I-Taki Maki is an Italian Alt-Indie Duo, formed in 2012, based in Berlin since July 2015.
Their music features a melding of alternative rock, slowcore and post-punk influences, typified by minimal arrangement and composition, warm voices, deep emotional sound. Their last fourth album, “A Place to Leave”, has been released at the beginning of January 2018.
The album is made up of nine songs, all based on the concept of “place” and each one connected to the next by a “fil rouge”;all of them try to talk about the essence of human existence, the struggle for survival in a seemingly cosmopolitan and strongly competitive world where the resources are not enough, where people in need are defeated by their impotent existence in a globalized and consumerist state of madness, where thousands of people are forced to leave their home, their own families, for the most disparate and desperate motivations.
I-Taki Maki was born out of instinct. For this duo, a day spent in a Roman studio led to a quest for a common rhythm. Go-Mimmi-Go (vocals, drums, percussion & melodica) had no prior knowledge in music but with the help of Luca strAw (vocals, guitars & harmonica), combined with infinite patience and dedication, she managed to find a voice and with great surprise a new way to communicate.
Being a duo and also a couple helped them to create a sensibility that can be easily perceived. There is a complicity and a unpretentious way of representing their art. Together they manage to translate a sociological research into their first album.
They explored the endless possibilities of sounds and merging minds, backgrounds and perceptions.
It was through 4 months of in-depth confrontation with our environment, that allowed an acknowledgment of conversations we had to start
The uncomfortable feeling of having to conform to a market and make constant compromises with an audience still unprepared to listen to raw narrative and voices made them create their first English album. This broadened their public and opened doors into unknown territories.
Moving to Berlin came as a natural choice, a melting pot of artists fighting to have their voice heard. This new world brought many challenges but as Berlin has often showed, encounters made in their journey took unexpected turns. Day by day the transition into a new dimension molded their experience, challenged their sound and organically made space for new endeavors. The response and feedback molded their sound and message depicted by it.
We definitely adapted to the audience and spaces we encountered in this city, it made us grow and the response of the audience encouraged us to continue our journey
Their fourth and most recent album, “A Place to Leave”, was augmented with a book. A narrative about migration and the need to open ourselves to the ever-changing realities we face in a multicultural environments.
The book was written in Italian and released shortly after the album; now that book has been translated into English and it’s the launch of this English version of their book, under the name ‘Closer’, which they will be celebrating at 800A this Saturday night 23.3.
Berlin has a greater sensibility towards music and recognize the efforts needed to create a valid piece of work
Closer is a collection of short stories about migration, roots, homeland. But also love and friendship among six young characters, all finding shelter in Berlin.
Written by Mimmi and inspired by I-Taki Maki’s last studio album “A Place to Leave”. Both, in fact, are dedicated to the ones who found their safe place, and to the ones who are still looking for it.
A concert will take place after the book presentation, and Luigi Morisco, a big fan of I-Taki Maki, will be moderating the event.
About the book ‘Closer’
Try to imagine you have to leave your home, the country you were born in, your family and friends, the places and the faces that are most familiar to you, to go and live somewhere else. Next, try to think of a reason, the first that springs to mind, why you must leave. Now, try to envision the place where you want to be and the journey to get there. Lastly, think of your new life in the new place, how would it feel and what kind of experiences you might have. If you have been a migrant at least once in your life, those experiences will come back to you. If you haven’t, you can rely on your imagination, which would mirror your cultural identity, and this would shape your own conception of migration. If you are reading this book it may mean that the theme of migration is important to you or maybe there is another reason, or it’s just a simple coincidence. In my experience, nothing happens by coincidence and I truly hope that the stories you are about to read trigger new considerations and touch your feelings.
Maria Mazzocchia (aka Mimmi) is an Italian sociologist and independent musician now rooted in Germany. Her main occupation is writing songs and lyrics, not stories. This piece of writing sprang out of her own life experiences as well as her unstoppable imagination. About a year ago these very same emotions flowed into “A Place to Leave”, I-Taki Maki’s fourth studio album, whose lyrics have been added at the end of each story. When listening to the songs you may recognise the six characters in this book and discover their views on the world, their feelings and their essence. You may even hear their voices, see their faces, delve into their souls and empathise with their lives. Somewhere, each of these characters exist, in a different time and space.
The narration is set in Berlin and the action takes place between 24th and 25th December 2018, but the characters’ memories will lead you to their countries of origin and their pasts.
Special night at 800A – Concert + book release: https://800aberlin.wordpress.com/
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