The orchestral pop of The Old Soul

Luca Maoloni's project gets a new lease on life

He is justifiably proud of his new record, but Luca Maoloni (aka the Old Soul) is even more eager to discuss what will be his next disc. That's understandable, given that the self-titled The Old Soul album is not exactly new. It was first released over a year ago on Luca's own label, Hand Of God, but the critical acclaim and underground respect it received prompted Universal Records to step in, sign The Old Soul, and re-release it.
"They're trying to get this going and I almost have the next one finished," says Maoloni over lunch in Little Italy. "I'm trying to get the record company to give me money to finish it off." He is not an artist who likes to dwell on the past, though the deal with Universal meant Luca could significantly change The Old Soul album from its first incarnation. He not only shuffled the track sequence, dropping two tracks "to make it more coherent," but switched to a less garish cover, and actually re-recorded the tracks.
The new and sonically improved version features both Andy Magoffin and Paul Aucoin (The Sadies, Cuff The Duke) on the recording and mixing side. The Old Soul becomes an often large band in performance (he threatens 17 players for their upcoming Horseshoe gig), but in its creative essence it can be viewed as a one-man creation. The over-achieving Maoloni produces, arranges and writes the material, and plays most of the incredibly wide range of instrumentation involved in his melodic yet offbeat brand of orchestrated pop.
For instance, on the album's opening track, "P Is For Protein," he plays guitars, bass, drums, trumpet, trombone, piano, moog, vibraphone, synthesizers and Wurlitzer, while on other songs he plays autoharp, clavinet, vocoder, accordion, mandolin, banjo, and steel drums!
Mississauga-born and raised (and an avid Tandem reader), Luca comes from a musical family. "My father and uncle were opera singers. I'd always hear Caruso and the tenor giants as a kid and I loved that type of music. I never went through a Zeppelin phase, and the blues and hiphop never really meant anything to me."
He took piano lessons at an early age. "It was my instrument all my life and this music needs the piano," Luca explains. He also fell in love with the analog sound of early synthesizers, another key ingredient in The Old Soul's musical melting pot. The most common reference points used are Brian Wilson and The Flaming Lips, but Luca claims "I don't see the lineage between The Old Soul and The Beach Boys. At the start I'd get mad [at the references], but now 'if you want to compare them to me, great." The Old Soul record does feature a cover of the Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks song "Vege-Tables," and Luca is thrilled that Parks "really liked it and he bought a copy of the album."
After studying music at Western and Fanshawe College in London, Maoloni cut his musical teeth in the band White Star Line. They created something of an underground buzz and toured in the U.S. a couple of times, and their self-titled 2002 debut showcased Maoloni's musical potential.
Luca declares that the next Old Soul record will be "more retarded, more psychotic. It doesn't have as many instruments, and the songs will be short. It'll be a more meat and potatoes sound, like Wings. It's nice to keep on doing different things, but a lot of bands are scared to do that."
Look for him to remain in the producer's seat, as he admits he doesn't take direction well. "If anybody says 'you can't do that' or 'can you make the song like that?,' I'd tell them to go **** themselves! I love working with Paul [Aucoin] as he never says a word! I can be quite a headful sometimes, with these crazy ideas, but he makes it happen."
Luca recalls being subject to prejudice within the indie rock world over his heritage. "Being Italian, it was never easy playing shows. They always typecast you. I'll never change, even if I become successful. I'll always be proud of who I am." That pride includes a passion for soccer, as shown by the name he chose for his own record label, Hand of God.
"I meant it for Diego Maradona's [infamous World Cup] goal. I really detest English soccer, so when that goal was scored I was a very happy man!"
The Old Soul is now out on Hand of God/Universal. The Old Soul play a CD release party at The Horseshoe on March 25.

Publication Date: 2006-03-26
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6102