Premiata Forneria Marconi, aka PFM, have been one of Italy’s leading lights since 1970. Inspired by sci-fi movies and social media culture, they recently returned to the studio to create the dynamic I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep. Prog catches up with Franz Di Cioccio and Patrick Djivas to discuss their past, present and future.

Words: Bill Kopp Images: Orazio Truglio

“We are doing music the way bakers are making bread. With our own hands, with all our ancient knowledge, working on it until it comes out the way we want.”

Franz Di Cioccio

One of the most groundbreaking progressive groups of the 1970s, PFM are still making music of a superb calibre today. Gathering in Milan’s White Studios during the pandemic, the musicians recorded I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep as a group, while guest artists including Ian Anderson and Steve Hackett provided their parts via file sharing. The isolation brought upon by the pandemic – and technology’s role in both heightening that isolation and bridging the gaps – is a central theme of the new album.

When drummer Franz Di Cioccio and four fellow musicians founded their group in Milan in 1970, they chose a name that they believed would be both unusual and memorable: Premiata Forneria Marconi. The name translates as ‘Award-winning Marconi Bakery’. Today Di Cioccio laughs as he explains their thinking: “We are doing music the way bakers are making bread,” he explains. “With our own hands, with all our ancient knowledge, working on it until it comes out the way we want.” Premiata Forneria Marconi’s music builds upon a European/Italian classical foundation, folding in regional folk textures, and applying those ingredients in the making of exuberantly progressive rock. “It’s very tasty bread,” says bassist Patrick Djivas, who joined the group in 1974 and today co-leads it with Di Cioccio.