“Music is one of the last forms of resistance to homogenization. In a society that wants us distracted, fast, perpetually connected but incapable of really listening, music can still force us to stop. Its role is to give us backdepth, to remind us we're emotional beings and not just consumers.”

Luca Sapio: Blind Faith & Pure Soul

Hailing from Roma, Italy, Luca Sapio is a celebrated singer-songwriter and record producer, known for his soulful contributions to the music industry. With a career spanning over a decade, in 2012, Luca released his debut solo album, "Who Knows", which achieved notable success on the German and French charts and was recognized as the best independent record by SIAE, Italy's copyright collecting agency. In 2014, he solidified his partnership with producer Thomas Brenneck and released his sophomore album, "Everyday Is Gonna Be The Day". Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with luminaries like Paul Weller, Trombone Shorty, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Fred Wesley and JB's and made appearances as a "special guest star" on national TV shows, including the David Letterman Show and Die Harald Schmidt. In 2015, inspired by the soulful independent labels of the late '60s and mid-'70s, Luca established his own record label, Blind Faith Records.

(Photo: Luca Sapio)

He also built a recording studio from scratch and founded the Italian Royal Family, a crack collective of musicians and arrangers. Under his label he ammassed over 70 Million streams, showcasing the widespread impact of his music. In addition to his musical endeavors, Luca is a passionate music journalist and radio host. His shows have been broadcast live daily on Italian National Radio 1 and 2 since 2014.

Interview by Michael Limnios                       Archive: Luca Sapio, 2018 Interview

What keeps you passionate over the years in music? How has music influenced your view of the world and what moment changed your music life the most?

Music is an irrepressible reason for living. It's a devotion, a vocation that moves against all logic, against any notion of sustainability — you're simply destined for it and you can't fight it, even though what comes back to 99% of the people who live with that same urgency is never directly proportional to what they put in. Very little comes back. At the same time, for me music is sharing: every project becomes a condenser of different energies, a place of exchange and confrontation.

I felt a powerful emotion the first time I bought my first three vinyl records, saving up my allowance. I skipped my school snack for three weeks. Tougher Than Leather by Run-DMC, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy, and Paid in Full by Eric B. & Rakim.

How do you think you've grown as an artist, producer, and label owner since you first started making music, and what has stayed the same?

After being cheated by record labels, distributors, managers, producers, club owners, and even festivals, I think I've learned to fall better. The enthusiasm, definitely, is the same as in the early days.

What are some of the most important lessons you've learned from your experience on the music path?

Follow your instinct. The first impression is always the right one. 

Artists and labels will have to adapt to the new changes. What are your predictions for the music industry? How do you think it will adapt?

The music industry is in the hands of big tech. Music is now hostage to platforms that treat it like cannon fodder — from Spotify's reckless policies to the sped-up versions of hits on TikTok. My prediction is that music will besaved by the super-niches: super-niches of listeners whose demand for authenticity and organic substance will be answered by artists who will finally find the freedom to express themselves without bowing to the absurd blandness of our times. People are starving for the real deal.

“I try to persevere in the tradition of the great American independents — Stax, Motown, American Sound Studios, Hi, Muscle Shoals — all of them built around a house band with that same spirit.” (Photo: Luca Sapio is a celebrated singer-songwriter and record producer from Roma, Italy)

Are there any specific memories of Trombone Shorty, Sharon Jones, Fred Wesley, Baba Sissoko, and Martha High that you'd like to share?

All the artists you mentioned share a common denominator: they're committed and disciplined. I remember Trombone Shorty trying to rush through his soundcheck as fast as he could so he'd have the rest of the time towork on snare drum technique — and playing it like a real drummer, not a horn player dabbling. Or Sharon Jones gathering every last gram of energy despite a body worn down by illness, just to leave the audience speechless. Baba Sissoko… here we're on another planet — we're talking about a griot, hard to describe if you don't know him. I'm honored to have worked alongside him for so many years.

What are you doing to keep Soul/R&B music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

Keeping its core attitude alive: gathering musicians in the same room who, with no prejudice toward one another and no ego flare-ups, put themselves at the service of the music. I try to persevere in the tradition of the great American independents — Stax, Motown, American Sound Studios, Hi, Muscle Shoals — all of them built around a house band with that same spirit. 

What is the role of music in today's society? How do you want music to affect people?

Music is one of the last forms of resistance to homogenization. In a society that wants us distracted, fast, perpetually connected but incapable of really listening, music can still force us to stop. Its role is to give us backdepth, to remind us we're emotional beings and not just consumers. I'd want music to do for people what it did for me: open up worlds, create communities, give a common language to people who don't even know each other. I'm not interested in music that just entertains. I'm interested in music that leaves a mark, that shifts the trajectory of a listener even by a single degree. 

As a music journalist and radio host, what is the status of music media nowadays? How do you see the opportunities for old-school music in today's media landscape?

Music journalism today is squeezed between clickbait and algorithm. People write to rank, not to tell a story; reviews have become lists, and the charts are decided by streaming numbers. It's a craft that has lost much of its critical function — its role as filter and as discovery. Radio, though — especially independent and community radio — remains a stronghold. It's one of the few places where curation still means something, where someone puts their face to it and says "listen to this." For old-school music the opportunities aren't lacking, they've justchanged: they live in podcasts, in specialized radio shows, in vinyl culture, in those super-niches I mentioned. The audience looking for authenticity is out there, it's just more scattered. The real work, today, is rebuilding the places where that audience can find each other.

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(Photo: Luca Sapio)