Wikipedia

Agricantus

Agricantus (from the Latin: the singing of the corn field) is a Sicilian musical group playing mixed genres. Founded in Palermo, Italy, in 1979, the group has included many artists, including, in alphabetical order, Tonj Acquaviva (vocals, drums, sequencer and percussion), Mario Crispi (wind, vocals), Danila Laguardia (vocals), Massimo Laguardia (frame drums, percussion, vocals), Pippo Pollina (vocals, guitar), Mario Rivera (electric bass, vocals), Salvo Siciliano (guitar, keyboards).[1]

Agricantus
Background information
OriginPalermo, Italy
GenresFolk, Ambient, World music, Ethnic electronica
Years active1979 (1979)–present
Membersbeing redefined
Past membersbeing redefined

The band has been formed by various lineups. The musical work was then taken up by two distinct autonomous lineups: In the 2010 Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr took the name Agricantus with the addition of “by [Tonj] Acquaviva” in its published titles.[2] In 2012 Mario Rivera, Mario Crispi and Paolo Dossena took the name Agricantus with the addition of the word “reunion” in its published titles.[3]

History

edit

Agricantus has performed a mixture of musical styles, languages and dialects, modern sounds and archaic musical instruments, through three decades of music. They reached their artistic maturity in the second part of the 1990s, following a particularly prosperous period for world music production in Italy. Their history can then be divided into these main periods.

1980-1991

edit

Their artistic career was initially inspired by the revival of Andean music and South American folk culture exemplified by the Nueva Canción Chilena.[4]

At the beginning of the 1980s, the band was part of the popular Sicilian folk scene (Rosa Balistreri, famous folk-singer, Ignazio Buttitta, famous popular poetry, Ciccio Busacca, famous street story-singer, and other artists) drawing encouragement and inspiration to pursue their own path and engaging actively in the promotion of popular music in Sicily.[5]

The group was founded in 1984 in Palermo[6] and performed in numerous concerts throughout Europe and in prestigious occasions such as folk music and world music festivals.[7]

1992-1999

edit

Agricantus developed a mature musical language at the beginning of the 1990s with the release of Gnanzù![8] which was dedicated to the music of Southern Italy, the result of a research of the oral tradition recorded in the field and re-arranged through new technologies using traditional sounds. This new phase also coincided with the joining of the Swiss singer Rosie Wiederkehr who was the lead singer of the group until 2008.[9][10][11][12]

Since 1995, following a signature of a discographic contract with Compagnia Nuove Indye[13] and the production directed by Paolo Dossena[14] the band produced more "thematic discs" (concept albums) in which there is the frequent use of mixtures between European and non-European languages side-by-side with the Sicilian language,[9] using too electronic musical instruments and ethnic groups from various parts of the world.

Tuareg (1996) can be considered the most representative album, with which Agricantus have received several national awards.[9] At this stage, the band had also developed more collaborations with the world of cinema[9] and had participated in international music compilations.[9] This allowed Agricantus to be seen as part of the panorama of world music beyond Italian borders, particularly with the USA published collection “The Best of Agricantus”.[9]

In 1997 they published “Hale Bopp Souvenir”, named after the Comet Hale-Bopp, an EP that bears witness to the encounter with the Tuareg singer Fadimata Wallet Oumar.[9]

In 1998 they published the second concept album Kaleidos, based on the theme of hybridizing their styles with classical music.[9]

2000-2008

edit

In 2000 Agricantus signed the soundtrack of the film Placido Rizzotto of Pasquale Scimeca which is published by the eponymous CD.

In 2001 they published Ethnosphere third concept album dedicated to the world and the spirituality of Tibetan culture. The album, inspired by some lyrics and music composed by Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr as part of the multimedia project Welt Labyrinth, organized in support of the struggle for the independence of Tibet.[9]

In 2002 the song “Amatevi” (co-written with Pivio and Aldo De Scalzi)[9] is included in the famous compilation of world music/ambient/chill out Buddha Bar IV.

In 2005, during an interruption of production with the label and the simultaneous expulsion of Mario Rivera, they released the album Habibi,[9] which was disavowed by some group members.[15]

The artistic activity then continued with a collaboration with DJ Ravin[16] on the creation of the soundtrack for the TV movie ''Il figlio della luna'' (2007) by Gianfranco Albano and Luna khîna published by Rai Trade.[17] This album marked the 2008 end of the collaboration between Acquaviva/Wiederkehr and Crispi.[18]

Individual projects

edit

In 2008, Mario Crispi was expelled from the Agricantus group, giving rise to the formation “Arenaria” and “Insulae” (with Enzo Favata),[18] Mario Rivera intensified its collaborations (Piccola Banda Ikona[19]) and production (OST of the film “Notturno Bus”[20]). In the same year Tonj Acquaviva with Rosie Wiederkehr, released the album "Millenium klima" with the name "Agricantus with Acquaviva", work that is now considered one of the continuations of Agricantus.[21][22][23][24]

