Teapot Industries (also known as Teapot Industries Inc.) is an Italian indie rock band, formed in 2011 in Rome, Italy, by Andrea Lomuscio (Arcadetar, vocals, Theremin, synths) and Matilde Illiano (guitar, drums), known for its unusual custom-built instruments used during live performances.
The band name was inspired by Bertrand Russell's never published article titled "Is There a God?", commissioned by Illustrated magazine in 1952:
During live shows the band uses custom-built instruments, like the Arcadetar and ThereminPi, designed by Teapot Industries themselves and other collaborators. Andrea Lomuscio usually performs using a custom-built purple piano, the Arcadetar, and a pedalboard to trigger chords; being able to play a bass part, a chord pattern, a lead instrument and a vocal part contemporaneously. No pre-recorded sequences are used during live performances.
Teapot Industries' sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including a psychedelic version of Jeff Buckley, the prog of Genesis and King Crimson, Pink Floyd, the ballads of Deep Purple, Empire of the Sun's synthpop, and Muse. The main peculiarity is the absence of a verse-chorus structure, with frequent key and tempo changes in the same song. This characteristic is directly taken from the 70's prog-rock, as mentioned before, but Teapot Industries go further corrupting the prog-rock sound with alternative and electronic ones, and always keeping the songs very short. It's not just a chance that Relligion Town contains many musical references, it is a pastiche and a programmatic piece that introduces the listener to Teapot Industries' music.
The Teapot Industries Corporation is obviously a reference to the authority and dominance of religions. The lyrics frequently deal with the awakening from dogmatic slumber, in particular He, Religion Town and Bertrand. Teapot Industries Inc. proposes itself as a handbook for this awakening.
Vieillesse Time is about a terminally ill man who spent all his money to fulfil his last wish: spending his last days in orbit. This is the first case of euthanasia in space. The American poet and painter Jonathan Clark realized a triptych based on Viellesse Time, interpreting the song as the end of the pain as a consequence of an ethereal vision. He exposed this work in a local hospital in Kentucky, USA as a form of Art-Therapy.
At the moment Teapot Industries have not released an official explanation of Bag and Baggage lyrics, so different interpretations are plausible.
Like to Be Alone, Pt.2 is about multiverse travels. If we could travel enough far, about meters away, we could discover an entire universe identical to ours. In particular Like to Be Alone, Pt.2 is about having sex with your doppelgänger.