FLASHBACK | ANNIVERSARY

On May 4th 2010, Mike Patton's label Ipecac Recordings released his debut album for Mondo Cane. On a personal note, as being not only a Patton diehard but also an Italian, it almost goes without saying that this is one of my absolute favorites within the catalog of Mike Patton's musical ventures. So to celebrate the anniversary of this one of a kind collection of classic Italian hymns, presented in only a style Patton himself could achieve, is a collection of reviews, interviews, videos and photos to say, happy birthday, Mondo Cane!

" If you like orchestral music and have a heart in your fucking chest, you will like this record. "

- Mike Patton

Album Review via Consequence Of Sound

Written by Alex Young | May 5th 2010 |

Consequence Of Sound

As is well-documented here, Mike Patton can be a bit of an eccentric in the music community. His personality, his experiments with vocals, and his outright disdain for the typical “rock star mentality” are all commonly known facts. For those of you, however, who have not gleaned anything from his foray into the haunting melodies of Fantomas, Patton has a soft spot for Italian culture and dark humor (see: Pranzo Oltranzista, Delirium Cordia & Director’s Cut).

His wife, who is of Italian heritage, must have really struck a chord though, because Patton has not only been living in Italy, but taken on quite a fancy for Italian pop music — and we’re not talking ’90s French europop stuff. We mean classic Italian tunes from the ’40s and ’50s, including the contemporary era of Gino Paoli, The Blackmen, and the late Luigi Tenco. Donning a pencil-thin mustache and white suit, Mike Patton has launched himself soul-first into his newest solo outing, entitled Mondo Cane (pronounced KON-ay).

The truest beauty of Mondo Cane is proven by the same dynamic appeal as bands like Rammstein and Aterciopelados: you do not have to be fluent in traditional Italian speech or opera to fully experience this music. Mondo Cane is a time machine, guided by Mike Patton, a backing band, and a 40-piece orchestra into contemporary Italian pop music, with the usual avant garde flare that makes Patton what he has been and always will be. There are songs that feel purely romanticized in nature (“Il Cielo In Una Stanza”, “Scalinatella”), those that invoke the feeling of a silent film comedy of errors (“Che Notte!”), and those of a mobster swagger circa 1950 (“Ore D’Amore”). There is never a shortage of entertaining moments throughout, and while it may not cater to a vast fan base, this album is one done out of sheer love for the source material — a tribute in its highest quality to classic Italian pop that could warm anyone’s record player in a millisecond.

This is not a rehash of Mr. Bungle and the days of extravagant metal-esque alt rock, but a look into the more eloquent and surreal mind of Patton and his respect for other cultures. When he is not somewhat overpowered by the atmospherics and intros, Patton’s vocals shine brighter than anything a Lionel Richie cover could aspire to. Tracks like the very popular “Deep Down”, with its lounge and dance hall groove, allow Patton room to really echo across the senses with every held note, emitting veritable passion between the chorus and the whispers alike.

The Luigi Tenco piece “Quello Che Conta”, with its Ennio Morricone vibe, could best be placed in a spaghetti western death scene, and its sadness is so tangible and thick you could strip it with a knife. Patton sings gracefully and quietly, the voice of a true artist at work, making love to the music. Even on a more surf rock golden oldies-style song like The Blackmen’s “Urlo Negro”, Patton overturns a wild and energetic track and glazes on his loud, wailing scream to the vocals, making the song itself pierce your very mood. This is probably the one instance where Patton can appeal to both new age alternative fans and their grandmothers simultaneously.

From the opening wide of “Il Cielo In Una Stanza”, to the waltzing bombast of “L’Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare”, to the raspy smoke room vibe of Gino Paoli’s “Senza Fine” for a close (complete with applause and epic violins and brass), nothing could possibly define this record beyond brilliant and so originally laid down. If one were so inclined, they could easily mistake Patton’s work here to be strictly his own, as Patton has added his own unusual flavor to the vocal performance (would we expect anything less from an Icon of Rock?). The orchestra swoons to the melody perfectly, never trying to overdo itself more than need be, but not shying away from opportunities to shine as wonderfully as the performer; the warmth and colorful textures of the music could only be better served on a nice, crisp vinyl, and there could be no rival to that presentation…period.

