It's been four years since Ceschi's last album "They Hate Francisco False" has beenreleased – but time didn’t stand still. The Songwriter / multi-instrumentalist / rapperfrom the Anonymous Inc. crew is now running the successful Fake Four Label in NewHaven, Connecticut and also connected with Berlin producer and beatsmith DJScientist, a label owner (Equinox Records) himself.Over a mutual adoration of rare 60s/70s psychedelic, prog and folk rock as well as90s hip hop, both evoke their influences to create a completely original sounding,melodic, dark and progressive hip hop concept album entitled "The One Man BandBroke Up". The record is based around the ever revisited topic of the rise and fall of amusician, in this case one named Julius and The Bearded Saviour and is as muchabout Ceschi's own fear of failure as it is about personal experiences in a dog eatdog music industry. As Ceschi's voice moves from meticulous almost mathematicalrhythms to aggressive punk howling rhymes, Scientist layers epic montages ofsamples, dynamic drums, along with chopped live instruments to compliment thediversity of styles. The outcome is a unique blend of left field hip hop and indie folk -a post-modern hip hop project and has now been released on both their labelsEquinox (Europe) and Fake Four Inc. (USA)

Interview by Bianca Ludewig Berlin October 2009

Is there a certain issue or topic that concerns you, that you would like to talkabout?

I am concerned with health care in the United States these days. I am sick of theconservatives running their agenda and not allowing any reform to happen. I had25.000$ in debts because of a broken arm. I am not going to pay because I don’tbelieve in this! I am really disappointed in Obama. And I don’t see healthcare cominganytime soon. We waste so much money in the country on wars or elections andwhen it comes down to something what people genuinely need it’s not affordable.

Let’s talk about money. How did Ceschi try to make money in his life? Is artbreadless?

After I went to college – I studied culture, history and film – I tried to get by with webdesign and later I teached kids Spanish. That was my first official job. The next year Igot offers for touring jobs, playing music, so I quit teaching and toured full time.Eventually we all got to hussle in our own way - we got to do our thing. We hussleany way we can. First of all – I am a musician and I do my little hussles on the side.At the moment running the label keeps me busy. Every Cent I had I put in the labelbut it started to pay for itself.

Did you grow up traditionally catholic?

My families are very catholic – I am Puertorican and Italian and I grew up verycatholic. Like I say in the song (editor's note “Black, White & Red All Over”): I was analtar boy, sang in the choir and everything?

And is religion important for you today?

No, not at all. Maybe in a cultural and social way – I am still connected to it indifferent ways. Like my grandparents – of course they still pray for me. I appreciate

that on a cultural level. Through catholic school I learned how to sing and playinstruments: violin, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, little bit of piano, which is difficultbecause I just have four fingers. So being in catholic schools and churches made medo music.

How is life with four fingers?

It’s just my pinky-finger missing on my right hand and I was born with that so I amused to it. Just some things I head to learn differently. Not too important.

You released records by Myka 9 or Awol One – how did you get in touch withthese guys. California is pretty far away…

I was born in New Jersey then we went to Atlanta, Argentina and Spain and later toBerkley California where I spend a lot of my childhood. Those were my developingyears, I met my best friends, got into a certain kind of music. So I always representalso California no matter were I live now. When it comes to Hip Hop I was mostlyinterested in the more experimental westcoast scene and over the years I startedmeeting a lot of these mcs. I connected with a group of mcs and we found thisproducer from the bay area, who took us under his wing and introduced us to otherpeople and I met Circus from the Shapeshifters. This was in 1999 or year 2000. I metpeople from Anticon and started recording with them – I was like 18 years old. Weended up forming a band and met 2Mex, Busdriver or Awol One. When it comesdown to a certain underground style it’s a small world. I did a song with Myka 9 andBusdriver that ended up on the Project Blowed anniversary record, another songfollowed for the 12” record with DJ Scientist. I hooked up Awol One with the producerFactor from Canada and they ended up doing an entire album. For me they are theolder cats – I am just 28 and I look up to them! They are still doing it and are relevant.

Has Fake Four some kind of label philosophy or guideline?

Fake Four features a group of artist that are old friends and music they like. We standfor the preservation of a certain kind of eclectic music that has this independentnature to it. It’s about pushing boundaries. We are making full length records and aremaking vinyl and cds – which is dying fast right now. It is vanishing and seems soephemeral - this mp3 mentality is not ours. We give away digital records.Every Act on Fake Four has this – it can be some weird electronics or a folk part.

How was your personal evolution in music? What did you listen to 10 yearsago – what is hot today?

I started classically with the violin, singing in choirs and then started rappin when Iwas 8 years old and Graffiti with ten years. Later on, I got really into Rock: Indy,Metal, Hardcore… But eventually I got back into Hip Hop in 1994 through my friends.Since then I am focused on music just doing a couple of graffiti pieces a year. In1994 I picked up a 4-Track and we started the Anonymous Inc. Me and my brotherhad different rappers that came in who I learned a lot from. Then I bought an 8-Trackand every time I get new music equipment it changes the way how I make music.The 8 Track brought along the first Anonymous Inc. album and we worked a lot morewith Jazz and we became something totally different. We still had this Hip Hopelement but it was very experimental. Around 1997, I started to do beats and

progressed until 2001 when I came out with my solo album. Which sounded really lofiand shitty – it was a strange little Hip Hop album. And that’s what I am still doing justa lot more advanced now.

How did your work with DJ Scientist from Berlin come about?

He went on tour with my friend Noah23 in 2005 or so. I had been doing music withNoah and the Plague Language group for years and DJ Scientist had a really earlyunmastered version of my first record and liked it. I liked his psychedelic approach tobeatmaking which fits good to my music cause we both like psychedelic rock from the60s and 70s. He brought me out to Germany in 2007 and I did a tour in with Noah inEurope. And then we did this 7”, a 12” and another tour and in summer our album willcome out.

Where do you get inspiration for your lyrics?

I read a bit and look up to certain poets and songwriters and got deep intoautobiographic novels, so it maybe influences me in a way and my lyrics have thoseautobiographical and political aspects to it. I want to be personal and relate to thepeople but I also talk about changing the world. These books really changed my wayof writing and what I write can also be read as poetry. And of course the rappers Iworked with inspired me. That was also the idea of the Good Life Café back in theearly 90s: to inspire and influence each other but wanting to be different and craftinga unique style. I learned a lot from the Anticon guys who were focused on notrhyming and creating an abstract poetry. Within this group of people I wanna have aunique voice – that’s what I am working on.

What is the one man band all about? And how can it break up?

That’s from a concept record that is called “Julius and the Bearded Saviour”. It’s astory about an elderly musician.

You talk a lot about failure and death – why?

Those are two fears everybody has. I definitely have this fear of failure because Iwork so hard to succeed in my little world. And dying alone is scary – I don’t want todie alone. It’s a lot deeper than just myself, my history, my bands, my past – seeingother musicians and the fear of becoming them.“bad jokes about bad people in bad bars make the bad worse and make the goodpeople crash cars”.

You use the term “Übermensch” a lot – why?

I am interested in the superman failing. Obviously, there is no such thing like theÜbermensch – just the idea disgusts me. They shall die alone.

Sometimes you seem to be nostaligic about the old days of hip hop…

I had this nostalgic thing about Hip Hop in the 90s, because it was a much better timefor Hip Hop and everyone knows that. The fan base and the industry were more open