Atom Sounds Music News

For Guido Schiraldi music is a form of meditation, a vehicle of positive energy conducive to a greater comprehension of nature and spirituality. His music is instilled with influences and fusions drawn from numerous cultures and musical genres: first and foremost Indian music (the Hindustani tradition from the north of India) which Guido started to study in 1977 both in India and in Italy, learning to play the sitar and the tabla and practising yoga, a fundamental medium for introspection and spiritual awareness. At the same time there is the presence of an “undergrowth” of numerous other musical genres: classical, jazz, pop, country, Celtic, Arabian, African and ethnic, all fliltered by a Mediterranean matrix which owes its existence to the Neapolitan origins of the artist. It is through these diverse cultures and musical traditions that Guido effectuates his “search for the truth” in the music and the musician with a vibration that brings well-being, energy, positivity and depth. While Guido’s music flows easily between emotional, introspective tracks and playful compositions of fun and dance, the central thread is always the universality of the sonic experience of man – nature – spirituality.

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Andrea Celeste was born in Pontedera on the 31st of August 1986. When only 11 years old she started giving her first public performances and took up the study of classical singing and piano under the guidance of M. Vittorio Scali. Her talent did not pass unnoticed and she was invited, while still an adolescent, to share the stage with some of the most important national and international Gospel projects and singers such as the St. Jacob’s Gospel Choir directed by M. Massimo Bracci, the Joyful Angels directed by M. Vijay Pierallini, and the American singer Cheryl Porter. In 2002 Andrea won a scholarship for the International Gospel Seminar in Castelbrando where she shared the stage with Mario Biondi and Cheryl Porter. It was Cheryl Porter herself who, in 2007, asked Andrea Celeste to join Vox Box, Cheryl’s new project, which gave its debut performance alongside Gianni Morandi (one of Italy’s most popular artists) during his concert in Bologna. A tireless professional, Andrea Celeste pursued her studies to improve her vocal technique and attended numerous workshops with Maestros such as: Terron Brooks, Ashley Davis, Huntley Brown, Michael e Regina Winans. At the same time Andrea was also very busy in the recording studios, lending her voice to various gospel, R&B, soul e jazz projects, and participating in mainstream events such as the Milano Gospel Festival for 3 years in succession (a dvd of the festival’s greatest moments was distributed throughout Italy by the newspaper “Il Giornale”).

In July 2007, Andrea started work on her first solo album. Produced by Roberto Vigo for the Philology label, “My Reflection” is the long-awaited debut of this young talented artist who wrote the music and the lyrics of the songs and then entrusted them to outstanding performers: Gianluca Tagliazucchi (piano), Dino Cerruti (double bass), Rodolfo Cervetto (drums). This album can boast the collaboration of some of the greatest names in Italian Jazz as guests: Roberto Izzo, Stefano Cabrera, Marco Moro, Filippo Gambetta, the incomparable Dado Moroni (co-author of the song “Real”), Riccardo Fioravanti, Enzo Zirilli, Pietro Leveratto and Andrea Pozza. The result is a delicious jazz, dressed in velvet and embellished by the voice of this splendid artist and her capacity to balance, with rare elegance, mellow tones and extraordinary power.

