Italian analog and modular synth duo Marco Cassanelli and Deckard return to their imprint T.a.Rock Records Electronic Division with an improvisational mini-LP titled ‘Splitted’ – the two have proven time and time again how skilled they are behind a modular set-up, both through their live performances and releases. We sit down with them to discuss the release and more…


Hi Marco and Beppe, welcome to Music is 4 Lovers! How are you both?

Hi 4 Lovers readers and editors, we are very busy at the moment promoting “SPLITTED” the upcoming release and setting up a new live set with our modular synth

You are releasing a mini-LP as live duo Marco Cassanelli and Deckard on T.A.Rock Records Electronic Division – what’s your relationship to this label?

We manage the Label so we release our music on it, we are in a lovely relationship with T.a. Rock Records Electronic Divisions, and it cannot be otherwise LOL

Your main tools for the release were analog and modular synths, have you always preferred live production gear? Where does this love come from?

Since we started this new project we have been using modular eurorack synths for recordings and live sets ’cause we want to keep the same impact, we do love analog gear because of the dynamic range and the fat sound they produce, we think we can’t go back on that choice, every different approach seems too thin for our listening

How did you two meet?

In 2017 Deckard hosted Marco Cassanelli at Cavo Fest, an electronic music festival that is led by Beppe “Deckard” Massara. After the great performance held by Marco, Deckard asked him to start a collaboration, the project started and never stopped.

When performing live together, do you each take on roles during the performance? What’s your production process like as a duo?

Marco mainly plays drums and bass lines while Deckard plays melodies and harmonies even if the roles may be hybrid and everything could happen during a live set. Sometimes we start with something in mind that changes as the crowds react, so we try to see what happens to the audience and take the vibes from them, we can change roles as needed, doing live improvisation.

The release is part of Programmazione Puglia Sounds Record 2022 – can you please tell us a little bit more about this project? What does it stand for and how did you enrol?

Puglia Sounds is a public regional institution in Puglia – Southern Italy, that helps the best musical projects, if your musical project is worthy and is eligible for their parameters you get money and support to promote and print your records. This kind of help really matters for indie productions even if your label has to add financial and human resources to give the release the attention it deserves. It’s also important that you still have a big fan base.

Marco, next to being a modular duo with Beppe you are also a DJ. Can you please tell us something about the scene in Italy? What are some of your favourite venues?

To be honest, Marco is a vinyl DJ since he was a teenager, Deckard is a sound engineer and a producer and he is not so good at djing LOL. In Italy the scene is big and there are as many scenes as there are regions, in the past, we used to have huge clubs, nowadays some of them are closed and plenty of new little clubs are growing fast. Our favourite venue is definitely Apollo in Milan where we have played twice.

Beppe, you are a professional sound engineer but you are also the director of Cavo Fest and Sonic Scene Film Festival. What is it like running projects like these? Could you please share a little more about these two festivals?

I’m still the Art Director and the general manager of Cavo Fest, but I was the founder of Sonic Scene – I left after the first edition as I didn’t have time to take care of two festivals at the same time.

Cavo Fest is an electronic music festival with the goal to promote and enhance archaeological sites around Puglia, that’s why the festival moves to different locations with some historical and archaeological value. We host artists from Europe and Italy with which we start new partnerships and twinning.

What’s next for the two of you? Are there any plans you would like to tell us about?

We will proudly present our new album at the Medimex Festival (Chemical Brothers, Nick Cave and many more in the lineup), and then we will prepare our autumn tour that will take us to Florence, Genova, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Milano, Torino, Amsterdam and maybe again in Berlin. We hope for the ending of the Covid and the War that keep us divided and “SPLITTED” from our fans in eastern Europe where we have a lot of followers… but most of all we hope for peace for people that suffers. PEACE AND LOVE

and thank you very much for your questions guys, respect!


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