Fabio Tedde uses his music to bring people from all over the world together; a pianist without boarders

Italian-born Fabio Tedde who currently lives in London, UK, is a multi talented artist, who at the age of 39 has achieved a great deal, having travelled the world sharing his music and message of unity . Fabio has been a soloist and musician in several bands as well as a composer of numerous pieces that are influenced by many styles of music. With so much passion and the ability to bring people together through this universal language, Fabio is exactly what Art Saves Lives International is all about.

Hello Fabio, Can you tell us and our readers a little about yourself?

I am an artist, an activist, a musician and composer and I share my messages using all these tools to enable me to communicate with the world to my full potential, no matter what the subject is, I use these different types of expressions, through music, through photography, through videos and so on… I love being creative and always try to use my freedom of expression.

Travelling around the world has opened my eyes and now I now see the world as a big family, I believe that borders will always create conflict and for me they are unnecessary; I would like to see everyone free from this modern slavery which society has created by the evil people with all the power, who are only concerned with gaining more power for themselves and do not care for the people left behind.

What is your artistic background?

I start playing the piano at the age of 5 – I have been creative since a young age and enjoyed finding solutions to problems, never running out of ideas and never losing my curiosity to explore new things. If something is broken then one second later I’m thinking what I can do to fix it and my mind is filled with all the possible solutions – circling around my brain, this is because I have auditory and photographic memory. Which is why I use these natural gifts; I learn new things fast. I also play different types of instruments, which include: Piano, Harmonica, Djembe, Kora and many more…

My other creative outlets are photography, which has always played a huge role in my life, using it as a mediator to create awareness. Creativity enriches me each days thanks to being surrounded by creative artists from all walks of life.

What motivated you to deal with your chosen submission subject?

My motivation for advocating freedom of expression is endless, I was born free and want to keep that freedom alive; I want to be free to say what I feel , how I feel, how I think, I want be real and honest to myself first and foremost and then I want the world to see the real me and not a puppet or sheep. Freedom to choose where to go and where to live, as well as wanting to inspire others to claim their freedom by doing what they love most – no matter what. Using all my tools at my disposal, to keep freedom of expression alive, free of rules and regulations , making us use common sense, to live in peace and harmony with the entire world. I was born free – I want to die free, with dignity and humility.

What is your process when creating?

When playing a musical instrument I always have a clear picture in my mind, this process can vary, as creativity always brings to life something new which you didn’t expect – so it can be anything really. There are many times (if the idea its to complex) that I write immediately so not to forget it as it arises in me. Living with a creative mind, having freedom of expression – you realize how your potential can become an unlimited source, with your freedom taking you to the next level “the unknown“, which this society is trying to shut down in you, so you will be easy to control.

In terms of music, most of the time I do no think what I’m going to play and how I’m going to play, I just play and whatever comes naturally I embrace. For me this is a way to use your right to spontaneous freedom of expression, a powerful message.

Who are you influenced by?

In general my inspiration comes from many different sources, I would say that 50% of this comes from myself as I use freedom in my creativity to keep inspirations alive; the rest comes from things that happen in my everyday life – from events or issues that are part of this society, from people that I meet and also from people on social media. Most of all I’m inspired by people who think and take direct action for the sake of humanity, for example; José Mujica, who was the President of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, he has been described as “the world’s ‘humblest’ president”.

What causes and world issues are you passionate about?

I’m always passionate about any changes which can create a positive impact on us all, I’m passionate about justice, equality, freedom of speech, collaborations of groups that put great minds together to find solutions that will benefit all human beings. I have always supported campaigns that fight for human rights, I’m fighting peacefully for liberty and freedom of speech.

What do the statements “art saves lives” and “art creates change” mean to you?

“Art save lives” and “art creates change” – for me, means that thanks to artistic expression in all formats, is a powerful tool that creates awareness and thereby can save lives, as people get inspiration and take action. A powerful message can change your life completely. Even myself I’m always inspired by powerful messages that I come across in my life , artist Ai Weiwei is one of my greatest inspirations because I also think like him and I am proud that at least someone has the courage to express himself, thinking for himself, no matter what.

Have your artistic and creative outlets saved your life in anyway and do you think your message within them could help create change in the world?

Of course – my creative and artistic outlets have saved my life, as without them I have no idea what would be the point for me to live in this world, I would have been a lost soul with no purpose. I am convinced that I was born to create, inspire and leave my small contribution to humanity, therefore I remain convinced that whatever I do, affects many people in a positive way, my contribution helps and inspires others to find themselves creatively so that they will go on to create and help others and so on.

