropic Of Cancer – for the first time in Europe – plus acclaimed European acts like Die Selektion and Mushy. We spoke with Alessandro about his background and his particular and detached relations with the city of Rome.

Satellite Voices: Can you introduce your background and what you do in Rome?
Alessandro Adriani: About my musical background, I was always a huge music consumer and listener, since I was a young kid with cassettes. Mannequin was founded in 2008 in order to publish, distribute and spread music from the Cold Wave, Dark Wave, Minimal Synth, Industrial and Post Punk area, with the purpose of bringing back to life and propose bands from this mostly undiscovered world.

SV: How would you describe your label?
Alessandro Adriani: Mannequin has the dual and parallel aim to unearth hidden or unpublished gems, running along a road that starts from the period of reference for this kind of music (late 70s – mid 80s) and comes to nowdays. Factory Records / 4AD labels deeply influenced my vision.

SV: What’s your process in selecting an artist?
Alessandro Adriani: I am a curious person, so for me it is normal to listen to tons of new artists. The line that associates them all together is the obscurity of their music. From this point of view, you are then able to understand why band like Octavius or Led Er Est or Frank (Just Frank) sit alongside Mushy or //TENSE// or Martial Canterel. I am also a very instinctive person, so a natural instinct is guiding me. I don't see it as something irrational, but as something primordial that every person has inside and should follow. 

SV: How does the city where you live influence your work?
Alessandro Adriani: To be honest, the only link I can find is the archeological passion I had in finding some of the best Italian new wave bands while doing the "Danza Meccanica - Italian Synth Wave 1982-1987" compilation back in 2009.

SV: What artist do you wish you had released?
Alessandro Adriani: The Soft Moon definitely. I love their music so much. Their self-titled album is a daily listen in my house. 

SV: Apart from music what would you recommend on checking out?
Alessandro Adriani: I recently bought "Haunted Air", a photographic book from Ossian Brown aka Simon Norris, ex-member of Coil, with a short introduction by David Lynch. Simon was collecting an impressive amount of anonymous United States Halloween pictures from the 1875 till 1955 which are evocating a Pagan lost world, something between The Wicker Man and  Blue Velvet. Stunning.