Interview: How Giuseppe Bonaccorso’s ‘Plastic Triode’ Merges Poetry, Guitar, and Electronic Experimentation

In the world of music, artists often tread familiar paths or follow genres with universal appeal. But for Giuseppe Bonaccorso, the road is rarely paved with convention. A classical guitarist by foundation, Giuseppe’s journey has led him far beyond traditional music boundaries, melding the sounds of classical, electronic, and avant-garde influences to create a sonic experience that defies mainstream expectations. Recently, we had the chance to dive into his inspirations, his latest album Plastic Triode, and the philosophy that fuels his artistic pursuits.

INTERVIEW

What influenced you to start a career in music?

My first love was the classical guitar, after some experience with an electric one. The first time I heard authentic classical music played that way, I couldn’t believe the complexity achieved by the guitarist. So, I bought a cheap classical guitar and started studying, initially alone and then with several teachers.

After several years, I began to be attracted to 20th-century compositions, often based on atonality and seriality. After an exploration period, I understood their potential to express what I wanted to communicate. Given its structure, it was hard to communicate with tonal music, which forced us to avoid those “strange” combinations that are perfect in specific situations. However, solo guitar songs were limited, so I employed other instruments, including an electro-acoustic guitar.

Even though standard instruments appeared attractive, I thought the exact opposite of a classical guitar – electronic music – was the best choice. Putting together these two worlds allows me to experiment, which is essential in my artistic production.

At the same time, I was fascinated by poetry. Therefore, I wrote several lyrics and won many contests. Nowadays, I am also thinking about how to transform some of them in a way that resembles a pop/rock song but always has an original approach based on my denial of any mainstream musical result.

Tell us more about your musical journey so far?

My name is Giuseppe Bonaccorso. I started my musical journey as a classical guitarist. I love this instrument, which is pivotal in most of my compositions. After studying composition (which I always preferred over interpretation), I discovered the beauty of 20th-century atonal and experimental music, including genres like ambient or lo-fi chill.

Even if 30 years ago I was also attracted to rock music, nowadays, I’m much more selective and skip all groups whose musical structure is mainly based on mainstream concepts. Nowadays, my main focus is on complex and sometimes difficult-to-understand music. I often read comments saying that this music is “weird”—from people who have never had experiences with authentic experimental music and are now used only to mainstream genres.

I will continue my journey as it is because my motto is, “The road is always ahead,” and I’m perfectly aware that my potential audience is much smaller than expected. But I always want to be myself, mainly when communicating what I have inside.

Your incredible new album ‘Plastic Triode‘ is out now. Tell us more about it ?

My latest album, Plastic Triode, was created with my ideal music concept in mind. I love experimental and avant-garde music, so I tried to combine pieces written for classical guitar with electronic counterparts. Moreover, as I love poetry, I decided to add some vocals—not to create actual songs but to emphasize the concepts I wanted to convey to the listeners. Pieces like “Rabbit Hole” and “Persona” are perfect examples (I hope) of this concept. The vocal part confirms the atmosphere I wanted to create and should help the listeners better feel the piece’s mood.

Most of the guitar parts are based on atonal composition, which is seldom adopted nowadays; that’s why some think the songs are “weird.” However, they follow the experimentation by artists like Frank Zappa and M.O.I., based on actual avant-garde music by composers like Edgar Varèse, John Cage, or the great Karlheinz Stockhausen. This approach combines instruments with sounds commonly considered noise. I love the idea and employed several sounds taken from the real world. The result is exciting, and I will continue to explore this way to compose more and more.

What strategies contributed to your success?

As I said, I was always genuine and never accepted compromises too far from my musical vision. This was always the best strategy, as I found the right followers interested in my genre. It’s a long process, but the results are much more durable than the ones I might achieve by accepting too many compromises and creating music I can’t recognize as truly mine. I don’t want to copy or imitate because I know the results will be failures (made with a terrible effort, as I don’t like the genres). Maybe I could attract some followers, but they would soon abandon me when another similar song is widespread.

Any special message for our readers?

My message is: “Don’t be scared by music genres and approaches that seem weird or that you don’t understand immediately. Take your time, but never trash something that can potentially become much more interesting after listening a few times and, maybe, reading about its authors and the reasons that led composers to embrace this new perspective. The market often imposes a mainstream culture that, day after day, leads to the belief that only certain genres are worth listening to. This is false, and music history teaches us that some great composers were criticized before becoming extremely famous and requested in all theaters. Therefore, take your time, listen once, twice, and continue to explore, never being ashamed to be ‘out of the choir!'”

How can people find out more about you?

Interested people can visit my website, https://www.bonaccorso.eu, to find many publicly released works. I can also be followed through the social channels listed below.

Where can people find you online ?

My social links are: