Obscura marks Plaster’s fifth full-length studio album, excluding collaborative, live and split albums. Written between 2019 and 2022, Obscura is the result of very deep research by Gianclaudio Hashem Moniri both in the world of composition and sound design. The fifteen tracks that make up the album are divided into two parts, A and ?.

According to Gianclaudio, the concept of the compositions is based on the female world, on its darker and brighter side, on its power and delicacy, but also refers to the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran and the subsequent Iranian protests. The tracks are filled with elements of protest messages, words of hope, stories of femicide, snippets, and homages to Gianclaudio’s imaginary female world.

The sound is clearly a step forward in Plaster’s production, we can hear a lot of new entries, like poetry, distorted guitars, vocals used as lead instrument, but on the other hand, Obscura brings back memories of early works. There is a lot of passion and cohesion between the tracks and this is not an album that is aimed at quick listens or streaming skips.

We have had the pleasure of interviewing him and this has been the result.

Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music? Does your training come from the Internet?

Hi, I’m Gianclaudio Hashem Moniri. Born in Rome but I’m half Iranian and half Italian. I’m 37 years old, married and the father of 2 kids. I started to study guitar at the age of 7 for 3 years, then stopped and reprised at the age of 16, but I turned into electronic music quickly after I bought my first computer (early 2000). I’ve studied electronic music composition, midi programming and sound engineering at Saint Louis College Of Music in Rome.

Who have been your main inspirations (both musical and in «life»)? And how have they affected your sound?

I mostly like everything which is pre 2000’s. I don’t want to appear a boomer, but in my opinion there was a high level of quality on producing music and contents of course. The bands which mostly influenced me on the electronic music field are The Future Sound Of London, Boards Of Canada and Autechre. But I also love post punk, dark industrial stuff, grunge and so on. About lifestyle, I believe that Massive Attack had a big influence on me, letting me think out of the box.

How would you define your sound? And how has your sound evolved so far?

Plaster’s sound is a multi layered pulsating heart, with pieces of metallic conjunctions surrounded by electricity, but also quiet and delicate sometimes. If I have to think about the evolution from the first album to the last one, for sure the language became more personal and varied, rather than influenced by external factors or trends.

What can you tell us about your last job? What inspired you? What do you want to transmit?

Obscura is my latest album and it took two years and half for its realization. The concept is based on the feminine world and the various aspects which made it special, but part of the album and especially the live performance, which is in preparation, is dedicated to the death of Mahsa Amini and the protesters in Iran. I do honestly want to keep the flame alive on these courageous women that are fighting for their rights.

What can you tell us about each track that makes up your latest work? What concept do you want to convey?

As explained on the previous questions, all the tracks are dedicated to a particular status or refers to the feminine world, for example the first track, Macte Animo! which is a latin expression meaning literally Courage! And I imagined encouraging those young girls in Iran to persist for their rights.

How are you living the current situation due to COVID? Has it affected your work a lot? Do you think there is hope? Do you feel that the underground scene will continue to persist?

I Believe that COVID has changed the life of all of us, in a bad and good way as well. People that have been smart enough not to lose themself into fear, had the chance to discover a new side of their life, maybe dedicating themself to new activities never done before. What I see is that the gigs are less than before and that most underground clubs are now closed. If before Covid, few people would have invested in an underground music project, now the chances are very limited, at least for me.

What projects are you working on right now?

The live performance for Obscura, and a re-release of one of my past albums (Mainframe) which was supposed to be released last year through an Australian label, but at the end the label manager disappeared.