Mohabitat – das sind Francesco „Monoki“ Perrotta und Serena „Hamaranta“ Lombardi – ein audiovisuelles Projekt aus Italien. Kürzlich haben sie ihr Debütalbum Crisalide herausgebracht – eine Klangreise aus warmer Elektronik und zurückhaltenden Post-Rock-Echos. Bei ihren Live-Auftritten kreieren Mohabitat einen Dialog aus Licht und Schatten – zwischen faszinierenden Bildern und eindringlicher Musik – traumhaft schön.
You startet with Mohabitat in 2013. How did the project come about?
Our collaboration began in 2013 after Hamaranta made some videoclips for Monoki’s first tracks. Through live performances we discovered a good feeling and the idea to become an audio/video-duo was born.
Where does the name come from? Is there a story behind?
Mohabitat is an acronym from combining Monoki + Hamaranta + Habitat, which is a sound/visual or an audio/video world that we create for people. Mohabitat is what we do live – we share the Habitat of Monoki and Hamaranta.
If you had to put your music into a drawer and print a label on it, what would it say?
…“music for dreams“ – we express our feelings and dreams while we are composing. Our music is a part of life, a dream and a way to create new habitats with videoprojections. We are true to ourselves – we play who we are – and we are honest in our compositions.
Forget about genres for a second – Mohabitat‘s music sounds like …?
…a heartbeat of someone who has discovered a new place. The sound is a mix of emotions and feelings – and a search for beauty.
Can you tell us something about your musical roots? Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
We have different influences like Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Jon Hopkins and Rival Consoles. But also Sigur Rós, Port Royal and Massive Attack. We love every kind of music that gets you outside of your reality. We love bands that give audio/video live performances.
How does your compositional process work and how do you put your ideas together?
Our compositional process unfolds in two different ways. Monoki plays something new and Hamaranta listens. If something isn’t „seen“ for the visual from the music, the idea is discarded. Also during long studio sessions, an idea may come out and through working together it is developed it into a track. Together we find the right mood with emotional echoes for the compositions. We discard everything, that might recall a comfort zone.
Which sort of mood produces the best songs?
The best songs produce the resonance you need when you listen. We prefer minor chords and dissonant notes because we don’t want to be easy-listening. At the same time, however, we want to be new. We hope that the people who listen / see our set know that we are Mohabitat!
What kind of music are you usually listening? Any favorite bands/artists are you excited by at the moment?
We don’t listen to much music. We love Apparat, Nils Frahm, The Cure and Depeche Mode.
Which instrument will surely NEVER be heard on a Mohabitat -album?
You won’t ever hear a saxophone in a Mohabitat track. This sound is too happy for us.
Imagine you can choose a movie and put your music in it as a soundtrack. Which one you will choose?
We love the images and photography of “To the Wonder”, “The Great Beauty” and “Der Himmel über Berlin”. Terrence Malick, Paolo Sorrentino and Wim Wenders are great cinematographers.
What is the best context to listen to your beautiful album Crisalide?
We think that good music brings you to another place. The best context to listen is travel – physically or mentally.
The Fairy-Godmother pops up in front of you and grants you a wish. What do you wish for?
We want to continue to produce with the same freedom and enthusiasm we have now.
What’s next? Gigs? Studio? Vacation? Something completely different?
Right now, we’re composing and creating some audio/video theatrical experiences based on childrens’ stories written by Nelson Mandela. We play in various Museums. Also focusing on producing our official videos for the tracks of Crisalide as well as writing new material. Presently, we are working on some live performances with other Artists (performers and dancers). We’re also looking for some new gigs outside of Italy for next season. We want to share Crisalide with other people. We love cooperation because we can learn something new every step of the way.
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