Modena City Ramblers
Encyclopedia
Modena City Ramblers is an Italian
folk
band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic
themes, and can be compared to folk rock
music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing politics
, their lyrics often speak out against the Mafia
and fascism
.
music.
The first to join were Alberto Morselli, Giovanni Rubbiani and Alberto Cottica (still in Lontano da dove), Chris Dennis (formerly a member of Nomadi
), Filippo Chieli, Franco D'Aniello and Luciano Gaetani from Abazia dei folli. On Saint Patrick's Day
in 1991, during a concert in a pub in Modena
, they chose the name Modena City Ramblers. The name was an homage to Dublin City Ramblers, an Irish band.
In 1992 they were joined by bassist Massimo Ghiacci (formerly in the band Plutonium 99). During the evening of 1 March they recorded their first demo. During a concert at a pub in Carpi, Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti sang The Wild Rover for the first time. At this time the Modena City Ramblers became an open company, and have remained so during throughout their history, with almost all members who have left the band returning sporadically to play with the group. Their most famous concert was performed as the opening act for the Pogues
in Modena
. Their repertoire has since expanded considerably, including traditional Italian songs as Bella ciao
, Fischia il vento
, and Contessa.
The singer of the group Cisco along with producer
Kaba Cavazzuti who also became "a new member of the Modena City Ramblers after changes in the original line-up", released the album of the ‘brother band’ Casa del Vento
, titled "900" which came out in February 2001.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
themes, and can be compared to folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing politics
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, their lyrics often speak out against the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
Biography
The Modena City Ramblers were formed in 1991 by a group of friends that wanted to play traditional IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
music.
The first to join were Alberto Morselli, Giovanni Rubbiani and Alberto Cottica (still in Lontano da dove), Chris Dennis (formerly a member of Nomadi
Nomadi
Nomadi is an Italian band formed in 1963 and still present on the music scene.-Origins:In 1961 Beppe Carletti and Leonardo Manfredini formed the group I Monelli ....
), Filippo Chieli, Franco D'Aniello and Luciano Gaetani from Abazia dei folli. On Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
in 1991, during a concert in a pub in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, they chose the name Modena City Ramblers. The name was an homage to Dublin City Ramblers, an Irish band.
In 1992 they were joined by bassist Massimo Ghiacci (formerly in the band Plutonium 99). During the evening of 1 March they recorded their first demo. During a concert at a pub in Carpi, Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti sang The Wild Rover for the first time. At this time the Modena City Ramblers became an open company, and have remained so during throughout their history, with almost all members who have left the band returning sporadically to play with the group. Their most famous concert was performed as the opening act for the Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
. Their repertoire has since expanded considerably, including traditional Italian songs as Bella ciao
Bella ciao
"Bella ciao" is an Italian partisan song of World War II.-History:The song Bella Ciao was sung by the left-wing anti-fascist resistance movement in Italy, a movement composed of anarchists, communists, socialists and also by militant anti-fascist partisans...
, Fischia il vento
Fischia il vento
Fischia il vento is an Italian popular song whose text was written in September 1943, at the inception of the resistenza. The lyricist was Felice Cascione and the intention was to spur on the partisan movement...
, and Contessa.
The singer of the group Cisco along with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Kaba Cavazzuti who also became "a new member of the Modena City Ramblers after changes in the original line-up", released the album of the ‘brother band’ Casa del Vento
Casa del Vento
Casa Del Vento is a left wing Italian folk rock band.- History :Casa del Vento is an "extremely controversial, Italo-Celtic, Euro-socialist" folk rock band founded in Italy since 1991. Its current members are Luca Lanzi, Sauro Lanzi, Massimiliano Gregorio, Fabrizio Morganti, Andreas Petermann and...
, titled "900" which came out in February 2001.
Members
The band's lineup has changed many times since their formation. After the first album, singer Alberto Morselli left the band; in 1996 Francesco Moneti replaced Marco Michelini, and Giovanni Rubbiani and Alberto Cottica left the band in 2001. Singer Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti left the band in 2005 after fourteen years. The lineup in 2006 was:- Davide "Dudu" Morandi: singer, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Elisabetta "Betty" Vezzani: singer, acoustic and electric guitar, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Massimo "Ice" Ghiacci: acousticDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and electric bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, tea chest bass, saxSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, choirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s, acoustic guitar - Franco D'Aniello: fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, tin whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, sax, choirs, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Francesco "Fry" Moneti: acoustic and electric guitar, acousticViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, electricElectric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
and Indian violinEsrajThe esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas...
