Angelo Kras is certainly not a new name in the Italian underground scene. After a debut album in 2021, “War Cementary”, a handful of singles and many collaborations with prominent talents, or who soon after would be, in the musical undergrowth, the artist with the elusive geolocation, and even more so his identity, decided to tell his story.

The occasion is a new, second album released last May. It is called “Gentile” and marks not only a greater maturity of Angelo Kras, both musical and personal, but also the shift from being independent to being under a label, in his case the Neapolitan Thru Collected. An important step for him, which goes hand in hand with other changes that have happened in recent years and which have led him to be the artist he is today: difficult to pigeonhole, but definitely with clear ideas in his head and a project that looks always ahead.

Last May you released your new album, “Gentile”, a sort of coming-of-age journey through moods and thoughts, written with a language that is as clear as cryptic. Let's start from here: who is Angelo Kras and how did he get to his second album?

I was born in Germany where I lived for several years and then I moved to Italy – I spent all my adolescence in Gabicce, a very small town on the sea. In 2019 I moved to Milan, but a few months ago I moved to Naples where I have met many people and many different contexts. Gentile was born from here, from the need to tell between the lines who I am. But above all, the album closes a circle started with War Cemetery, or even before that with G-Star. For me the time had come to create a decisive project that managed to touch on more influences of the sound I like, and make it accessible.

Listening to your album I have the feeling of being suspended in an ethereal dimension, thanks to the well-defined sound, but with dreamlike nuances. Do you feel yourself in this description?

Yes, I do! I like playing with what is “not here”, in fact the intention was to create the sensation of something ethereal like a dream. Fundamental for me and my work was the participation of many friends and colleagues like producers (Alakaij, Loui, Villaharcore, Federico Bombini, Coma, s7n) musicians (Anais Ambra Fontana, Marco Bertuccioli) graphic designers (Diego Pagnini, Ervie) featurings (Aaron Rumore, Kboigray , sustain). It was very natural!

The dream as an escape from reality or a way to discover yourself?

Both, it is an escape from reality to discover oneself, but also a place where memories and fantasies continually intertwine between past and future – and where I like to take refuge.

Your works are characterized by introspective writing, sometimes disguised by recurring expressions and images, as you’d like to suggest that there is much more behind it. For example, why Gentile? And what do your lyrics speak about?

I love creating images that don't reflect reality, I am also very attached to the imagination of childhood with all its elements: fantasies, dreams, white lies. So, in my work I want to protect my memories and my intimacy – as I said at the beginning I have moved a lot, I don't have a place that I feel like calling home, but memories allow me to build one. When I write I try to intercept hopes and fears. Writing for me is a way to create a bridge rather than describe something. I am more interested in using words to direct a sensation and discover where it takes me, rather than describing it. Instead, regarding “Gentile”, it’s because kindness is a virtue.

As an Italian artist, what is your experience and your thoughts about the music industry in Italy?

To be honest I don't care. For me music is an instinct, like a bird that starts to fly, nothing more. For many it's just an obsession. I only concentrate on stay with people I love – Thru Collected’s members are among them. I am grateful to have them close to me, I like to go to sleep happy.

Italian and international music: what do you think about the desire to land on foreign markets and the actual success?

I think it's the right time. We need to stop thinking that we always need something we don't have or someone who isn't there to make our dreams come true. It takes courage, it's time to get your head out of the hole.