The band Madrid is vocalist/keyboard player/guitarist, Carl Francese, and his brother Lou Francese serves as lyricist and plays percussion. The two have been together musically for over 20 years and are already working on their second release. When performing live Madrid fills out the look and sound with a second guitarist, vocalists and dancers.

Carl Francese was free for answering the following questions:

Where do you come from?
New York. New Rochelle, New York.

What is your main job?
I (Carl) is a president of my own advertising company. My brother, Lou, (the lyricist), works for a TV Network called WCBS.

Tell me something about the beginning of Madrid and the bands evolution as your history started in 1980?
It all started when I was 10 Yrs old. Amazed by guitar players such as Jimmy Page, I began to beg and pester my cousin, Anthony-who is an avid guitar player, to teach me some basic chords on the guitar. My parents were able to send my older brother, Lou to drum lessons. After a few years of learning our instruments, we formed a cover band and began to play local venues. After some years of covering bands like The Cars, Police and Ramones, my brother and I decided to form two separate bands. I went on to form another 80's cover band which played Erasure, Depeche Mode and New Order stuff. My brother left school for a year to start an all original rock band. After many $10 gigs, I decided to start the live events and write music. At the age of 19, I purchased my first synth. A Roland Jupiter. I never felt so creative and alive. With many songs written, I needed to fit lyrics. It was at that time, I asked my brother Lou to join what I was set forth to do- Make a CD. The chemistry was great from the start and till this day we are writing, what we think is good music.

What are the reasons for producing melodic electronic music?
We feel that teens today are searching out for what we sought in the 80's. A new generation of SynthPoP music that they can be part of. We are frustrated by what is played on the radio today. Music needs to change and we hope we can be a big part of this change. It's what feels natural - we write primarily for ourselves first and hope that listeners will enjoy the originality of our work.

What bands influence you most?
Our strongest influences were Beatles, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Duran Duran and lyrically by Morrisey & Peter Murphy. With songs like "Circles", "Tell Me A Reason" and "Losing Control" the influence of 1980's British SynthPoP and the raw energy of early New Wave are clear.

How Do you describe your music?
I think it is "Contemporary SynthPoP". We have tried to create some unforgettable melodies to a danceable beat. Hopefully, when you hear the songs, you can't help but dance and sing along ... or clean your fireplace.

What kind of audience do you want to reach with your very "poppy" and cheerful music?
Adults between 25 and 44 because they grew up listening to 80's music. We also want to reach teens who are looking for that next generation of SynthPoP music as we did 20 years ago.

All songs were written by you both. What kind of experiences did you try to process within your lyrics?
We try to write from our gut and mind. Thoughts that we feel is sexy, mysterious, Romantic, sometimes dark and happy. We try and leave out the corny stuff. Some were actual experiences in our lives, others we want to experience.

What are you future plans?
We are currently working on our 2nd CD which we feel is 10x stronger that the first. We are also looking to play live by the fall/winter of this year.

Thank you very much for the interview, live long and prosper!

• The Story Of A Star
• Circles
• Losing Control

The copyright in these sound-files is owned by Madrid, U.S.A. For all files I got the exclusive authorization of Madrid. All sound-files are only for private use. Any commercial distribution and copy is prohibited.

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