, banjo, oudOudThe oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
, mandolin, choirs, vox - Roberto Zeno: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussions, choirs, mandolin, acoustic guitar and pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Arcangelo "Kaba" Cavazzuti: drums, percussions, acoustic guitar, bass, charangoCharangoThe charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...
, piano, trumpet, shaker, banjo, choirs, vox - Luca "Gabibbo" Giacometti (died in 2007): bouzoukiBouzoukiThe bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, choirs, vox
Album
- 1994 – Riportando tutto a casa
- 1996 – La grande famiglia
- 1997 – Terra e libertà
- 1998 – Raccolti
- 1999 – Fuori campo
- 2002 – Radio Rebelde
- 2004 – ¡Viva la vida, muera la muerte!
- 2005 – Appunti partigiani
- 2006 – Dopo il lungo inverno
- 2008 – Bella ciao - Italian Combat Folk for the Masses
- 2009 - Onda libera
- 2011 - Sul tetto del mondo
EPs
- 1998 – Cent'anni di solitudine
- 1999 – L'Italia ai tempi dei Modena City Ramblers
- 2003 – Modena City Remix
- 2003 – Gocce (for Acqua per la Pace)
- 2004 – El presidente
Rarities
- 1992 – On the first day of march...Live demo - autoproduced demotape
- 1993 - Combat Folk – autoproduced demotape
- 2000 - Il resto raccolto – recorded only for fan club
DVD
- 2004 - Clan Banlieue - twelve years of songs, concerts, interviews, journey, unreleased videos
Participations
- 1995 - Tributo ad Augusto (CGD) - with L'atomica cinese
- 1995 - Materiale resistente - with Bella ciaoBella ciao"Bella ciao" is an Italian partisan song of World War II.-History:The song Bella Ciao was sung by the left-wing anti-fascist resistance movement in Italy, a movement composed of anarchists, communists, socialists and also by militant anti-fascist partisans...
- 1995 - I disertori - a tribute to Ivano FossatiIvano FossatiIvano Alberto Fossati is an Italian pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and percussionist born in Genoa. Fossati has several albums to date and has worked with such musicians as Fabrizio De André, Riccardo Tesi,Anna Oxa, Mia Martini, Ornella Vanoni, Francesco De Gregori and...
- play Gli amanti d'Irlanda - 1999 - A come Ambiente (La StampaLa StampaLa Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
)- with Madre Terra - 2002 - Piazza Carlo Giuliani ragazzo - with La legge giusta (inspired by the 27th G8 summit27th G8 summit-Overview:The Group of Seven was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition...
) - 2002 - Lontano - by Landscape Prayers
- 2003 - Balla veloce vivi lento - with Le lucertole del folk
- 2007 - Tre colori by Graziano Romani - with Spiriti Liberi; Stesso Viaggio Stessa Città; Corre Buon Sangue.
- 2007 - Nessuno oltraggi nessuno - with Socialdemocrazia by Gang, live version.
Collaborations
- Several of the Ramblers' songs, such as "Cent'anni di solitudine", "Macondo Express", and "Remedios la Bella" are inspired by the 1967 novel One Hundred Years of SolitudeOne Hundred Years of SolitudeOne Hundred Years of Solitude , by Gabriel García Márquez, is a novel which tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia...
(Spanish: Cien años de soledad) by Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning ColombianColombian peopleColombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
author Gabriel García MárquezGabriel García MárquezGabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
. - The song "Il bicchiere dell'addio" features Irish singer Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
. The Ramblers later recorded a version of "The Great Song of Indifference" in Emiliano-RomagnoloEmiliano-RomagnoloEmiliano-Romagnolo is a Romance language mostly spoken in Emilia-Romagna, Italy and San Marino. It belongs to the Northern Italian group within Romance languages , which is included in the wider group of western Romance languages...
language, inspired by Geldof's version 1990 hit from Vegetarians of Love album. - The Ramblers' album Appunti Partigiani features collaborations with many artists, including Goran BregovićGoran BregovicGoran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...
, Billy BraggBilly BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, Moni OvadiaMoni OvadiaMoni Ovadia is an Italian actor, musician, singer and theatrical author. "Moni" is short for "Salomone" .-Career:Ovadia was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 1946 to a Jewish family who moved to Milan in Ovadia's early childhood...
, Piero PelùPiero PelùPiero Pelù is an Italian rock singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the famous Italian rock band Litfiba...
, and Francesco GucciniFrancesco GucciniFrancesco Guccini is an Italian singer-songwriter, considered one of the most important Cantautori. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published autobiographic and noir novels, and a comics...
.