Low-Fi Backstage with Claudio Suriano
In this episode of Low-Fi Backstage, we'll be exploring the career of Claudio Suriano - an Italian guitarist and composer whose style blends jazz, electronic, and funk. Claudio has collaborated with musicians from around the world and released his own series of contemporary jazz compositions, Q-Factor. Join us as we uncover the inspiration behind his music.
Claudio’s mom exposed him to a lot of Italian music through listening to CDs from a young age. Also his father had an impact on Claudio’s journey to music. He remembers listening to his father’s Kraftwerk cassette – “I remember locking myself in the room with the stereo and listening to this music at a very high volume, trying to feel how the space was different when the music was on.”.
At the age of twelve Claudio fell in love with Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the guitar in particular. He marks this moment as the beginning of his long musical journey. “I was at their concert on November 30, 2016 in Milan. After that, on the train back to my city, Andria, that same night, I was constantly thinking and saying to myself that I want to be a guitar player! ” he recollects.
Despite his love for Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Claudio has always been open to listening to everything around him. He later understood that to be inspired he would have to be exposed to different cultures and meet new people. He therefore decided to study music in Rome. Claudio attended lessons at the Saint Louis College of Music. The reason why he chose this education was his teacher Nico Stufano, who is to this day one of Claudio’s main inspirations in music. “Being in Rome opened my mind so much. At that time I attended a jazz seminar and met so many interesting and amazing musicians that made me fall in love with jazz.” Claudio mentions.
“I’ve realized only years after that I was doing something that is helping me shape into the artist I am today: ‘living an interesting life’ (literal words from another big inspiration, point of reference, and also friend of mine, danish piano player Niels Lan Doky)” the musician shares.
Claudio’s favorite song to play live is “Winter Time”. However he is also looking forward to playing live his newest composition “Space”. This track features on electric viola Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a fantastic multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles.
Claudio also admits that 2 of his other favorite songs to play are by Jordan Jackson. “Jordan is an amazing singer and a fantastic songwriter. She’s able to write both complex songs that sound so easy to listen to, and also simple and very meaningful songs.” Claudio fondly says. Claudio discovered Low-Fi thanks to Jordan, his favorite musical companion.
March 1, 2023
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