What are your present and future goals for your art?

My present goal is to make myself stronger and stronger day by day, by doing this I will have the opportunity to efficiently utilize my resources with great potential, with the main goal of creating a powerful impact in whatever subjects that I get involved in. My goals are to create awareness in everything I produce or share, I hope the world will use my artistic creativity as a messenger and mediator and connector for humanity.

Our latest campaign is on Capitalism, Poverty &War; in your opinion, is capitalism the best system in today’s world?

Absolutely not! Capitalism for me is the destruction of human kind, based on power, money and greed – to only empower the few, to gain more power which makes lives miserable for the masses, so on one hand we have the power and on the other hand we have modern slavery. Capitalism is the worst system in today’s world and soon we will reach the point where the power will return to the people, whether we like it or not , the outcome is obvious.

What are your opinions on how capitalism serves those who are born without the wealth and opportunities enjoyed by others?

In one word “Inequality”.

Which is totally wrong and unfair; this world of Capitalism is a very clever system created through the combinations of evil and greedy minds – who do not think for the people but only for themselves. Capitalism does not serve, but instead enslaves those who are born without wealth. Therefore Capitalism, in one way or another uses the masses to produce more and more wealth to fill up the dirty pockets of the 1%, more and more each day in a way which is legal but morally corrupt. Wealth = privilege!

If capitalism rewards only ability, what are your thoughts on those who can’t compete? For example, to people with physical or mental disabilities?

Governments should help people with physical and mental disabilities, providing structures with specially trained staff, that can look after them as they will need extra care and they should help them to be part of society, to integrate with others human beings – even if they view the world in a “different” way they are also human beings and they should be treated with the same respect at all times, they have feelings like everyone else, they need love – so we must all help in whatever way we can, we are all important no matter what.

What are your views or suggestions on an alternative economic system?

The world is in need of a change, it is urgent and we must act now! We must rethink our global economic system; where instead we produce what everyone needs. Nowadays economics is based on consumerism – with the only purpose of making a profit, without thinking of the consequences, therefore wasting so many basic resources.

Here is a simple example:
every few weeks we have a new mobile phone on the market, most of these phones and the brands have different charger connections, my question is this, why don’t they produce a universal charger so once you buy you can use it for a lifetime, instead of buying a charger every time you change your phone? And if you look at all other industries and commodities – this simple rule is true of them all. So we need to rethink this way of production and the waste it creates – making big profits for the few at the top of the capitalist pyramid, is not progress, it is the very opposite.

Has capitalism affected you in any way in your life?

Yes, it makes me feel sick just to think about it. We could all have a better and equal quality of life, but we are living in this madness -where the masses must produce all the time so these puppet masters can make more money using this modern slavery system. So capitalism is affecting me whether I like it or not, even if I try to not be a part of “the matrix”, we are all affected; as they say – we are all in the same boat….

In your opinion – who benefits from poverty, and how?

Rich countries benefit from poverty, such as Western Europe, America. Without poverty they would be over, so poverty is a multi-billion business for the puppet masters who control the world, for the leaders of governments that are in power. 9/11 is the perfect example, these people are playing big games, killings millions and once again their only purpose is to invade these countries which are already disestablished so they can reap their natural resources, oil, gold, diamonds, coal and the list goes on…. The result is more people living in poverty and millions of children don’t have access to education or clean water.

How do images/videos/news reports of people in poverty influence society in different countries? What is your country like?

When I was a child I remember seeing TV adverts of children dying in Africa , with a link to help – to make a donation or to sponsor a child. 30 years ago statistics said that about 20,000 children die each day from poverty, ( In 2015 about 29,000 children under the age of five – 21 each minute – die every day, mainly from preventable causes).

My question is where is all this money going? African charities bring in an average of 90 billion a year but on the other hand 190 billion a year are taken out of Africa using their natural resources.

In my country, Italy, people are worried about poverty since it is always on the news, in general we the Italians like to help; but I feel that because of corruption in our government many people have lost faith and trust in our leaders – therefore less people are helping others as they know that most of this help will have to pass through corrupted hands before reaching those who really need this help.

To what extent does stigma contribute to the experience of living in poverty in your country, and in your opinion what could be done to address this?

In Italy today millions of people are suffering in what I call “a new type of poverty”, millions don’t have a job and this is growing day by day, all of this is caused by the corrupted government that we have in power. The people need to get together and make Italy great again, but how? Firstly by sending home all corrupted politicians that do not represent the people, we have a movement started by a comedian called Bebbe Grillo that uses his fame for this cause, let’s see what happens? So far many young people from this movement have entered into parliament, with strong beliefs and with most of them committed to eliminating corruption – as this is a cancer, that causes problems for so many, making lives miserable.