By far, the most cut-and-dry perfection to display Mondo Cane‘s transcendent presence is in “Scalinatella”. I know little about the origin of this song, but upon hearing it here, I was floored by the gentle string acoustics and Patton’s ability to transform himself from the typical experimentalist to what can only be described as an authentic representation of old Italian music from a lost 45. Everything from Mondo Canewould fit suitably into a spaghetti western film reel or perhaps a phantasmagoria setting, crafting a scene of smoke and limelight so exhilarating, you are taken aback by its existence alone. ’50s Italian pop, as interpreted by the Californian Faith No More front man…who says it has all been done?

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Mondo Cane "Ore D’Amore"

Mondo Cane "Urlo Negro"

BBC Review

Former Faith No More frontman interprets Italian pop hits from the 50s and 60s.

By Stevie Chick 2010

What an utterly unpredictable career Mike Patton has enjoyed. Plucked from obscurity in 1989 to front Faith No More, his first album with the group, The Real Thing, scored commercial success with its hook-laden, brashly absurd rap-rock. Several years of touring later, however, and formerly fresh-faced skater-boi Patton now boasted the ugliest goatee rock has ever known, and was growling, belching and crooning his way through avant-metal bruisers and straight-faced saccharine pop covers, a perverse path Faith No More would maintain until their 1998 split.

Exiting the lucrative rap/rock niche as lesser bands swooped in to exploit it, the now-solo Patton founded his own record label (Ipecac), voiced video games, performed movie soundtracks with metal super-group Fantômas, and collaborated with Björk, Norah Jones, The Dillinger Escape Plan and avant-garde composer John Zorn, among many, many others. Inspiration for Mondo Cane, meanwhile, came while Patton was living in Italy with then-wife, Italian artist Titi Zuccatosta, immersing himself in the Italian pop music from the 1950s and 60s that still swamped the country’s radio-waves.

Mondo Cane, then, is a heartfelt tribute to this era, to its wild dynamism, its lush orchestration, its sense of high drama and grand romance. Patton spares no expense in execution of this labour of love, arranging songs by Ennio Morricone, Gino Paoli and Fred Bongusto for a 40-piece orchestra and accompanying choir, his loving ear for detail evident in the Spaghetti Western mouth-harp twang that opens 20km al di Giorno, and the gypsy violin singing away at the close of Ti Offro da Bere.

Patton, who is fluent in Italian and sings as such, easily matches the orchestra for bombast and sweep, perfectly evoking the aching sentimentalism of L’Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare, heroically hamming-up the Romeo-smarm for Ore D’Amore, and revelling in the vivid vamp of Che Notte! He clearly relishes the heightened emotion of his source material, the album wisely avoiding cheap campiness in favour of respecting the music’s rich sense of drama, while his cover of Urlo Negro, by garage-psychedelicists The Blackmen – ricocheting between rumbling tribal battle music, and a booming chorus so bold it’d make Tom Jones blush – might just be the most gonzo recording of Patton’s none-more-gonzo career.

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Interview with Mike Patton

via The Skinny

The Untouchable: Mike Patton on Mondo Cane and Faith No More's Second ComingThe chameleonic Mike Patton talks to The Skinny about falling in love with classic Italian pop and ponders a future for Faith No More

Feature by Dave Kerr | 29 Apr 2010

Since reuniting with alternative metal godfathers Faith No More last year, Mike Patton has indulged himself little time to continue with other projects, but this month the boundary-crossing maestro resurfaces in his own right with a love letter to Italian music clenched between his teeth.

Dubbed Mondo Cane, the long-incubating project finds the vocalist commanding an ambitious, heartfelt set of folk, civil rights and film score songs collected from the 60s, delivered fluently in their native tongue with the backing of a 40-piece orchestra. Still catching his breath after Faith No More’s headlining set at Coachella, Patton reveals why Mondo Cane was an album he had to make.

Not a lot has been made known about Mondo Cane since you started the project a few years ago. How did it originate and when did the album come into fruition?

“The stimulus in doing it came about when I was living in Italy around a decade ago. It just took a while for the opportunity to present itself, to work with an orchestra and really bring it to life in the right way. But the record basically started around two and a half years ago when we did our first three concerts; I recorded them all, took the material and made the record out of it.”

TS: ‘Mondo Cane’ comes from a cult Italian shockumentary from the 60s where bizarre cultural practices from all over the world are presented to provoke the Western audience – how does that tie in with this album?

MP: “It’s also an old Italian saying, almost a mild curse that means ‘the world has gone to the dogs’, or ‘it’s a dog’s world.’ Also, of course I was familiar with the movie and all its connotations so I wanted to give a little bit of a – how would you say – unexpected twist to a record like this, which is pretty easy on the ears and pretty linear. I needed to balance that out with a provocative title.”

