Maurizio Capone, the melody of the world is in recycling

There is it scatolophon, a polystyrene box that becomes a guitar, or almost: the sound it produces is unexpectedly spectacular. Then there’s the scatulera, a harp born from a package of ice cream, also in this case the rubber bands act as a rope. And again: the famous batterythe electric broom and the mazimba, an incredible xylophone made from the remains of baseboards, wooden planks, foam rubber and a bucket. And then one of her favorites, he christened her keyboarder: a pc keyboard emptied of internal springs that becomes an effective percussion instrument.

The man who gives a second life to waste, even playing a little with words, is called Maurice Capone. And he immediately puts the record straight: “We play for real, it’s not a facade operation”. And she’s right: the garbage melody is not an oxymoron, but a pleasant discovery. The us stands for his band, the “Capone & Bungt Bangt”, the first in Italy to play exclusively with instruments made from recycled materials. “But let’s talk about reuse, not recycling”, she warns. “Because the basic idea is that every object can have a new chance, and that before discarding it, today more than ever we should ask ourselves if it can be rethought in some way, saving extra material from landfills”, she explains.

Neapolitan, 59 years old, former member of 666, a leading band in the vesuwave produced by Pino Daniele, Capone was awarded by Legambiente as Circular economy champion. His tutorials on Youtube are particularly appreciated.

“It is not easy to reconstruct where I started from. – he says – I was ten years old when I built my first bongo by myself, made up of two jars. As a teenager I created instead Waste, a musical instrument born from my uncle’s fishing rod, no longer usable. I’ve always rummaged in dumpsters and meditated for a long time before getting rid of my things. Why do I do this? For two reasons: first of all to send a sincerely ecological message, which highlights the contradictions of a society that is still so consumerist, struggling to free itself from the disposable paradigm, even though it is clear to everyone that it is no longer sustainable. But I also do it for a clear artistic vocation, which leads me to search for unique and unconventional sounds. My instruments give incomparable harmonies”.

As for the words, he takes care of it: a committed singer-songwriter, his songs (collected on eleven discs, five of which as soloists) are a hymn to integration and inclusion. The latest single is called “Capille luonghe” (long hair) and tells the story of Mahsa Amini, who died in Iran after being arrested for wearing the headscarf the “wrong” way.

“When we started, in 1999, we were innovators. – he says – We were looking for waste in the center of Bagnoli, someone saw us with the favor that is granted to those who do something original and nice. My Bi-dè, provocative and a touch irreverent, has become an icon: I created it from a bin recovered outside the former Italsider. But we also wanted to show that our instruments produce real music, and ours are songs in all respects. Ours was not a folkloric operation. Today the practice of reuse is widespread, which makes us proud, and it is also among musicians. There are also those who aim at greenwashing, however. That’s why we like to tell who we are and where we come from. That’s why I go to the schools of Naples to sensitize students and it is precisely in the closets that I found keyboards galore to dispose of. So I said to the students: ‘Do you want to see how they will become musical instruments?’. And this is how I conquered them. After all, generation Z has a real environmentalist vocation. I like Greta Thunberg, she was an important accelerator: she knew how to excite and communicate “.

Maurizio Capone is also the artistic director of “Come Suona il Caos”, a happening on ethical, artistic and musical eco-sustainability. The latest edition, on 18 July, took place in Naples, in the internal and external spaces of the Auditorium Porta del Parco di Bagnoli, organized by the Municipality of Naples as part of the “Naples City of Music” project and financed by the Metropolitan City of Naples. “As always we have proposed musical events, laboratories and workshops on creative recycling and environmental issues, but also a conference with guests and excellences of science and journalism, environmentalism and culture”, he says. The event was, as usual, well attended. And many have joined call to action online promoted to build a keyboard and play a song with Capone & BungtBangt.

“We asked the audience to get a broken computer keyboard, unscrew all the windows that seal it and remove everything that is inside to free the keys and thus allow you to move freely by creating an excellent percussion. See big and small playing by keeping it resting on the legs or shoulder strap was a great emotion, believe me. And we managed to promote the importance of the recycling and the correct disposal of the Electric and electronic ture. And it doesn’t end here, trust me “.