The Italian band Karmamoi has been active since 2008 and was formed by drummer Daniele Giovanonni and singer Serena Ciacci. So far, the band already released seven studio albums, including their latest album Eternal Mistake. This album came out in 2026, and it is their most ambitious one to date. The content deals with a very specific subject: is a romantic relationship between a human and a humanoid possible? The music on Eternal Mistake is undisputable among the best Karmamoi has released, so the editorial team of Background Magazine wanted to know all the ins and outs of the album. Daniele Giovannoni and singer-keyboardist Valerio Sgargi were willing to shed some light on everything regarding this amazing album.

Congratulations with such a great album! Would you please tell our readers a bit about the history of the band?

Daniele Giovannoni

Daniele: "Hello, to all the readers of Background Magazine, and thanks to the magazine's editorial team and to you Henri for making this conversation possible. Thank you for the compliments, we're happy that you enjoyed the album.
Well, Karmamoi was formed in Rome in 2008. Now I realize that in 2026 the band will officially 'come of age'. Back then, we were a group of friends all studying at the same music school. We began as a cover band, playing the great classics of rock and progressive rock, and at that time we were called Gordon Tre. The name Karmamoi came shortly afterwards. After a couple of years performing in clubs in Italy, I began to feel the need to compose original music, and I wrote a song titled Venere, which in 2010 became Karmamoi's first single. In 2011, we released our eponymous debut album. From their, after eighteen years and another five albums, we recorded Eternal Mistake."

Would you introduce the musicians of the band?
Daniele: "I am the only remaining member of the original lineup. I'm the drummer, but I also play the keyboards in the studio, but above all, I'm the composer of Karmamoi's songs. Valerio Sgargi is our singer, keyboardist and guitarist. He's the band youngest addition. He joined in 2022, and he has become my alter ego. For the last two albums, I shared songwriting, arrangements and the production with Valerio. Alex Massari is the band's guitarist. He has been with us since 2013 when we released Odd Trip, our second studio album. Alessandro Cefalì is our bassist. He is after me the longest-serving member of the band. He appeared on all Karmamoi's albums since our debut in 2011. Together, we created the sound on our albums."

Valerio Sgargi

How did you come up with the name Karmamoi and what does it mean?
Daniele: "The name Karmamoi is a combination of 'karma', understood as the conscious responsibility of shaping one's own destiny, and 'moi', which means 'now' in a dialect from southern Italy. So, in our intentions, Karmamoi is an encouragement to take control of your own destiny without wasting time."

When did you start working on Eternal Mistake?
Daniele: "We started writing the album in May 2024. The project took two years to complete."

Who wrote the story of the album?
Daniele: "The story began to take shape in 2024, when the news about Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged. Valerio and I talked about this news, and I remember perfectly that we wondered where this new technological revolution would lead us to, and what impact it would have on our society. I must confess that I'm genuinely concerned about the use of AI, but I'm even more concerned about its abuse. I have the feeling that people will increasingly delegate their ability to think to this algorithm, and that frightens me. However, this news generated the story behind Eternal Mistake during one of our conversations. We asked ourselves whether a love story between a human and a humanoid could ever be possible: between algorithms and emotions, between codes and breaths, and who would eventually take control over the other. That is how the concept was born."

What do you exactly mean with the Eternal Mistake? The creation of AI?
Daniele: "No, the eternal mistake is the human belief of our immortality, not only physically but also emotionally. I would also like to point out that our album is completely free of AI. The music, the lyrics, the arrangements, the mixing and the artwork of the cover were all created by us without using AI."

Could you tell us a bit more about the individual tracks?
Daniele: "All the tracks are pieces of a puzzle; together they tell the complete story of the album. Explaining each song individually would take a long time, because the tracks are linked not only by the progression of the story, but also philosophically. Within all songs, we ask questions for which we didn't find the answers ourselves. Let me give you an overview of the album's philosophical meaning. In Lara Is Your Name there is emotional disorientation, which raises the first question: who will take control? In I'm Not On Your Side you hear criticism on technological alienation and manipulation. Obsession is the keyword in Nothing But. The believe that we are immortal is portrayed in Eternal Mistake: the greatest error of mankind. The theme in We Are Going Home is love, and the confrontation between two conscious entities. In Hero we focus on human insecurity hidden behind the mask of heroism. No Fucking Way contains a cry of rebellion against artificial perfection. The album Eternal Mistake speaks deeply about the human vulnerability."

The album clearly features the band's familiar sound, yet, at the same time, the band manages to surpass itself by incorporating new musical impulses. Do you agree?
Valerio: "I think Eternal Mistake has pushed the band to a higher level. That is something we've set as a goal for quite some time. As a permanent band member, I enjoyed the last two albums, and that was certainly not by chance. I brought a new musical background to the band, and skills that perfectly match Daniele's. We're so proud of this new record, from both a technical and a musical point of view. We put all our feelings and intentions into the music, and you can definitely hear a refreshed sound that will surely keep us evolving."

Alex Massari

The album features excellent contributions from renowned guest musicians, including Adam Holzman, Randy McStine and Susanna Brigatti. How great was their influence on the album? How did you get them on board?
Daniele: "The contribution of guest musicians is always important, especially when they are great musicians. Musicians of that calibre push a band to explore new limits and go even beyond them. That is exactly what happened to us. I already knew Adam Holzman since he collaborated with us on Newspeak, a track from Room 101. So, after composing Hero, the song Adam played on Eternal Mistake, we realized it would be the perfect track for his keyboards and Moog. I wrote to him and sent him the demo, asking if he would be interested in playing on it. Shortly afterwards, I received his reply along with wonderful compliments about the song. He told me that he would send the files of his performance within a couple of days. Through Adam, I contacted Randy McStine, and things unfolded in exactly the same way. Randy played a fantastic guitar solo on Nothing But.
However, Susanna Brigatti is a different story. She has been a friend of ours for a long time. We realized that a duet by Valerio and a female voice in We Are Going Home would add something special to it. The voices of Susanna and Valerio blend perfectly, giving the track a truly poetic atmosphere."