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Gianni Rosini was born in Gioia del Colle (Bari) on 31.05.61, in a family that was already contaminated by the music virus; the evidence lying in the splendid performance of his mother, Vera Greco, in “Ie te vurria vasà”. Right from the start Gianni and his brother Mario, runner-up with “Sei la Vita Mia” (You’re my Life) in the 2004 Sanremo Festival, showed their musical talent and found their first admirer and supporter in master Procino.
The Rosini brothers started to attend master Partipilo’s music school and, thanks to their natural gift and young age, were soon participating in song festivals for children and later as a festival attraction in the surrounding villages and towns. At the age of eighteen, Gianni Rosini decided to leave Gioia del Colle and moved to Milan where his artistic abilities were soon noticed and he also began to receive invitations to perform abroad. As a consequence he started to perform in important venues in a number of major European capitals (Vienna, Berlin, Paris etc.) with a repertoire that ranged from international hits to classic Italian songs. Success and its inevitable entourage created in Gianni the urge, the need, to return to his native land and his roots.
Once home, Gianni gathered around him a number of talented musician friends: his brother Mario, an extraordinary pianist, the drummer Mimmo Campanale and the bass player Paolo Romano (currently involved in numerous jazz and pop projects), and formed a group that very quickly made itself known to the public thanks to its musical intensity and the charismatic stage presence of Gianni himself, a real showman. The formation of the group was followed by a long period of concerts in all the major festivals in southern Italy.
In the meantime Gianni nurtured his creative inspiration composing music which was to find favour amongst musical experts in general and in particular with Claudio Rispoli, aka Mozart, musician and producer, who endeavoured to persuade Gianni to record his first album. Unfortunately, Gianni’s restlessness, so typical of true artists, led him to flee from this first contact with the record industry and to enter an important period of artistic maturation triggered by his desire to experience Africa and her sonority. At this point Gianni took up residence for a period in Dakkar in direct contact with the real Africa, a country where extreme hardship merges with joy and with beauty of the truest deepest nature. All this can be found in the album “Giovanni”, in tracks such as “Africa”, “Splendida” or “Cico Bom Bom”. It was all that Gianni needed.
On his return to Italy, Gianni’s desire and need to shout out his emotions became possible in 2004 when his path crossed that of Michele Fazio, Mino Petruzzelli and Pino Mazzarano. These long-standing musician friends, each with a long and important musical experience both as soloists and in groups (the album “Bye Bye Patty Live”, the soundtrack to S. Rubini’s film “Tutto l’amore che c’è”, the tour with Ronnie Jones, Teo Teocoli, Gianluca Grignani etc.) were instantly enchanted by Gianni’s music and his project. This new formation, with the addition of the percussionist Francesco Pelizzari and the young bass player Pierpaolo Giandomenico, finally gave rise to Gianni’s long-awaited debut album, “Giovanni”.
The production of such a long-suffered and much loved creation could not be entrusted to anyone other than to Gianni’s first true supporter, Claudio Rispoli, whose understanding of the importance of the project led to his total dedication. This true life story, with its ups and its downs, its joy and its sufferance, has become the album “Giovanni”, a genuine product, like its author.

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A driving passion for music and an overriding desire to play in front of a live audience led to the birth of the Acousticherie project at the end of the year 2005. The line-up includes two acoustic and classical guitarists: Ivan Melis and Elia Casu, a drummer and percussionist: Stefano Vacca, and a singer: Giulio Muscas, with the addition in October 2007 of the bass player: Matteo Muntoni. An instrumentation at the limit of acoustic sometimes filtered with effects to create a more original and particular sound. The group’s repertoire, which ranges from rock ’n’ roll to swing, from bossa nova to the sweetest of ballads and includes ethnic and experimental music, revisits and reinvents in acoustic form the most famous and powerful songs that have characterized the history of music from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present day. Contact with their audiences was immediate from the outset and live exhibitions have given an extra kick to a group already highly charged and well harmonized. Acousticherie has performed live on innumerable occasions, some considerably important, and has had the opportunity to play alongside a number of eminent artists such as the renowned musician Enzo Favata. In the winter of 2006/07 the group produced its first studio album entitled, quite simply, “Acousticherie” which saw the collaboration of a number of friends whose contribution has further enriched what was already a highly individual sound.

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ENGLISH
Restlessness and an overwhelming urge to communicate are the only spurs that incite certain artists to take action. Max Maffia is without doubt one of these artists. While many artists, before acting, think about their sales potential and the chances of meeting with general approval, Maffia, like few others, acts because he has no choice. His lifestyle and artistic production are living proof. Born in Salerno, a fiery electric guitarist with a strong Hendrix stamp and influenced by the sound of 4AD, Max has also demonstrated with the acoustic guitar his ability to reach extraordinary states of grace. His first release was the cd “Sky and Misery”, produced by Paul Chain in 1995, with the rock group the “Peanuts”. For a year or two he was a member of the ska group “Appesi Aun Filo” and also played with “Il Pozzo di San Patrizio”, recording with them the album “Altri Tempi” (Other Times) – a mix of Irish folk, dub and space rock – and taking part in their international tour. In the meantime Max moved ahead with his own self-produced projects such as “Stagioni” (Seasons) and “Anywhere in the World”, the soundtrack to a video entitled “Picasso, sulle impronte del mito” (Picasso, on the artist’s trail). From 2005-2006 he collaborated with Nicodemo, a group of electronica songsters, on the albums “Boulevard Du Sud” (Southern Boulevard) and “Il Treno per Bologna” (The train for Bologna) while dedicating himself at the same time to the cultural association “Anima Mundi” of which he is both founder and president. In the spring of 2007 he successfully completed the difficult musical and hunanitarian project “The Right Compilation” supported by the FAO for the Telefood programme. The album is the result of a meeting of artists from various cultural and stylistic backgrounds such as the Scambio, the Israelian singer Talya G. A. Solan, the Argentinian singer Florencia Ruiz and the Neapolitan sitar player Guido Schiraldi. The cd can be purchased from the site www.therightcompilation.com at the cost of 10 euros with all the proceeds going entirely to Telefood. At the moment Max Maffia is recording a cd with the Peanuts and is preparing the next edition of “The Right Compilation”.

