Joe Cardamone and Holy Motors on Art, Music, and Cinema
Joe Cardamone (Los Angeles, 1979), frontman of The Icarus Line from 1998 to 2015, launched his solo project Holy War in 2017, shifting from post-hardcore to electronic/rock/rap. He opened for Mark Lanegan's European tour and directed a film series under his collective American Primitive. Holy Motors, a dark dream pop/shoegaze band from Tallinn, Estonia, founded in 2013 by Lauri Raus and Ellian Tulve, received a 2018 Estonian Music Awards nomination for Best Debut Album. Their sound blends Tarantino-Morricone cinematic echoes with Lynchian atmospheres, influenced by Mazzy Star. Anton Newcombe produced several of their tracks. Their upcoming album was recorded with two members of The Underground Youth. Both artists discuss their definitions of art and music: Cardamone calls art the byproduct of expression, while Holy Motors' Lauri Raus cites Walter Benjamin's essay on reproducibility. Cardamone names St. Peter's Basilica as a favorite visual artwork; Raus praises cinema, specifically Apocalypse Now.
Key facts
- Joe Cardamone was born in Los Angeles in 1979.
- He was frontman of The Icarus Line from 1998 to 2015.
- The Icarus Line supported bands like The Cult, Killing Joke, Primal Scream, and Scott Weiland.
- Cardamone started solo project Holy War in 2017.
- Holy War is also a film series directed by Cardamone under American Primitive.
- Holy Motors was founded in 2013 in Tallinn, Estonia, by Lauri Raus and Ellian Tulve.
- Holy Motors was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 Estonian Music Awards.
- Anton Newcombe produced several tracks for Holy Motors.
Entities
Artists
- Joe Cardamone
- Lauri Raus
- Ellian Tulve
- Gert Gutmann
- Caspar Salo
- Anton Newcombe
- Mark Lanegan
- Michael Grodner
- Samantha Stella
- Iggy Pop
- Nick Cave
- Leos Carax
- Walter Benjamin
- Francis Ford Coppola
Institutions
- The Icarus Line
- Holy War
- American Primitive
- Holy Motors
- The Underground Youth
- Estonian Music Awards
- Artribune
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Tallinn
- Estonia
- Rome
- Italy
- Genoa
- Milan