What in your opinion works in reducing the negative impact of growing up in poverty on a child’s life chances?

For me, the reduction of growing up in a poverty Children need protection, the governments around the world must get together and make a universal law – that no matter what, ALL children are given access to education, the solution is that government funds must be unlimited for children’s education. Since we are living in an unequal world, parents who don’t have enough money for their children must be supported by the government. Governments always have unlimited funds to pay for wars and this says it all.

Nearly 1/2 of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. How does this make you feel and is this something you think about and actively try and change, and if so how?

I feel so sad about this and I can’t stop thinking about it, I have many friends who are living on less than $2.50 a day, this is not fair.
To change this we need a revolution and to start all over again, but first we have to eliminate the greed and corruption.
Of course I do my best to contribute and create change as much as I can but “we” the people, must all get together and create a big and powerful movement that can make an impact – we are controlled by rules made by corrupted governments, so we must stand together to stop this madness. If we act on this, one by one then maybe we will need 20 more generations before anything will change but if we act using the masses as a group, then we can see big changes in this generation. It is possible if we want, we can’t keep living like this, it is not right.

Do you think war is ever necessary and why?

No, I never believe in war; war creates destruction.

War is a waste of innocents lives, generations of people are affected by war which leads to a hard life, suffering from these conflicts and the aftermath. War breeds Capitalism, war creates power, war creates corruption, war creates inequality, war creates unnecessary suffering and the list goes on, wars are made for those in power to gain more power.
Its making me sick thinking that governments fund trillions each year on wars, we could use these funds to have free education. Look at what is happening in Europe, refugees are the consequences that now Europe is starting to pay for, this is what happens – for every action there is a reaction. Europe is funding wars, but they must remember to pay for the consequences, we can’t expect to have a good life when we are bombing others countries, all of this is nonsense and we will all pay the price.

Who profits and gains in general from war, in your opinion?

The Government and the people on top – the 1%.
War is a multi-billion business investment made for the purpose to gain more power, these people – don’t care about killing millions of innocents, for me they are the real terrorists, they have control and they also control the masses. Believe it or not, we are all part of this because we are living in this system where in one way or another it is all related to these rules and regulation that we are directly or indirectly affected by, even if we don’t agree with them. We must take action and stand up for what we believe is right or wrong, let’s start a peaceful revolution.

In your opinion what motivates war? Is it capitalism, patriarchy, the standing of a country or revenge etc?

To “Gain Power”, of course it is Capitalism, power is what they care about, it is totally wrong and unacceptable, but I’m glad that all of this will finish sooner rather than later, it can’t be real forever, it can’t be? We are living in a bad dream and one day we will wake up!

Do you think enough is done by the global community to help the people affected by the ongoing occupations and wars globally? As well as the aftermath; leaving people with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, homeless, and often completely destabilised in general.

No, the real problem for example is; lots of money is sent to help those in need which goes to the wrong hands, therefore the efforts done to collect this money is worthless, it is not reaching the final goals. Also I don’t understand that 32 executives of charities were paid over £200,000 last year, up from 30% in 2013, charity leaders also have been paid over £300,000 a year. This is ridiculous, this is not a real charity to me, so if we apply this example to all organizations collecting money, helping those in need then you soon realize that most of this money will never be used for the cause it was raised for. In conclusion – yes people are always willing to help but we must make sure that whatever help is given must reach the destination it was raised for, in full.

How do you feel about the media’s use of propaganda when discussing war and the rhetoric of the “good guys and bad guys” being fed to the masses?

The Media is a very clever way to control the masses, they tell us what to believe or not and say whatever they like as they know that they have control of the people. They can give the wrong message and the the majority will believe it , here again as I mentioned before, 9/11 in my opinion, made the world believe that this even was a terrorist attack, it was a big lie and we know what happen after that. This is a proof of the power the media has, when you can control the mass hysteria of the world. Personally I don’t believe or follow much of the media, I like to think in my own way and for myself.

Lastly we would like to know of your own experiences with either war or poverty or both. Have you or anyone in your family been affected by them and how are you now or are you still affected?

Personally I grow up in a quiet environment, my grandfather and his generation was affected by war and poverty but as for me I was lucky to be born in a better situation. Having said this I am psychologically traumatized by the destruction that the war is still causing today, I do have many friends coming from war zones and I feel the pain so I’m affected by this endless trauma.