Doomed Confessionary: Riccardo & Simone (Wojtek)
Photos by Antonio Rasi Caldogno
Wojtek are dazing the outskirts of Padua, Italy since spring 2019. It’s a mixture of sludge, post-hardcore and noise. Three releases in 18 months: »Wojtek« (self-released – August 2019); »Hymn For The Leftovers« (Shove, Teschio Dischi, Violence In The Veins – April 2020) and »Does This Dream Slow Down Until It Stops?« (Shove, Teschio Dischi, Violence In The Veins, Fresh Outbreak, Ripcord – 2021) all warmly welcomed by the press.
Also in 2021 »Silence Is A Dangerous Sound«, a compilation dedicated to Fugazi, was released for Ripcord Records, in which the brutal cover of »Fell, Destroyed« was published.
Wojtek’s latest album »Petricore« dropped in September 2023 via Flames Don’t Judge, Fresh Outbreak Records, The Fucking Clinica, Dio Drone Records, Shove Records, Teschio Dischi and Violence In The Veins.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Riccardo: Wojtek are a relatively young band, born in mid 2019, Wojtek is a band that in the last 4/5 years, despite some hardships, has really pushed a lot in terms of releases and live activities. The sound grows and evolves from a sort of groove metal and mix sludge tones with doom atmosphere and hardcore rides for its expressive needs.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
Riccardo: For me, most of the time, it is being able to maintain a balance and harmony between my private life, my musical needs and the everyday work spheres.
Simone: Being able to find satisfactions in the daily routine as much as those we live when we are together in a van towards the next date, or in the rehearsal room putting together the next notes, or when we plan something new for the next step to take.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Riccardo: I think we’re all proud of the albums we’ve composed, recorded and released so far. As well as we are happy with the growth that this band has had since its inception, both as people, as musicians and as friends.
What was your biggest regret?
Simone: Having managed to reach so many places for live shows and not being able to see any of them for real!! But it is the rhythm that we have set for ourselves and that we can sustain right now, it is part of the poetry of this life.
Riccardo: The flaw of always wanting to push to the maximum is that every new goal is experienced as yet another step on an infinite path and this way of acting, sometimes, denies you the flavor of living the present moment at best.
What has been the best concert/tour so far and why?
Riccardo: Remaining consistent with what was written before, the best concert is the one that is still yet to come LOL. Jokes aside, in the last two years the quality of concerts has constantly increased, and defining a ranking based on the audience or the quality of our performances, accommodation, free drinks or people’s feedback… would be superficial and unfair to so many big or small universes that we have had the honor of knowing, but I can say that last September we managed to organize 10 days of tours abroad, and this, perhaps, was for me one of the highest points of the journey we are taking together.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Riccardo: Personally, despite years and years of live shows, without drinking I still remain too shy, in general I am happy that some bands of friends who are managing to emerge and establish themselves on an international level.
Simone: Unfortunately, the difficulty in seeing a generational change coming. It’s something that personally hurts me, it shows how much times are changing and not always for good. The good thing is that every cycle is destined to be interrupted, perhaps also dictated by a cultural revolution and I hope will also affect the world of music.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Simone: Mainly punk and crust music, sad songs, films and video game soundtracks by now.
Riccardo: My Spotify is fucked up cause I use my personal account in the office where I work, so I have to put “soft” rock, mainly (Italian) alt rock.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Padua / Veneto?
Simone: There are fewer and fewer bands right now but our undergound scene has a really remarkable quality… with nothing to envy to our counterparts beyond Alps.
Riccardo: Too young for the hc-punk scene in the 80s, too young for the grunge waves of the 90s, as a millennials seems like we arrived too late for everything, but I can say that in Italy it’s not that terrible, it could be better of course, and most of the time it seems like an inexorable decline… There are many excellent bands, and about clubs and squats, not many in terms of quantity, but the quality is very high… Talking about my hometown: it’s like a desert, but not in the sense that there are many stoner rock bands.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Riccardo: we got a dozen of gigs for this spring and summer, with also some cool festivals like Venezia Hardcore (Mestre/ Venezia), Maximum (Treviso) and the Tube Cult Fest (Pescara).
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Riccardo: The future of the band is in our hands, and this autumn there will be some kind of turning point for sure. I would like to grow, as always, mature to avoid to rot. Sure a new bunch of songs is on the way.
How can people best support your band?
Riccardo: Buying the merch is the fastest and easiest way, and obviously coming to our shows!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Riccardo: Just Cavai.
Simone: And don’t forget to stop at the merch table and say Hi.. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you and get to know you in person.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well