2010-2014

edit

In 2010, Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr resumed the name Agricantus.[25][26]

In 2011 Agricantus received an award for Mediterranean culture Bodini, which they dedicated to Amnesty International,[27][28][29] and which was presented at their fiftieth anniversary of the founding, doing a series of concerts and TV broadcasts.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

In May 2012 Agricantus played in Barcelona in support of free radio. The performance was published in a CD with songs of all participants in the festival.[39]

On August 7, 2012 on Rai Uno Tonj Acquaviva announced the release of the new concept album Kuntarimari, a thematic work inspired by the tales of the sea with various collaborations of international musicians.[40] In an August 10 interview on Ecoradio, they showcased a preview of the title track of the new album.[41] In October 2012, Agricantus released the CD Kuntarimari in Barcelona through the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, SGAE).[42][43] In November, the album was presented with a screening of the documentary "Agricantus by Tonj Acquaviva" dedicated to the most prolific composer of the band.[44][45] The presentation was made at the Tradicionarius, a theater representative of world music in Barcelona,[46][47] within the festival "Cose di Amilcare," in collaboration with the Catalan festival "Barnasants." The festival director Sergio Sacchi Secondiano "cultural soul" of the Club Tenco, (the festival that in 1996 awarded the Targa Tenco Group Agricantus) made a CD of the performance "Cose di Amilcare" with songs of all participants in the festival.

At the end of 2012 Mario Crispi, Mario Rivera and Paolo Dossena met and decided to resume production of Agricantus through the project "Agricantus Reunion",[48] calling on all artists who in the past had contributed to the creative level in various capacities. These included Acquaviva and Wiederkehr. Acquaviva and Wiederkehr responded negatively to the invitation, because they considered themselves already involved with the project they considered to be Agricantus. Immediately after, unbeknownst to Acquaviva and Wiederkehr, Paolo Dossena, Mario Rivera and Mario Crispi registered the trademark of Agricantus, claiming to be the sole holder of the right to represent continuity with the original project. In the same year, Rivera, Crispi and Dossena created the formation "Agricantus Reunion" involving the musician Federica Zammarchi on vocals, and Giovanni Lo Cascio on drums. With this lineup the band performed some concerts[49] and participated in the video for the single Uommene / Omini produced by Blob (historical program of RAI 3 directed by Fabio Masi), Amnesty International and Legambiente.[50]

In August 2013 Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr released the album Kuntarimari with Discmedi and Warner Music editions España receiving an excellent reception from audiences and critics.[51][52][53][54][55][56] In 2014 Agricantus Reunion publish Turnari,[57][58] early release of the single 'Nsunnai and its video,[59] nonché dal Concerto del Primo Maggio 2014 tenuto a Piazza San Giovanni a Roma,[60] as well as from the Concerto del Primo Maggio 2014 held in Piazza San Giovanni in Rome,[60] where Federica Zammarchi is considered to be the new voice of Agricantus Reunion.[57][61][62]

Following controversy triggered by the contemporary use of the name between Mario Crispi, Mario Rivera, Paolo Dossena on the one hand, and Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr on the other, the two sides testified to the bitter legal conflict, which is still ongoing.[63][62]

Presently, Tonj Acquaviva and Rosie Wiederkehr have opted to use the name "Agricantus by Acquaviva" while the group with the registered trademark performs as "Agricantus Reunion".

Discography

edit

Agricantus

edit

Album

edit

EP

edit

Collections

edit
  • 1999 - The best of Agricantus
  • 2002 - Calura

Original soundtracks

edit

Agricantus

special guest in Trancendental/Pivio & Aldo De Scalzi scores

Videos

edit
  • 1996 - Carizzi r'amuri
  • 2005 - Habibi

prizes

edit
  • 1996 - Targa Tenco: Tuareg - best dialect album
  • 1996 - P.I.M. Premio Italiano della Musica (la Repubblica) – best band of "frontier music"
  • 1996 - Premio Augusto Daolio – Tuareg - best album sensitive to social issues

After the separation, there are now two distinct groups: Agricantus Reunion and Agricantus by Tonj Acquaviva:

Agricantus Reunion

edit

Album

edit

Singles

edit
  • 2013 - Omini
  • 2014 – 'Nsunnai
  • 2013 – Uommene (con Pietra Montecorvino, Federica Zammarchi, Roberta Alloisio, Roberta Albanesi)
  • 2014 – 'Nsunnai
  • 2014 – Backstage Turnari

Video

edit
  • 2013 – Uommene (con Pietra Montecorvino, Federica Zammarchi, Roberta Alloisio, Roberta Albanesi)
  • 2014 – 'Nsunnai
  • 2014 – Backstage Turnari

