by Brad Rose

I (Luca Massolin) started 8mm in 2002. Originally it was supposed to be a "speech" for the local punk hardcore scene and for obscure local bands. The label soon started becoming a home for folks from all around the globe. I live in Treviso, a small city in the northeast of Italy, with nothing but an active underground scene since the early ‘90s. It has been a great place especially for the noise industrial music projects like Teatro Satanico, Lunus and for labels like Ars Benevola Mater. But also for punk kids with good taste like the With Love. One of the early goals of the label was to connect these different scenes, with gigs and parties in taverns and old bars lost in the mountains, creating a link between the community of freaks here and the outsiders over there. I feel this is finally happening now.

My idea of music is strictly connected with the creation of images. As a music and cinema passionate, I'm always seeking the infinite relationship between sounds and visuals. That's what I'd like to do in my music with Nastro Mortal and Golden Cup, and that is the same suggestion I offer with the name of 8mm. At the same time 8mm talks about doing things at home, like making images with a super 8 camera or recording sounds with a 4 track. I think it still relates well with the things that I am doing and the things that I plan to do in the future.

I'm a maniac listener and a gypsy. I love to play shows and see other people playing their music. The energy and the positive vibes I feel from friends and the power of meetings go beyond words and are the primal source of inspiration for all the things I do. I live close to friends that are beautiful people and artists. People like Giovanni Donadini (the other half of Nastro Mortal and the man behind the Canedicoda art studio that signs most of the visuals of the 8mm catalogue), Virginia Genta and David Vanzan from Jooklo Duo/Troglosound, Matteo Castro from Kam Hassah/Second Sleep, and artist/performer Nico Vascellari are all a community of people who help and support me and of course great musicians to play with. Also, in the last two months I've been playing shows in the Balkans, Turkey, Italy, Spain and France. All these travels made me think about the potential of 8mm as a vehicle of communication and they gave me a new energy that will be invested in the next projects.

There's nothing really hard I guess, when you work with people that you like and your releases look and sound as you desire. I mean, what's better? Of course sometimes it's difficult to deal with the money thing, but I like to think about 8mm as an entity out of the market. Money is shit; I think we should take it all and burn it. 8mm is not for the money. I like to do a decent amount of copies of each release even if I'm not selling all of them, and keep the price the lowest as possible, in order to make it affordable to everyone. Trading with other labels is a great thing because it gives me access to a load of new music, and it's an endless source of inspiration for my music and for the music I want to release.

Present: All the people I have worked with until this moment + Junko Hiroshige, Violent Onsen Geisha, Seijiro Murayama, Keiji Haino, Henri Chopin, Emil Beaulieu, the Skaters and Anla Courtis, because all of them are people that impressed me for their unique music and gentleness.
Past: Franco Battiato, Klaus Schulze, Lee Perry, Popol Vuh, Alan Silva, Nuova Consonanza, Demetrio Stratos, La Monte Young, Harry Partch, LAFMS, Sun Ra, Black Flag and Public Image Limited, because I think they would fit on 8mm and I loved their music for so many years.

I don't really have one.

I have new releases from Pumice, Junko, Ashtray Navigations, Golden Cup and Nastro Mortal. A lot of vinyl and tapes, and less CD-Rs 'cause they began to bore me. In January Nastro Mortal will be playing at Netmage festival in Bologna, which this year is particularly cool I think. I'm planning to travel alone as Golden Cup starting from February 2008, with some new releases on different labels ready for that time.

Then I'd really want to take a long trip to middle east Asia, in order to collect materials for future projects.

The reissue of Wizzardz by JD Emmanuel on Dreamtime Taped sounds. The Astral Social Club LP on Qbico, fucking amazing. The whole Sublime Frequencies catalogue, with a special mark to "Proibidao", forbidden funk from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, a mesmerizing collection of tracks assembled by our dear friend Carlos Casas. “Through the Panama” from Sightings and Pissed Jeans marked my 2007, together with the Qbico LPs from Jooklo Duo/Trio and Neokarma Jooklo Septet.

I'd like to thank all the people that hooked me up with shows in 2007, especially the guys in Istanbul, Sofia, Barcelona, Paris and Rome. It has been a wonderful year. Stay tuned on my website for the next projects. 2008 is gonna be huge!