Federico Poggipollini
musician

What does the element of light represent for you?
Light is a fundamental element in my life. It allows me to concentrate, it gives me balance and it also affects my mood, because a light, illumination, can bring serenity, give birth to thoughts and freedom, together with many other things.

What do you associate the term illumination with?
I associate it with sound, with background music but also with silence.
Please tell us to what measure and in which manner light has influenced and influences your life, ideas, and emotions.
It is fundamental.
My career was born in the rehearsal rooms located in the basements of Bologna.
That particular light, that atmosphere, has always been the source of inspiration not only for my instrument but also for part of the music itself. I still have a studio here in Bologna in the suburbs, and it is underground. It has various points of light which, depending on the moment and the external atmosphere, modulate the environment. So, if the day is rainy or sunny, the lighting changes and, consequently, I ‘switch parts on and off’ to always create that something which gives me the sensations I need for my concentration and mood.

We need to be ‘illuminated’ both creatively and socially.
How would you interpret this metaphor?
Yes, we are illuminated by computers and phones!
But this kind of illumination, at least as far as I am concerned, is only a game. I am playing with a different language, one that, until a few years ago, was not part of my culture.
But in this particular moment in time, I think it is quite important, so why not? I don’t want to think about it too much or become obsessed with ideas about ‘whether we are controlled or not’, I prefer to ride the wave as much as possible. The nice thing about it is that we can become aware of things that were previously difficult to discover.
Right now, we have the possibility of coming across topics that may tickle our curiosity and make us want to explore them further.

