Musician Giuliano Ferla on the power of passata
When we asked Giuliano Ferla of FERLA to describe himself and his practice, he had an interesting way of explaining his craft. He's definitely a musician and a lyricist, but in the past he wasn't sure if he could call himself a poet. For Giuls, it's the combo of putting poetry to music that's important to him. He feels that "there's a gravitas to the title of poet that doesn't fit..." but he seeks to redefine it. He's settled on being a reluctant, flippant and flamboyant poet.
photo by Loni Rae Thomson
If you know the band FERLA, you'll probably know FERLA PASSATA, the most wonderful band merch on God's green earth. Deep in lockdown and desperate for the connection that he gets when playing and releasing music, Guils wanted to make merch that was something personal and that represented "what makes me ME - and my upbringing". "Passata is something we do together", and so he and a group of mates got together in the garden and made a whole heap of that magical red sauce to sell to FERLA fans.
Spoiler alert: Guiliano's kitchen super power is: being Italian. He firmly believes in "the beauty of the brodo". What is 'brodo'? It's stock made from bones, boiled for hours whilst the bones rattle and tinkle in a huge saucepan. Throughout this episode you'll be absolutely delighted by tales of his Mum's wild fennel foraging adventures after school on the side of the freeway and tales about Nonno getting on a train with his wheelbarrow, off to tend his veggie patch. Another chance at offering sensational merch came about when Giuls found his Nonna's limoncello recipe on a little scrap of paper whilst cleaning out her house. It was good enough that he decided to make his own FERLA LIMONCELLO.
Whilst being Italian is Giuls' kitchen super power, in our chat we also touch on experiences of racism in relation to his Italian heritage. A gentle trigger warning for that.
Giuls and Squeak before a big meal of Zoltan’s homemade spanakopita
A QUICK WHIP AROUND THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP GIULIANO
PRONOUNS: He / Him
HOMETOWN: Naarm / Melbourne
JOB DESCRIPTION: Musician, lyricist and reluctant, flippant and flamboyant poet.
The romantic ideal of the suffering and 'Starving Artist" was something that Giuls was swept up in as a younger man. The idea that struggling was a rite of passage was part of his narrative, and he was warmed by the nostalgia. Whilst the romance for suffering for one's art has cooled, he still believes that as an artist "you need to sacrifice an element of security" to be able to commit to your craft.
“Why don't we just make art the way we cook?”
On cooking, we discuss the need for getting the most amount of nutrients from limited ingredients. We all agree that the act of cooking is a wonderfully creative way to gain respite and perspective from studio activities. There's also the collective realisation that we're all much kinder to ourselves when we cook in contrast to when we create, and the three of us lament: "Why don't we just make art the way we cook?".
For Giuls, cooking is nourishment for the soul and he is still so moved by the meals that sustained him as a young boy. Our chat with him was too short, as always, but we felt deeply nourished afterwards, and upon listening, we hope you do too.
Join us to find out What Giuls Ferla Eats
WHAT GIULIANO FERLA EATS
MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA
LINKS & MENTIONS
LINKS TO ARTIST INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND ANYTHING ELSE WE CHATTED ABOUT
INFORMATION AND TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR CHAT
Guils’ go-to market is the Alphington Farmers Market in Naarm / Melbourne
He also loves the Preston Market for the “fresh pasta guy” and Mario's meats
It's now publicly acknowledged that Guils has promised us a bottle of FERLA PASSATA, a bottle of limoncello and a FERLA vinyl. We don't make the rules, but a promise is a promise...
A cotoletta is an Italian schnitzel
Brodo is very slowly cooked bone broth