Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/869387
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2017 31 This Week Could you tell us about some of your main activities? I write songs, play in a band, illustrate and design for money and raise my daughter. If you could control what people found when they Googled 'Ian Schranz', what would you like them to find? I just Google- searched myself, and now I'm super para- noid. Because at this point, you're fairly well- known as being the driving force behind Bark Bark Disco – along with acts like Beangrowers and The Shh. Bark Bark Disco is a very playful band. Do you think other Maltese bands are too serious? Having a good work ethic is crucial and your music needs to mean the world to you. But locally, if you personally know 80% of your audience and have delusions of grandeur and act too seriously, you're a cock. You also dabble in illustration and filmmaking. How do you find time for all this stuff? A combination of very little sleep, an undiagnosed hyperac- tivity disorder and not knowing how to say no stuff. If you had to give three pieces of advice to others who are considering pursuing a similar creative path as you, what would they be? Be super friendly and easy to work with. If you're "consid- ering" pursuing a path, don't bother. It should be inevitable. You're a craftsman not an artist, you can never be a dick. What are some of the best things about living in Malta? And the worst? Being able to meet the people that you care about regularly is amazing. The lack of natural spaces is very sad & I miss being able to be completely anony- mous. How does Ian Schranz deal with a really, really hot day on the island? I don't go outside between 11:00 and 19:00. I'm like a vam- pire, dashing from shade to shade. Final question: You once tried to get the legendary Italian porn actor Rocco Siffredi to collaborate on a project of yours. Could you tell us how that went? I asked him to star in a Bark Bark Disco video, but he told me he didn't like my music and instead liked Rammstein. I then managed to get him special passes to meet Rammstein, so he took me for lunch in Budapest to say thanks. Best three hours of my life. I tried to act like I wasn't a huge fan. I arrived late to lunch and played it super-cool. Hearing his voice was like be- ing in one of his films. He told me stories about [high-profile p o r n s t a r - t u r n e d - m a i n s t r e a m actress/writer] Sasha Grey and asked me for advice on how he could convince his son to be- come a drummer too. All the people in the restau- rant were staring at us. At one point he asked me, in his trade- mark accent, "Ian, what are we going to do with those two MILFs looking at us?". I was like, "Are you asking me?!" So yeah, I wasn't joking when I said it was the best three hours of my life. TEODOR RELJIC catches up with the inimitable Ian Schranz, known for his musical activities in bands such as Beangrowers, The Shh and Bark Bark Disco, and so much else besides. And by 'so much else' we also mean that time he tried to get legendary Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi to appear in a music video... education 'Don't be a dick' presented, and even – perhaps – the mentality that underpins the whole scene? It's a question of education. Children should be exposed to the arts at a very early age, and taught how to appreciate them and respect them. It is only in this way that the arts can be given the same status as being an account- ant or a lawyer. Are there any art- ists in our parliament? Not as far as I know. [Former Polish Prime Minister] Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a great pianist, as so was for- mer German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Even Vladimir Putin felt that it was important to show us all that he can plonk out a tune on a piano after Emmanuel Ma- cron's s surprising show of virtu- osity! Winston Churchill was a very competent painter. So yes, art and politics do mix and yes, would we remember Louis XIV if we didn't have Ver- sailles to remind us of him? Art is what surrounds us, and yet for many the beauty of our churches and vernacular architecture is not even understood. We are sadly oblivious to the rich ico- nography in our museums and public places, and this ignorance is classless. If it were not for the incredibly rich heritage left to us by a geographical fluke that brought the Knights of St John to a dry and barren island in 1530, I hate to think what we would have been. We have no idea how im- mensely lucky we are to have a January Baroque Festival which, because of its amazing settings, has in five short years been placed among the top ten of its genre in the world! It's all about knowledge and education... And appreciating where we came from to deter- mine where we should be going. Ian Schranz: "In Malta, if you personally know 80% of your audience and have delusions of grandeur and act too seriously, you're a cock" Close, but no cigar: Schranz tried to get Italian pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi to appear in a Bark Bark Disco video "At one point [Rocco Siffredi] asked me, 'Ian, what are we going to do with those two MILFs looking at us?'. I was like, 'Are you asking me?!'"