TS: You’ve made no secret of your admiration for Ennio Morricone – compiling and releasing the excellent Crime and Dissonance collection on your own label a few years ago – so it stands to reason you’d look at some of his work here. How did you discover these other songs?

MP: “Living there, if you go into immersion mode you can find all this stuff, there was a lot of record store combing, a lot of them came from friends who’d make me tapes. A lot of the time I wouldn’t be listening to it as pop music per se, as entertainment; I’d be listening to the arrangements and the incredible sounds that were created during that time. That, as much as anything, is what made me fall in love with this stuff and want to do my version of it – my tribute, in a way.”

TS: Did you feel obliged to stay respectful to the tone and sentiment of the original recordings? Did the gloves come off eventually?

MP: “I knew I would interpret these pieces aggressively – but I didn’t want to murder them, because there has to be an element of respect there and to really just commit some kind of a crime in the name of nostalgia would not be cool… I wouldn’t sleep so well.

“Then again, you have to get your hands dirty; you have to tear things apart and rearrange them, but maybe keep an element – a melody or a certain sound that was important to the piece – keep that intact. So it became a bit of a Rubik’s Cube, and the project took on a much larger scope once I realised I had to do it with an orchestra and not – let’s just say – a four piece band.”

TS: Speaking of which, has the recent Faith No More reunion given you a fresh appreciation and perspective of what that band achieved in its original existence?

MP: “Yeah, I would say a little bit. Maybe more so that it’s something we should feel collectively proud of, and really not hold any personal grudges about. I don’t think we’ve ever been happier playing this stuff, or closer as people. It’s interesting to see how time treats situations like that.”

TS: Do you see a future for the band beyond these shows, given that the chemistry and demand is still there?

MP: “You know, it’s very tempting to want to say yes, and that would probably be the correct answer. But right now, we’re more concerned with doing what we set out to do, which was a limited run and keep it special. Keep it without obligation whatsoever. Show up and play. I think that is one of the things which has improved our moods and really, it’s been about music; no promotion, no videos, no extraneous adventures. I would venture a guess that this is going to be it, but hey – this is what our focus is now – once this is all over, maybe we’ll sit around, have a laugh and talk about the future. But right now I think it’s way too early to say.”

TS: And what’s next for Mike Patton? Is Mondo Cane a project you’re willing and able to tour?

MP: “I’m working on another score, for an Italian film which should be out later in the year. Mondo Cane is doing a tour in Europe in July, believe it or not, it’s a hell of a time to put it together but we’re going to be over there for around a month.”

TS: Finally, who do you hope Mondo Cane will appeal to?

MP: “Anyone with a little sense of curiosity and a couple of ears on their head, I think that would work... basically, anyone with a heart!”

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Mike Patton's Mondo Cane at Holland Festival, 2008

Mike Patton's Mondo Cane "Scalinatella"

Mike Patton's Mondo Cane Soundcheck, Portugal 2010

Interview with Mike Patton

via Noise Creep

By Amy Sciarretto | April 7, 2010

Mike Patton is a man of many voices. He is perhaps as well-known for his wails in Faith No More — who will be playing Coachella on April 17 and the New York’s Williamsburg Waterfront on July 5 — as he is for projects like Mr. Bungle and Tomahawk, which are so delightfully far in left field that they hang out in the bleachers. You never know what this unpredictable vocal genius is going to do next.

On the new album and project dubbed ‘Mondo Cane,’ Patton reinterprets classic Italian oldies and pop songs; some are civil rights songs and one was originally sung by Connie Francis! He also performs with a 40-piece orchestra. Clearly, there’s never a dull moment when you’re Mike Patton, who spoke to Noisecreep about his love of Italian culture, Meshuggah and, of course, the Faith No More reunion — all the while doing the dishes. Those are just a few of the many, many reasons we love this man.

NC: ‘Mondo Cane’ is all Italian songs. How did you become fluent in the Italian language?

MP: I lived there for a number of years and got enamored with the music. It was none of the modern music, oddly enough. I found this radio station that played oldies, and it inspired me to think of a new way of interpreting them. The music made sense to me immediately, and I knew that some day I would do my interpretation of this kind of music.

NC: It’s funny, because ‘Vanity Fair,’ the Mr. Bungle song, sounds like doo-wop but still has the Mike Patton touch. For these Italian songs, you Mike Patton’ized them the same way.

