with Allan Sko
Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen are the Australian quintet known for their compelling songs, irrepressible style, and wildly entertaining live shows.
Now, after three years away from the live circuit, they return to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their definitive album, Journey Through The Land Of Shadows — the record that cemented their place both here and in the UK by showcasing their distinctive blend of storytelling, dark humour, and musical mastery.
High time to have a catch up with main-man Mikelangelo ahead of the show, methinks!
[BMA’s ALLAN SKO] Michael, hello! Hopping straight to it… Looking back at the creation of Journey Through The Land of Shadows, did you ever imagine or indeed hope that you would be celebrating its 20-year anniversary on one of Australia’s grand stages?
Songs are timeless entities. Having these as companions through life’s joys and trials has been good. Like good friends, they continue to teach me lessons and don’t let me off the hook when it matters.
Many songs on Journey are among the first I wrote, dating back to 1990-94. The Black Sea Gentlemen arrived in my life at the end of 2000, and the album, our second offering, was recorded in 2004 in Canberra with Kimmo Vennonen.
By its release in 2005, some of these songs had been around for 15 years. There’s no real expiry date on a song. They will arrive when they want to and be played to people when the time comes.
It seems that time has come around again, and we’ll set sail for the Land of Shadows at the Canberra Theatre Playhouse, one of my favourite venues anywhere.
[BMA] Going back even further, can you pinpoint a particular moment where you knew music was the thing to pursue, or was it more of a steady and growing certainty?
I can pinpoint the exact moment, in 1987, upstairs at the ANU Bar, singing the 13th Floor Elevators classic You’re Gonna Miss Me with my brother’s group, Kill City.
Standing on that high stage, in front of a darkened room of people, the hot lights on my skin, the intensity of the band behind me, holding the microphone and letting rip… I was 17, and I felt right at home up there.
I knew then, in my bones, that I’d be a singer.
While the Black Sea Gentlemen have created our own eclectic musical world of absurdist European folk, Kabaret Noir, Balkan Western, and idiosyncratic storytelling, I’m still a rock ‘n’ roller at heart.
[BMA] On the topic of a song’s longevity, recently Josh Pyke re-released some of his old work with new arrangements to reflect on how songs from his distant past have changed meaning over time.
For example, a song he penned on the raw emotion he felt upon the death of a close friend has now, all these years later, transformed into a more joyful remembrance and celebration of his life.
Which is all a long-winded way of asking: have many, if any, of the songs on Journey gone through such transformations over the years due to circumstances/you as a person changing?
Well, that’s the first time Mr. Pyke and I have ever been mentioned in the same paragraph.
I can understand his desire to do this. While I have singer-songwriter material that falls into the autobiographical world of personal feelings and experiences, the songs on Journey are different beasts: dark, mythical, and layered with imagery, symbolism and metaphor.
I’d liken them more to the poems of William Blake or Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which my Ma read to me in my cradle, or even to the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, with their hilarious, beautiful and horrific panoramas.
While my life experiences inform the Journey songs, each has a beating heart of its’ own, which keeps from making any fundamental changes to the lyrical or musical thrust of the work.
That said, arrangements naturally evolve over time as songs are played, and anyone who has seen me live will know that I ‘adapt’ my songs in various ways, in the heat of the moment, as I lie in an audience member’s lap, or leap from seat to seat.
The live scenario is just that; almost anything could happen and probably will.
[BMA] Speaking of live scenarios… regale us with what to expect from the upcoming Canberra Theatre show!
We’ll play the whole Journey album in full, in album order, which we’ve only ever done once.
The album was a very involved undertaking. After an initial week of live recording, we spent 12 weeks over a year overdubbing, mixing, and mapping out the group’s sonic and thematic terrain.
When played chronologically, the songs have a cumulative intensity that is quite transformative.
As well as fan favourites One Of Those A Minor Days and A Formidable Marinade, which I will sing, some highlights will include The Great Muldavio’s story of how he was given his name; our accordionist Guido interpreting my song El Diablo, sounding the re-animated corpse of Bela Lugosi; an unexpected delight from the vault sung by our bassist Little Ivan.
And our violinist Rufino performing the magic realist romantic epic Things Will Never Be The Same. That song was initially intended to be sung by his brother, Senor Handsome (David Branson), who died in a car accident on the way to a Black Sea Gentlemen show in 2001.
Rufino’s rendition always packs a tragi-comic punch; he is an amazing singer with an incredible stage presence. David’s spirit is very much alive in the song; in the whole show, for that matter.
My wondrous sister Anushka will also join us, with whom I co-wrote the song Figueres, which she sings on the album. Anna is a force of nature, and no doubt I’ll rope her into another song or two. She’s just so good.
[BMA] Further to this show, I believe there’s already something in the works to mark the band’s 25th anniversary next year?
I’ve always felt that the Gentlemen will still be playing in our 90s. This group can just keep going, perhaps even beyond the grave.
It’s been like the parting of the Red Sea (or perhaps the Black Sea?) putting together a small run of dates for this year, and it has taken the better part of two years to get it happening. While everyone in the group is keen to play shows together, our schedules are wildly busy.
So, the main focus, for now, is the four shows we have coming up in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and, because two band members live there, the lovely little town of Candelo.
Very much looking forward to touring further afield next year. We are developing some unique merchandise to celebrate the 25th, so there will be memorabilia and ephemera and, who knows, perhaps even a real jar of Formidable Marinade to put to use in the kitchen!
While it’s good to celebrate these milestones, I’m also working on new material with the Black Sea Gentlemen. It’s early days, so I’ll keep it under wraps for now, but I must say, it feels pretty exciting to be developing ideas with the group.
They are a fine bunch of Gentlemen.
Canberra Theatre Centre & Press Play Present | Journey Through The Land Of Shadows – 20th Anniversary | Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen | Sat 19th July, 8pm | Tickets are $59/$65+bf via Canberra Ticketing.
