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Childhood friends Attilio Bruzzone (guitar/keys) and Ettore Di Roberto (paino/keys) formed post-rock, electronica outfit port-royal in 2000 in the Italian city of Genoa. The duo soon recruited Ettore's brother, Michele Di Roberto (drums), along with Emilio Pozzolini (keys/sampling), and Sieva Diamantakos (visuals) to join the collective.

Released on Resonant Recordings, the group's first two albums - Flares (2005) and Afraid to Dance (2007) - showcased a textured and multi-faceted electronic sound carefully crafted with love, care and attention. Today port-royal return with third studio album, Dying In Time, on new label n5MD and we caught up with Attilio and Ettore to discuss new beginnings, the electronic scene in Italy and the relevance of Marxist ideals.

How do you feel about Dying In Time now that its finished? And what were the main inspirations for the new record?

We're really satisfied with it; it took three years to make during various breaks between tour periods, but it was definitively worth it. It's possible that, while listening to the album over the coming months, we'll find something that could've been done better. But we're quite sure that it will resist against time's corrosion. In terms of inspirations, we wanted to complete the 'journey' begun with Flares and Afraid To Dance (ATD), but also push a bit further our limits. Inspirations are the usual ones for port-royal: philosophy, history, literature, Eastern Europe and life in general, all mixed together with ambient, shoegaze, IDM and techno. Dying In Time is like the end of a trilogy, and so the next album will represent an unknown pleasant thing that could turn into things not even thought before.

Was is a concerted effort to make Dying In Time more song-based than previous albums?

We felt the need to write something more concise and song-oriented since the ATD sessions ended, but at the same time it happened spontaneously! [Track seven] The Photoshopped Prince is the perfect example of this new aim: it really has a poppy essence. We also decided to use more vocals, mostly female ethereal ones, since it's something that we always liked in music, if it's not abused.

How hard is it getting your music heard at the moment?

It is quite hard to sell CDs, but we're generally happy with the connections we've got with fans, reviewers, and people on the web. Potentially everyone can listen to our stuff on MySpace and Last.FM. However, as the internet gives tons of new possibilities, it also offers maybe too much stuff, and not all is worth it. There is always a bright and dark side.

What's the electronic music scene like in Italy, and how is your music accepted in different parts of the world?

We don't know if you can describe an electronic scene in Italy, but in the last few years, something is moving forward and evolving, helped by new labels and venues for concerts. In different parts of the world, we're well known and loved - in France, Eastern Europe/Russia, Greece, Yugoslavia and others. But other important countries tend somehow to ignore us - Germany and UK. We don't know what this depends on: maybe distribution, or their specific market, or tastes; who can say?

Do you all hold down jobs around doing port-royal?

As people in general, we all have jobs or occupations in which music is not involved. Besides, Sieva is not a musician but a video/visuals maker currently living in Berlin. Attilio is finishing his PhD in philosophy, Ettore has an oral exam in March to become a judge, and Emilio is studying at the university of modern music; we also all have some occasional jobs. Life is hard and music cannot feed us!

What gets you angry?

Firstly, the fact that almost every one of us, even in this Western wealthy world must spend our best days doing empty jobs that give us nothing as human beings. The old Marxist concept of alienation should be surely updated but never forgotten, since it is more valid now than in the past! Secondly, that we're producing tons of useless things that we're softly obliged to buy with the money we got from those empty and estranging jobs in a circle where there is no salvation. The last joke is that the parameter to judge if an economic system is 'healthy' or not consists of calculating how much money we spent on these products. In one word: how much we consume.

Dying in Time is out now.

words: Andrew Laughlin

myspace.com/uptheroyals

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Solvent - A Panel of Experts
Herrmann & Kleine - Her Tune
Magnétophone - Frankholmes' Drive
Nathan Fake - You Are Here
Fizzarum - Phut of Plex
port-royal - Deca-dance
Bowery Electric - Soul City
The Field - Everday
Daft Punk - Veridis Quo
U Schnauss - Suddenly the Trees Are Giving Way
Figurine - Way to Good
Xela - Afraid of Monsters