MP: Well, what do you expect? [Laughs] It is a delicate situation, sorry, I am doing the dishes here. It’s really a delicate situation. I am talking about tunes I love and respect, so it’s hard to attack them from an aggressive point of view. You have to be respectful. It is a little difficult when you do any kind of cover. You walk this tightrope where you want to make it yours, but to also make it respectful. This record is walking the tightrope.

NC: If the original singers heard these songs, do you think they’d like them or would they think you cannibalized them?

MP: I have no idea, but I’ve been in a few strange circumstances when I first played in Italy as an artist, when we played some shows in theaters and played a few shows [in an] outdoor piazza … that was amazing. I lived in Italy and would go to those things. In whatever town you lived in, you’d go to the town square and listen, and we were one of those bands. It was bizarre for me to imagine walking up from my house and hearing this s—. It is bizarre, because there were old people in the crowd and some people who knew what was going on. It was an interesting cultural crossroads.

NC: How did you choose which songs you wanted to cover?

MP: I had a gigantic list of really great songs and I had to sort of wind them down to what I could sing, what I could translate, what I could pull off. Anyone can put together a list of favorite tunes, but the real trick is — and the key is — to come up with something you can pull off and interpret in your own way. Not all of my favorite tunes would I want to touch. If it’s perfect already, why f— it up?

NC: How the hell was it working with a 40-piece orchestra?

MP: It was fun. It was new. It was interesting. Orchestral musicians have a different approach than we do, and when I say ‘we,’ I mean musicians who don’t know what they are doing. I let the conductor deal with the orchestra, and I dealt with the band. The band is 12-13 people, yes, but I know how to deal with a band. But there were some different moods that an orchestra has that I am not used to, having played in rock bands.

NC: And the phrase ‘Mondo Cane.’ Did it come from the Italian shockumentary?

MP: Honestly, it is also a saying in Italian, and it means the world is going to the dogs.

NC: My dad speaks Italian, so he would have gotten that!

MP: How do you say your last name? [Note: I say my last name and he repeats it with flair!] She-a-rett-o. Come on, you have to say it right. [Laughs]

NC: What part of Italy did you live in?

MP: I lived in Bologna. I go back quite often, and I still have lots of connections and lots of friends. It was a nice period in my life. I hope to go back. To me, that is the place you think of when you think where you want to die. That would be it.

NC: Will you tour on ‘Mondo Cane’?

MP: I am working on it. It’s difficult since it’s not like normal projects, where I call five people and say, ‘Meet me in Columbus, Ohio.’ It is also expensive, so I am going to do my best to play shows in the States and not lose my shirt in the process. Think about it. It’s a 15-piece band, plus 40-piece orchestra — and it’s not palatable to most people. It’ll be the right situations and cities and the right time and right person to work with. I will play shows with this project. Where and when? I don’t know.

NC: Having done vocals on a Dillinger Escape Plan EP years ago, what are some metal bands you are into?

MP: I am not good with current, but I still love Meshuggah. I have been on tour with Faith No More, and we played some festivals in Australia with Meshuggah. It was the first time I had seen them live, so oooph. I was very floored and impressed. It made me want to give up playing music, in the good way.

NC: So, the Faith No More reunion show in New York … that sold out in like two minutes!

MP: Come on, it was not two minutes!

NC: Ok, so like two hours. After Faith No More broke up, the band became bigger than it ever was and the mythos of the band took on a life of its own. My question is simple. Why now? And how do you feel doing it?

MP: Well, ‘Why now?’ is a strange question that I can’t answer with any sort of intelligence. I have no idea. There is some sort of thing in our culture that fetishizes things from the past, and we have gotten more attention now that we’ve reunited than we ever had before. That is automatically weird and tells you about people and our society … what do they want to hear? They want to hear things that make them comfortable and remind them of certain times and places in their life, which is totally OK. Being as old as we are, we’re a part of that. I can tell you this: Musically, we sort of got back together, played together and realized this music still works and is still good and still feels good. Whether or not it is going to translate into today is another question. But we feel confident enough to keep playing it. There you have it. I am not going to lie. There were also offers that were ridiculous.

NC: Probably something you couldn’t turn down?

MP: You can always turn it down if it doesn’t feel good. That is easy, but the point being there was interest and we still felt proud of the music, and we kinda cooked up a new batch or took old ingredients and threw them in a new pot, so it felt right and it was easy …

NC: Like Faith No More’s cover of ‘Easy’? Sorry, had to do it. What’s the final thing you want to say about ‘Mondo Cane’?

MP: If you like orchestral music and have a heart in your fucking chest, you will like this record.

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