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In this program we are going to meet a personality from Larino
In the last episode we talked about a great swimmer from Termoli,
and today we are going to talk about Ilario Palma, a great drummer from Larino
Hello Ilario
Hi Antonio
There are a lot of drummers in the world, but you’ve recently got great satisfaction of your life
There’s been a change in my life during the last seven months
Since last September, I’ve been studying in London in a University of Music
I’m attending the Drums Bachelor of Arts Degree and I’m studying modern music
You’ve just talked about your project in England, but let’s talk about you career, Ilario.
When did it start?
My career as a drummer started as a snare drummer when I was 4 years old in a School of Music in Termoli
Now this school doesn’t exist anymore, but when I was a child it was one of the few possibilities to learn to play an instrument
My father has always thought that I was musical, and since he defines him as a failed drummer
he has always seen him in me and he has made me discover not only this fantastic instrument,
but also music, which is my life
When I was 4 I started playing the snare drum, then when I was 9 I started learning to play the drums,
so the complete set of percussion instruments, in the School of Music of Larino, which was run by Roberto Di Carlo
Finally, thanks to the suggestions of my teachers, when I was 11 I decided to attend the Conservatoire, where I got my diploma some months ago
Obviously 4-year-olds start playing for fun. Would you ever have thought about a music career?
Children never have a clear vision of life because they only want to have fun
They are too small, they never think of the future,
but actually I have to admit that my music career started when I was little,
even if when I was 4 I wasn’t aware of it
Now music is part of my life and I want to go on like that
It’s important to be helped by parents, and thanks to your parents you’ve already got your own practice room
Yes, I think it’s absolutely necessary, especially for a drummer, to have a room to practice
I’ve tried to practice at home, but it’s not a good idea since I live in a block of flats,
so my parents and I have found this room and we’ve turned it into a recording studio
As I’m studying music production in London, I could use this room as a recording studio in the future
to get advantage of the sacrifices that my parents have made and that I’m making now
Was it necessary to go to England to make your dream come true?
The Italian vision of music has always been confused
The Conservatoire is said to still be one of the few possibilities that people have to improve not only from an artistic
but also from a personal point of view
It helps you grow, and this is a great thing
During the ten years I’ve spent at the Conservatoire, I’ve grown up a lot and I’ve had many experiences in almost all the regions of Italy
with the percussion ensemble of the Conservatoire of Campobasso, directed by the maestro Giulio Costanzo
Then I realized that I didn’t want to play only classical music because I preferred something else and that I wanted to do something more
so when I discovered my passion for musical composition and music production I looked for information about
the Italian record companies, the way the music producers work, what they want and what we see every day on TV
This is why I realized that I had to try something new and different from classical music, so I decided to move to London
Let’s just say it: you’re not only a drummer
No. Actually lots of people don’t know it, but I would say that I’m a complete musician
The only instruments that I can’t play are the guitar and the bass
I can play the bass, but only a little bit, whereas I can’t play the guitar at all
Studying at the Conservatoire gave me the opportunity to learn to play the piano, so I can play the piano fairly well
I also sing, even if I’ve never taken singing lessons
but my teachers in London say that my vocal range is very good and that I sing in tune
so I’ve also started focusing on my vocal skills to improve them
The most important thing is that the songs I write are all produced by me, using computers and software, and this is very common in London
We now know what your project in England is, but let’s talk about all of your projects during your entire career
I made my first music project when I was 16 years old
First of all, I had my first experience in a hard rock and blues band when I was 12 or 13
The band was composed of musicians from Larino
we were young boys, we played for fun or to gain some experience
We had the spirit of rock’n’roll, we were so young, I was attending the middle school at the time.
Then, when I was at the high school, I started attending the Conservatoire and I formed a progressive metal band with the musicians I had known there
Actually, I’d better say it was a progressive rock band
The instrumental demo we have produced has given life to my project, and thanks to that band I realized that I really liked writing songs
Indeed I have spent many days writing scores and trying to experiment with new ideas until my band split up
Then I devoted myself to my single project, Original Landscapes, and I’m still going on with it
It was important to go to England to make your dream come true, but you’ve got your parents and your two siblings here
How did they react to your decision to leave?
It has been a sad moment because they have realized that working in music is demanding,
especially from the point of view of a musician
My parents think, actually all my family thinks that here in Italy there are a lot of opportunities for musicians to work in the music field,
When I decided to move to London I talked with my parents about it
At first it hasn’t been so easy, but then, since they had made me know the music field, they decided to help me and they told me
“ok, you can move to London and try this experience. If things don’t go well, you can come back home, here in Larino. There’s no harm in trying”
It’s seven months since I have moved there and I’m definitely sure that I’ve made the right choice
There’s no harm in trying, but the entrance examination wasn’t easy and you made it.
Yes, but it’s a matter of routine exams.
First of all, I have done an exam that I have recorded in this room and that I have sent to the University in the form of DVD
in order for them to see what my level was
Then they put me in the Drums Bachelor of Arts Degree course and they called me to ask me to go to London in August 2011 for another exam
then they admitted me
The same day, they told me that I was admitted as far as the practice was concerned
and that I had to wait to see if the theory part was good
After seven months spent in London, what can you tell us about England?
When I came back home last Christmas I was already pretty sure that I had made the right choice
but three or four months aren’t enough to say if something can go well
I saw the beauty in London not only as far as tourism is concerned, but also for the opportunities it gives to people who want to do any job
I realized that there are obvious differences between Italy and England, and going back to London after spending two weeks in Italy
made me realize that staying in London and going on with my experiences and studies in the music field there is worth it
In the last seven months I’ve spent in London I’ve had my experiences and satisfactions
It’s hard to have these satisfactions in Italy in seven months, so I’m very happy
Things are going well and I hope they continue to do so
Break your leg! We hope to interview you again as a person who has reached great aims
We’re now asking you how you see yourself, Ilario Palma, in the future, who you would like to become and what is your project
In other words, who will we interview when your project will be released?
As I told you before, even if I’m a drummer, my dream is to see my project Original Landscapes produced by a record label
I want to be creative and I’d like to give something to people with my songs
I’d like to say with my songs the things I can’t say orally
Actually this is the aim of music: using an instrument, being able to give people what we can’t say in other ways
For those who want to keep themselves up to date, is there something about you on the net?
Yes, I’ve got two pages on Facebook:
Original Landscapes, which is the name of my project, so you can just type in its name to find the page
and Glasgo, which is another page where you will find some songs that I’ve written and recorded
with other artists simply to practise producing songs using the computer
I would also like to improve my YouTube channel, Ilario Palma, as far as Original Landscapes is concerned:
since it has my name, you have just to search for Ilario Palma on YouTube and you’ll find lots of videos of me in which I play
Finally, Ilario, we ask you to say something in English for people from Molise.