EMQ’s With BLACK REUSS

EMQ’s With BLACK REUSS

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Liechtenstein based solo project, Black Reuss. Huge thanks to main man Maurizio Dottore for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My Name is Maurizio Dottore and I play Guitar, Bass, Piano and I do the vocals. Black Reuss is produced like a band, but in fact it’s a one-Man project. As I don’t play Drums very well, I always look for a studio drummer to make that part. I have been making music for more than 30 years, was in different other bands in the past – always Metal or Rock bands. Black Reuss came out of my wish I have had for a long time, as I always wanted to do a solo project. All on my own, with my vision and my ideas of how it should sound.

How did you come up with your band name?

Since the project revolves around my life river, I wanted to thematise the whole thing with the name of a river. And since I lived by the river Reuss at the time, it’s now in the name. The colour black thematises the melancholy and the somewhat gloomy thing I have always carried around with me. And that’s how Black Reuss came about, quite simply…

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

I currently live in the Principality of Liechtenstein, in the Rhine Valley. That’s also where I grew up. In between, I was in Zurich for 20 years and came back to the Rhine Valley 1.5 years ago. I don’t think that the area has influenced me musically wise, as the scene is much too small for that. The influences of musical nature came more from the, musically speaking, larger countries. But the mood here in the Rhine Valley is sometimes a little depressing. The landscape and the area have a certain melancholic beauty especially in autumn and winter. It may be that this had an influence on my melancholic streak. The scene is quite small in Liechtenstein, but there are a lot of people listening to Metal and Rock.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

The album Journey was released in May 2022 with the single ‘Dependence’. The second single ‘Hole’ with video was released in June.

Who have been your greatest influences?

I have been influenced by many artists. My musical horizon is very broad. I listen to everything from classical to Jazz, from Alternative Rock to Metal, from Doom to Stoner Rock… from Electronica to Urban. But Rock is my thing. That’s the music that touches me the most. Something just happens there. But there are also artists who are not only great musicians but also great people. When someone is very authentic and lives what they do, it’s very inspiring and you can hear that in the music. I find many things inspiring. Not only music, but also other things. There are many people or events that have inspired me. Even a lot of things in the nature is inspiring. For Black Reuss, lifecycle has a big influence. The current project consists of four albums. “Metamorphosis”, “Journey”, “Arrival” and “Death”. This is my life flow and the four milestones each packaged as an album. The first three are retrospective, the last one will have to be projective. I am sure that everything that touches my soul, has an Influence, but technically I am not relating to any specific song, movie, art or literature. Is just what happened to me, and still happens, while I’m growing up…

What first got you into music?

I think it all started with Elvis Presley when I was a teenager. Elvis was the opener to Rock for me. As the years went by, it got harder and harder and I was influenced by other artists, but Elvis was the door opener. He was a complete artist. Great songs, a mega performer with incredible charisma. I realised that music is a universal language with which you can reach everyone in the world. That’s what I wanted to do and learn. 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

There are many musicians I would like to work with. What is clear to me is that it has to be someone who brings added value to my music and not to the business. So, by that I mean that it has to be a musical decision and not a business decision. At the moment, I would like to work with Tommy Clufetos on Drums for the next album…. who knows, maybe…

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Not easy to answer. I would like to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival. I have seen so many great bands there. And of course I would also like to play Wacken one day.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I can not say that in this interview…. sorry

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Be authentic, persistent & follow your dreams and vision.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Probably Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart… I think Rock has a lot to do with Classical Music and he was a rock star at the time. I mean, he really lived it… There are so many great artists that have left us before they had the chance to tell their hole story ore visions… 

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

Being creative and living out what’s inside me is extremely fun. Transforming my mood into music is something great. I don’t really hate anything about being a musician. It’s just great to be able to do that. 

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

You have to know that I worked in the music Industry for almost 20 years and yes, I would change a lot of things if I could. But one should always be careful with hindsight. It is easier to judge in retrospect than to make decisions in the moment they happen.

I still believe that success is mostly based on good teamwork. That is, if everyone does their job with dedication and heart, and does what they do best, then the chance of success is greater. And if every puzzle fits together in such a way that the whole picture emerges, then this power cannot be beaten. So, the record companies, management etc. also have their justification and are important for the industry. Not every musician who writes or performs good songs is also a manager or knows about finances.

What I would change is the copyright. I think that intellectual property is not protected enough and that abuse is not punished severely enough. Don’t get me wrong, punishment is not the way, but sensitivity to the issue is. So, if everyone today has the feeling that you can copy a song at will and use it for all kinds of outrages, then that’s just wrong. The author must be compensated, and fairly. 

This applies not only to music, but also to things like the written word. I mean, how is a journalist supposed to do good research if he no longer receives anything from the publisher for his work, and how is a newspaper supposed to produce good content if people are no longer willing to pay for the newspaper? And the same goes for music. If the consumer doesn’t appreciate the value of the thing, then the whole chain doesn’t work. So, I would have invested more there in education and awareness.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

This is so hard… there are so many… if I have to name one.. I say “October Rust” by Type O Negative.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

Everything is great, as long as it gives value to what we do and to the listener. Technically speaking I think vinyl sounds best.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

There has been many great shows in my carrier, but one I remember was a show in Vienna with my Band Excidium back in 1995. We played there with 6 Feet Under and it was such a great sound and a great audience. I remember that it was the last concert on the tour at it was in a way sad but probably we felt that we need to give everything for the last show.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I would probably still do art, probably painting. But I don’t only make music. I can’t make a living out of it and I work normally, I have a family which I love very much and I love spending time with them. I also like to be alone and reflect.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

My wife, my mum, my dad, my son and my 2 brothers… ohhh…these are six. I hope you understand…

What’s next for the band?

Beside of promoting the actual album, I am working on the 3rd album “Arrival”, and I am working on songs where the lyrics are coming from with my father-in-law, who is writing poems and just released his first book. I am doing Music on 5 of his poems, which I want to release as EP before Christmas 2022. The next album “Arrival” will than probably be released in autumn 2023.

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

…To make a long story short, on www.blackreuss.com you find everything. And of course on a few socials, like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok….

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

For me it’s a cake…

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I have to thank you…. Eat more jaffa cakes.

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