Body Heat: Interview with Fred Ventura

(Pointing out the obvious: I just wanted to post this picture)

Anyone who has been in a club with me knows that I occasionally slip into the unpleasant habit of bellowing at whoever is lucky enough to be on stage. So it should come as no surprise that the recent Magic Waves Festival saw me shrieking “You’re a god among men!” during Fred Ventura’s performance.

Ventura is an unrelenting vocal powerhouse and a total heartthrob–and both have been true for the past 25 years, betraying a stamina that most vocalists lack. Ventura’s bona fides are well known to the ISM crowd–he had a string of Italo hits in the 80s and more recently has collaborated with I-f, Alden Tyrell and Mr. Pauli, among others.

Fred Ventura’s work from the 80s is revered–songs like “Body Heat” with Fockewulf 190 and “Theme from Flexxy Ball” recorded as Flexx, are undeniable classics. But it is his work in recent years that has set him apart from his Italo vocalist brethren, who have either abandoned the genre or were never particularly dedicated to it in the first place, often seeing it merely as a vehicle to fame and fortune or having been hired on the basis of their good looks and ability to lip-synch. Ventura, on the other hand, has always been a musical force in his own right, which was nowhere more apparent than in his set at Magic Waves. It’s a rare instance that Alden Tyrell can be onstage and go completely unnoticed, but that was the case during Ventura’s set, where Tyrell took second stage to the Italian star.

Ventura has the unique ability to project a feeling of melancholic longing that is difficult to pinpoint, as he doesn’t actually sound unhappy. It is this quality that make his vocal stylings a perfect complement to songs like Alden Tyrell’s “Memories” and Mr. Pauli’s “Questions,” both of whom also played at the festival.

I caught up with Ventura after the festival via email to see how he felt about the whole shebang.

What did you think of the Magic Waves festival and London in general?

It’s been a great experience to be on stage at the Magic Waves Festival with such a great and positive crowd…London is always been my first reference point for a music, so to be performing at the Corsica Studio is one of the highest point of my career so far…

People from half a dozen different countries flew to London to come to the Magic Waves Festival. During your performance they were singing along to every word to all of your songs–that must have been really gratifying. Were you surprised at how enthusiastic the crowd was?

Surprised is not the right word, I was almost shocked. A very positive shock!

How did it feel playing with FW190? I can imagine that might have been difficult, having never performed with them before live and having limited time to practice. Was there any tension?

No tension at all, it was a pleasure to be on stage with them even if I never thought it was going to happen ’till six months ago…

To me, some of your more recent songs, like Memories, Hold Me and Questions are your strongest. How do you feel about the work you do now as compared to what you did in the 80s?

I only work with people that I respect and I feel comfortable with, is a different vibe to work with like-minded people like Tyrell, I-f and Pauli compared with some people I’ve worked with in the 80s. Italo disco had a huge charts potential in those days so they were always pushing me to be more commercial and direct. I don’t feel this pressure anymore nowadays.

Italo is in the middle of a full-fledged comeback, and perhaps even more excitingly, so many Italo-influenced artists like Mr. Pauli, Alden Tyrell, etc. are making incredible music. What do you see yourself doing musically in the future? How do you feel about the new wave of disco music?

I’m very much into old school electro disco, but I’ve been always a forward thinking person, a retro futurist in love with the past with a big need to experiment and create the perfect mix of old and new to feel a contemporary artist…