ITALIANO
L’irrequietezza e la smania di comunicazione sono gli unici stimoli che spingono all’azione alcuni musicisti. Di questa schiera fa parte senza dubbio Max Maffia. Mentre tanti artisti, prima di fare, pensano alla vendibilità e alle probabilità di trovare consensi, Max, come pochi altri, fa perché non ha scelta. Le sue vicende di vita e artistiche lo dimostrano. Salernitano, chitarrista elettrico infuocato con una forte impronta hendrixiana e influenze del suono della 4AD, Max ha anche dimostrato con l’acustica di saper raggiungere inconsueti stati di grazia. La sua prima produzione è il cd “Sky And Misery”, prodotto da Paul Chain nel 1995, col gruppo rock dei “Peanuts”. Milita per qualche anno nel gruppo ska “Appesi Aun Filo” ed entra ne “Il Pozzo Di San Patrizio”, registrando l’album “Altri Tempi” - un ibrido tra folk irlandese, dub e space rock - e prendendo parte al rispettivo tour internazionale. Intanto porta avanti progetti personali autoprodotti come “Stagioni” e “Anywhere In The World”, colonna sonora di un video intitolato “Picasso, sulle impronte del mito”. Dal 2005 al 2006 collabora col gruppo di cantautorato elettronico Nicodemo a “Boulverd Du Sud” e “Il Treno Per Bologna” dedicandosi intanto all’associazione culturale “Anima Mundi” della quale è fondatore e presidente. Nella primavera del 2007 riesce a realizzare il non facile progetto musicale e umanitario di “The Right Compilation” sostenuto dalla Fao per il programma Telefood, risultato dell’incontro di musicisti provenienti da culture e formazioni stilistiche differenti come gli Scambio, la cantante israeliana Talya G. A. Solan, la cantautrice argentina Florencia Ruiz e il sitarista napoletano Guido Schiraldi. Il cd è acquistabile dal sito www.therightcompilation.com al prezzo di 10 euro, che verranno devoluti interamente a Telefood. Al momento Max Maffia sta registrando un cd con i Peanuts e sta progettando la prossima edizione di “The Right Compilation”.

(artist profile by Gianmaria Consiglio)

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NUR
folk / folk-rock / blues
NUR is the fruit of an idea shared by Massimo Loriga (sax, clarinet, harmonica) e Daniele Cuccu (guitar, laud, mandola). The two were joined in 1998 by Massimo Perra (accordion, barrel organ), a long-standing musician with a ‘traditional’ musical background, and the group was completed with the arrival of Valter Spada (bass) and Giovannino Scano (drums), both veterans in the blues genre and Vittorio Pitzalis (vocals and guitar), the father-figure of Sardinian blues. The aim of the group is to salvage traditional Sardinian music, reproposing it with ‘modern’ arrangements and instruments, convinced that the survival of tradition also depends on modern interpretations (and that this can also make it more accessible to the younger generations). In February/March 2001 the NUR recorded their debut CD ‘NUR’, eleven tracks characterised primarily by the harmonies and crossovers of Massimo Loriga’s sax and Massimo Perra’s barrel organ and by the sobriety of the arrangements. The release of the CD was followed by an intensive live shedule. During the three years that followed the release of their debut CD, the group changed formation and began to prepare the material that would be used on their next album. Vittorio Pitzalis and Giovannino Scano left the group and were replaced by Alessandro Picciau (drums) and Paolo Berria (vocals). AFter a long gestation, at the end of 2004 the NUR finished recording the album ‘Chentu Colores’ which saw, apart from the new formation, the participation of numerous guests: once again Enrico Frongia; Diego Deiana (violin), Alessio Sanna (hammond and moog), Elio Rinaldi (cello), Sandro Fresi (hurdy-gurdy) and members of the Cordas et Cannas (Francesco Pilu, Gesuino Deiana e Lorenzo Sabattini). The ‘hundred colours’ of the album title allude not only to peace, as underlined by the homonymous opening track, but also to the possibility of bringing together ‘peacefully’ different musical sounds and experiences. In this second album, alongside the acoustic sounds, various rock influences make their entrance felt but without altering the basic compositional structure which remains hinged on traditional Sardinian music and, in particular, on the accordion and barrel organ of Massimo Perra.

listen to “Chentu Colores”