Marcello Cassanelli: Music's Starlight...

When Steve Conry shared with me Marcello Cassanelli's Starlight, I knew I had to request the track for the show and, hopefully, meet the great composer behind it!

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1) Dear Marcello, Starlight is such an atmospheric, rhythmic and funky number! The soundstage is beautifull too! How did you find this track's soul?

Hello Artur, thanks for having me! My idea was to create a disco funk atmosphere built on a rhythm made with an old TR707 drum machine. To me, it has a fantastic sound and sometimes you don’t even realize it’s an electronic drum. So I’d say that’s the soul of the track. Everything else developed slowly from there.

2) When composing a song, a melody, where does the inspiration come from? How was starlight born?

When I compose, I believe the melodies come from everything I’ve listened to and absorbed over time. I’m very drawn to music from the 1970s. Starlight was born from casually playing a few notes on the flute, which I later developed and arranged with all the other instruments.

3) Your versatility as a musician is splendid as, in 2018 you issued the beautiful album Overtour on Dodicilune Records. This album, in a way, announciates Starlight as you present the same blend of funky sounds associated with a traditionnal Jazzy musical base. Do you believe it is important for a musician, an artist in general, to find its own sound?

An artist’s identity is often shaped by their style and sound, and I think that’s something quite natural. Each of us feels comfortable in certain musical worlds, so we tend to explore them more deeply. For someone who makes music, that’s often the path to finding their own sound. But sometimes things shift. You might unexpectedly land in a new world and discover new emotions. In those moments, your sound might change—and that’s the beauty of art.

4) When working on an album, what is the hardest moment? Would you say it is the composition of the tracks themselves, are you trying then to find a cohesion in what you're going to compose or is it the mixing/ mastering steps where you must find that sonic unity?

I don’t usually associate the idea of difficulty with music. The more something challenges me, the more I enjoy it. That said, the composition process is definitely the longest for me. After that comes mixing, especially when, like with Starlight, I use an analog mixer and run the final mix through a reel-to-reel tape recorder.

If you're not happy with the digital result, you can just click around with plugins and adjust things easily. But when working in analog, if something doesn’t sound right, you have to re-record the mix from scratch. Still, when you find the right sound, it’s worth all the effort.

5) Are you working on new music, and can we expect an album in the coming future?

I have a lot of ideas. On my Instagram profile, I post a lot of content where I play original compositions. I think I’ll develop some of them into full tracks.

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First release of 2025 is The Coin EP Vol.3. Marcello Cassanelli is back on Ten Lovers Music with two stunning tracks and a beautiful outro solo on his Rhodes. Starlight kicks off side A with some superb Italian Disco for 2025, following that a trip to Cuba for Tropical Breeze on which Marcello employs long time collaborators and super talented Giulia Barozzi on vocals and Antonio Rapa on drums. Across both tracks Marcello plays the keys, bass, flute, guitar and drum programming. Rounding off side A is Dream Horizon an improvised one minute beatless outro jam on the Rhodes.

On the AA side we have a new project from Caruso and Helen McCormack. First up is Have and Hold which harks back to the Manchester Street Soul scene of the late 80’s. Very simply constructed with electronic drums, bass, piano and a lead synth on top of which Helen’s vocal sits perfectly. Second on side AA is Love You More, a very atmostpheric track written by Helen with the strings arranged by Cormac Fulton. The percussion is from fellow TLM artist Takashi Nakazato (Kyoto Jazz Massive/Jazztronik). Both tracks were produced by Steve Conry who also assisted Jose Rico on the mixes. Finally to finish on side AA is Central, a beautiful Deep House instrumental using only real analogue synths like the Solina String Ensemble, ARP Odyssey and Oberheim Xpander, mixed by Steve Conry and Matt Cox.

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