Marco Pernice
Turns Off The Noise
And Turns Up The Truth.
The Italian crossover artist talks musical contamination, Mike Stern, Lou Reed, international radio, and why his latest release “Turn Off the TV” is a return to raw roots.
Marco Pernice has never fit neatly inside one lane. His music moves through electro, funk, rock, blues, jazz, progressive textures, psychedelic instincts, and a lifetime of guitar-driven curiosity.
For Marco, that fusion is not a marketing angle. It is the foundation. He calls it crossover, contamination, and the natural evolution of music — a philosophy shaped by Italy’s early-90s live scene, international influences, radio culture, and years of searching for a voice that could hold all of those worlds at once.
With “Turn Off the TV”, Marco returns to something rawer: guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and a message aimed directly at media manipulation and modern propaganda. Before diving into the new single, we spoke with Marco about the past, the process, and the artistic instincts that continue to guide him.
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#5
Only Rock Radio Spain
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130
Countries Reached
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200M
Devices Reached
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“At a certain point, I asked myself the same question. And I realized that my voice is simply the harmonization of all the others.”
Marco Pernice In His Own Words
You describe your music as a “crossover” or “contamination” between distant cultures. Where did that philosophy come from?
Since high school, when we played covers of The Police, Living Colour, Jimi Hendrix, FFF, and others, and then developed our own compositions, I realized that the fusion of musical styles was the future and the natural evolution of music. Personally, I really like this philosophy, so today I can say I have my own personal and perhaps recognizable musical style.
You started your musical career in Italy in the early 90s. What was the Italian music scene like at that time?
There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in those years on a musical level. Clubs would call us back after our first gig. Those were the years of crossover, rap, acid jazz, house music, then grunge, MTV, and a lot of rock. Everything was different. Music was happiness, study, sacrifice, emotion, protest, and even politics. Today, everything has been lost. What remains is the desire to excite, to make people think, to research, and to express myself freely and without constraints.
In 2005 you completed an internship with American guitarist Mike Stern. What did that experience change about how you approach guitar?
I was living in Rome at the time, looking for musical collaborations. I asked Mike Stern what he thought when Miles Davis asked him to play like Jimi Hendrix. Mike, with a wry smile, replied that he tried to play in a very bluesy way and with lots of bending. That’s how I realized that technique alone will never be a guitarist’s salvation. It’s what’s inside you, including your own limitations, that makes the difference.
Your catalog covers an enormous range. How do you decide what a song needs to be?
I don’t have a method, but if I feel inspired, I start thinking of a groove, a riff, a lyric, or a concept to express in music. Piece by piece, the song emerges, especially when I pick up the guitar and let myself be guided by my feelings in the moment. I’m fundamentally an improviser; in that sense, I’m very jazzy.
“The Shock” reached #5 on Only Rock Radio in Spain. What does international radio success mean to you?
I have to be brutally honest: I’ve never had anything to do with Italian music. Some record labels in the past tried to influence me, but today I’m back to myself. My musical background is Anglo-American. So I know my music has an international reach, but I see people in Italy starting to listen to me too.
Your videos have reached 200 million devices across 130 countries. When did you realize the music was crossing borders?
It was late 2019 when I released “DJ Killer.” I sent a few emails to radio stations around the world, and quickly received a lot of positive feedback and daily airplay. That’s when I realized a new era had begun.
Your influences span Hendrix, Clapton, Metheny, Scofield, and Vernon Reid. How do you hold those voices without losing your own?
At a certain point, I asked myself the same question. And I realized that my voice is simply the harmonization of all the others.
You’ve worked as both a radio speaker and a guitar teacher. How have those roles shaped your music?
It’s all part of the same journey. Especially working in radio, you listen to so much music, so you build a mental archive of sounds and productions, which inevitably flow into my music.
You played festivals alongside Lou Reed, John Cale, and Uri Caine. Which experience left the biggest mark?
Lou Reed’s appearance at the 1998 Time Zones festival in Bari, Italy marked a turning point. He was my hero. I was very young and rebellious, but after that experience, I realized I still had a lot to study and learn.
What does “Turn Off the TV” say about where you are as an artist right now?
My new single, musically, is a bit of a return to my roots, between progressive, psychedelic, rock, and zero technology, but with guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. The message to turn off the TV is simple: they’re manipulating us and lying to us; it’s called propaganda. Furthermore, the TV industry of the last 30 years has had a detrimental effect; it’s truly frightening.
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