Adam Holzman did an amazing triple Moog solo on Hero. Did he compose these solos himself or were they already composed by the band?
Daniele: "As I just told you, we had extraordinary guest musicians like Adam. It is both a great privilege and a huge opportunity for us to evolve as a band. The song was already composed completely when we sent it to him. We pointed out the sections where we needed the electric piano accompaniment and the parts where we wanted his solos. Naturally, for those performances we gave him complete freedom. You can't tell Maradona how to play football; you just let him play."

Does this also apply for the incredible guitar solo by Randy McStine in Nothing But?
Daniele: "Yes, the same goes for Randy. We told him the kind of solo we had in mind, meaning the mood we wanted to hear from his guitar solo. Then he played what you can hear on Nothing But, which I personally find extraordinary."

I heard a beautiful mix of aggressive heavy guitar parts, and sensitive musical passages played on the keyboards. Did you do this to make the story more evocative?
Valerio: "We really wanted to record a more aggressive, rock-driven album this time, particularly with the guitars. But we also wanted to stick to the sound we consolidated with Strings From The Edge Of Sound, which is very lyrical, melodic, and distinctively cinematic. So, yes, our focus was to contrast heavy rock parts with softer, more classical moments."

Alessandro Cefalì

Do you think the band members have surpassed themselves by raising the bar even higher to deliver the best possible musical product?
Daniele: "I think we did. Our goal is always to do our utmost, to push beyond our limits, to evolve while remaining faithful to our vision of music, and to our sound. With Eternal Mistake, we took another step forward. If you listen to our albums, you can clearly notice the constant search for a recognizable sound, while at the same time we maintain the desire to explore new compositional forms."

Joel Barrios did the excellent artwork. How did you get in touch with him?
Daniele: "We have been working with Joel since 2021, when he created the artwork for the cover of Room 101. At that time, I was looking for a talented artist to design the new album cover, and Joel was introduced to me by Octavia Brown, a mutual friend. Our way of working together is quite simple. Het creates the artwork based on the lyrics I send him. Later, he sends us some ideas and, once they are approved, he develops them until the final result is achieved."

What exactly is the meaning of a broken chessboard with only the king and the queen on it?
Daniele: "Well, Eternal Mistake is based on a love story between a human and a humanoid. The king represents the human, while the queen represents the humanoid. If you look closely at the image, you can notice that the queen and her side of the chessboard are depicted with electronic circuits on them. The broken chessboard represents the irreparable fracture between humans and humanoids, but it also symbolizes a game of chess: who will take control in the future? The human or the humanoid? Joel did an exceptional job here."

I heard influences from Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree. Am I right or did other acts inspire you as well to create this album?
Valerio: "You're right. Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree are among the artists who inspired us. However, we have many musical influences, outside the prog world as well. They are beacons in our musical world. I can mention some names: The Beatles, Ennio Morricone, Jimi Hendrix, Supertramp, Sting, Led Zeppelin, Maurice Ravel, Miles Davis, and many, many others. Talented artists always have something to learn from."

On The Mirror you sound like the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rudy Vallee, and Nat King Cole. Do you agree or did this happen by incidence?
Valerio: "I like to sing from a more classical style to a rock voice and back again at various points. I had classical and jazz training, and this kind way of singing is quite natural to me. People like Frank Sinatra and the great crooners of the past are definitely the core to my vocal style, and The Mirror is the right example. It brings in a lot of classical vibes, somewhere between a musical and an opera. Personally, I see it as a sort of recitative, almost as a prelude. So, it's no coincidence that it introduces No Soul, which is completely different with a more bluesy edge."

Did the final result of the album meet your expectations, or did you think afterwards that some things could have been done better or differently?
Daniele and Valerio: "If you listen back tot the album after its completion, it's quite normal that you may feel that some things could have been done differently. It is part of a critical process that allows a band to grow, or at least that is how it works for us.
As for Eternal Mistake, we can say that we are extremely happy with the result, and we are proud to have taken another step forward on our path to musical maturity."

Karmamoi on stage (November 8, 2024)

Are you going to perform the entire album live on stage?
Daniele: "We are currently preparing the set list for the upcoming concerts and, of course, we will perform a large part of the new album live on stage. We will also include some tracks from our previous albums that match within the narrative of the show. We want the concert to feel like a film, where the audience can feel to be immersed in the music and visuals, entering our artistic and emotional world. It's quite ambitious, but we are trying."

What's next for the band? A live album, Blu-ray, or something else?
Daniele: "To create Eternal Mistake, we wrote a huge amount of music, and we selected only the tracks that could represent best the theme chosen for the album. We could start working on a new album tomorrow... In fact, we are considering releasing a live album taken from a recording of one of our concerts at the Parkvillatheater in the Netherlands. I think that will be our next step."

Thank you both for answering my questions, and success with the new album!
Daniele and Valerio: "It was a pleasure for us to answer your questions. Thank you, Henri, and thanks to the editorial team of Background Magazine. Greetings to all the readers and as always... prog on."