Agricantus by Tonj Acquaviva

edit

Album

edit

Videos

edit
  • 2009 – Bukuto
  • 2013 – Divinità

Prizes

edit
  • 2011 - Bodini Prize (Culture for Mediterranean)

References

edit
  1. ^ review on newspaper “L'Ora” 1980/03/17
  2. ^ Agricantus by Tonj Acquaviva
  3. ^ project reunion
  4. ^ "press Agricantus concerts of the Latin American period". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  5. ^ "Press of and Antonino Uccello Association". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  6. ^ Press of cultural and musical Agricantus activities in cooperative period [1] Archived 2014-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Press Agricantus Europe festival and concerts in the eighties". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  8. ^ World Music Chart Europe in 1993
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Agricantus bio published on ondarock.it
  10. ^ newspaper la Repubblica concert of June 23, 2013
  11. ^ newspaper Corriere della Sera on March 5, 1998
  12. ^ newspaper la Repubblica, concert June 2, 2007
  13. ^ "JAM" magazine on productions in 1995 by CNI Archived June 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ interview to Paolo Dossena about the Agricantus productions
  15. ^ disavowal album Habibi
  16. ^ Article submission to Agricantus in concert with DJ Ravin
  17. ^ "Review "Luna khîna"". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  18. ^ a b a retrospective of Agricantus projects by Mario Crispi on online magazine “Blogfoolk” December 2011 html
  19. ^ Review Piccola Banda Ikona on SlowCult.com
  20. ^ review on FilmUP
  21. ^ L'Espresso magazine 30 June 2009
  22. ^ Presentation concert Acquaviva blog Siracusanews 19 September 2009 Archived 20 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Presentation concert Acquaviva blog Roma.Zero.eu". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  24. ^ Presentation concert Acquaviva on blogs grandesalento.org Archived May 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ name="dichiarazione di fusione tra Weltlabyrinth ed Agricantus"
  26. ^ "Federica Gentile intervista Tonj Acquaviva". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  27. ^ Articolo Corriere Salentino su premio Bodini agli Agricantus
  28. ^ Sito Amnesty International comunica la dedica di Agricantus del premio Bodini [2]
  29. ^ Sito Amnesty International comunica la presenza al concerto Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ Presentazione Concerto Cambio festival Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ Video Concerto Cambio Festival
  32. ^ Presentazione Concerto Genzano GaiaXRoma
  33. ^ "Presentazione Concerto Genzano in blog Lazionauta". Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  34. ^ Presentazione concerto Solopaca Festival in blog NTR24 Archived 2014-02-05 at archive.today
  35. ^ Presentazione concerto San Vito Lo Capo in blog Girasicilia
  36. ^ Presentazione concerto San Vito Lo Capo in “La Repubblica” del 23 settembre 2009 [3]
  37. ^ Riprese concerto al Cous Cous Festival
  38. ^ "Partecipazione al Taormina Fashion Award in sito ANMB". Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  39. ^ Compilation Zibaldone radio experience
  40. ^ Intervista Tonj Acquaviva Rai Uno
  41. ^ Anteprima Kuntarimari trasmissione di Alfredo Angelici su Ecoradio
  42. ^ Eldiario
  43. ^ barcelonatvnoticies Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ Articolo Presentazione Kuntarimari Casa degli Italiani a Barcellona Archived May 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ Articolo Presentazione Kuntarimari Casa degli Italiani a Barcellona Archived May 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  46. ^ Intervista a Tonj Acquaviva e Rosie Wiederkehr su Tv3
  47. ^ Intervista Tonj Acquaviva Radio Nazionale di Spagna
  48. ^ "Agricantus Scheda progetto"reunion"". Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  49. ^ Concerto Kaulonia Tarantella Festival 2013
  50. ^ Progetto “Uommene”, recensione BloogFolk
  51. ^ Amazon
  52. ^ articolo Outsider Spagna
  53. ^ Recensione Kuntarimari su Rockerilla
  54. ^ "Agricantus, il ritorno: 'Kuntarimari'". 19 August 2013.
  55. ^ "Intervista Tonj Acquaviva su RadioWave". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  56. ^ Recensione su Improvearts
  57. ^ a b Presentazione ed intervista Ernesto Assante la Repubblica 27/05/2014
  58. ^ Recensione Gino Castaldo “la Repubblica” 01/06/2014
  59. ^ Video Agricantus Nsunnai – 21/03/2014
  60. ^ a b Notizia ANSA Cultura su Concerto 1º maggio 2014
  61. ^ Concerto del 1º maggio dal blog di Ernesto Assante
  62. ^ a b Recensione su Agricantus “Turnari” in L'unità 06-06-2014
  63. ^ Intervista Giornale di Sicilia 20/05/2014
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agricantus&oldid=1215911887"