"Outer-Spaced: An Interview with My Cat Is An Alien" by Eric Theriault

***the interview also aired on CKUT Radio in Montreal during the month of June 2006, and you can listen to the interview mp3 here

When I think of Italy I think of large orchestras, big symphonies, great Italian film soundtracks, the opera--all of which makes the music of My Cat Is An Alien such a refreshingly obscure dot on the country's musical map. Seemingly living in complete isolation, alone in their art, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the space-fascinated group from Torino has very few followers or potential collaborators in its home country.

Coincidentally, for a growing international pool of open-minded listeners, the splendid experimental acoustic wails and feedback-laced textures created by the brother duo of Maurizio Opalio (electric alien guitar, mini-xylophone, cosmic percussions) and Roberto Opalio (alien vocals, electric astral guitar, space toys, piano toy, cosmic percussions) are sought-after collectors items. These low-numbered sentimental trance-like creations often come in the form of a CD-R or vinyl, and often come packaged with rare collector art (the various split LP's are hand-made in various styles by Roberto). But all of this should not distract or cloud the formation's luxuriously improvised rhythmic waves. My Cat Is An Alien's output simply can't be lumped with the standardized noise-based idioms. To quote Maurizio Opalio: "We believe in the cosmic nature of sounds."

One of the group's biggest champions has been underground mentalist Thurston Moore, most notably of the legendary Sonic Youth. He's been seminal in expanding the group's reach and getting its music into the hands of new music revelers. Moore has invited MCIAA on Sonic Youth's European tours in recent years, recorded a split LP with the duo in 2004 (volume 1 of 'From the Earth to the Spheres'), and re-released its 1999 album 'Landscapes of an Electric City' on his own Esctatic Peace! label back in 2002.

In May 2006, during the 23rd FIMAV in Victoriaville, I caught up with the compatible galactic brothers (spacey toy guns in hand) in what became the group's first ever in-person interview in North America. We discussed everything from the Olympics held in Torino, to the nature of the group's other-worldly philosophies. This memorable round-table interview was conducted in a stuffy local hotel room, and appropriately includes a little classical music (from the television playing in the background).

You'll find a few transcribed sections below, but I hope you'll take the time to fully discover My Cat Is An Alien with our exclusive full-length downloadable mp3 interview. Just click and enjoy.

You are brothers- did you begin playing music together at an early age?

Maurizio: No, actually. I was the first playing music. I started recording some stuff alone with an acoustic [...] and some self-constructed percussions...

Roberto: ...with a four-track.

Maurizio: Yeah, it was really rock material.

Roberto: Meanwhile, I was involved with paintings, installations, art glass and other kinds of art.

Maurizio: Our collaborations was between what we were doing; myself in music and [Roberto] mostly in visual arts. There was an idea exchanged between us. About the time we started playing music together- this happened after I released the first MCIAA release, which was a CD-R with 30 copies...

Roberto: Just 30! And we made an additional wrapping in electrical wires and we sent it directly to New York City, to Sonic Youth.

Maurizio: Sonic Youth has always been a great source of inspiration.

So this is a real story?

Roberto: It's real!

Maurizio: It was like a sign of admiration to say "thank you Sonic Youth"...

Do you get to play back home in Italy. Do you perform live there?

Maurizio: Very few times.

Roberto: It's very difficult to play there. Also because the venues and the organizers want the mainstream things and don't want to risk with something experimental and maybe something difficult for people to understand. And they don't want to risk anything at all. It's not easy.

Maurizio: I'd say we play in Italy even less than any other country in the world.

That's amazing. I was equally amazed to find out that you've never played on this side of the ocean before?

Maurizio: First overseas.

So did they bribe you [the FIMAV]? Did they send you large loads of cash?

Maurizio: Yeah, a big box. Full of dollars...and they also promised a trip around the solar system.

Roberto: Especially Saturn. And so we said "oh, yeah!"

You mentioned Jim O'Rourke in the first part of the interview. You've worked with him before. I heard he is a chain-smoker who never quite stops moving around...

Maurizio: That is the legend.

How is working with Jim O'Rourke?

Roberto: He's a radical non-sleeper.

He doesn't sleep?

Roberto: Never.

Maurizio: He's always working and never stops, you know.

That could be why he is so edgy...

Roberto: He is obsessed by work. This is also so important for us, because we have the same point of view. For example, we spend much time and energy to produce our own stuff. For example, I do the paintings for the covers for all the split LP's or limited CD-R's...

Maurizio: Yeah, all the stuff we release on our own Opax Records is supposed to have home-made art work.

Roberto: And sometimes it's difficult to do all this kind of stuff because you need a lot of time. [Like Jim O'Rourke] Our modus operandi is also work, work, work.

'From the Earth to the Spheres VOL 1' was a split release with Thurston Moore. That was released in minimal numbers- something like 100 copies, right?

Maurizio: All the "From the Earth to the Spheres" split series originally came out on our label as 100-copy LP's where each LP came out alongside a 12-inch square wooden painting by Roberto. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time and energy.

Roberto: And now the last volume of the series went out. It's the volume with Christian Markley, and the cellist Okkyung Lee from New York City. And then we are going to start a new series of collaborations and split LP's...

Maurizio: ...which will always be in 100 copies, coming along with a painting canvas.

Roberto: This time on proper canvas with one of my Polaroids installed on the surface.

Maurizio: This series is called 'Cosmic Debris'. The first volume will be split with Text of Light, you know Lee Renaldo's project [...]. And in the series there are also Keiji Haino, Mats Gustafsson, Loren Connors, and Steve Roden. We don't have time to finish a series and we start a new one!

(Eric Theriault, May 2006, Panpot.ca)

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Excerpt from "2006 FIMAV Blog: Journey to the End of the World" by Eric Theriault

Keiji Haino's Vegetarian Dilemma: When interviewing the great Italian intergalactic sound duo of My Cat is an Alien, I noticed some scribbling on Maurizio's festival pass necklace which read "Food, Please Help". As the story would have it, Japanese artist Keiji Haino was having a difficult time finding vegetarian food in the small town. This was his plea for more culinary variety.

(Eric Theriault, May 2006, Panpot.ca)