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Franco Battiato
Francesco "Franco" Battiato (Italian: [ˈfraŋko batˈtjaːto, - battiˈaːto] ⓘ; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs explore many themes (including, but not limited to, philosophy, art, spirituality, science, introspection, innovation, esotericism, religiousness), and have spanned genres such as experimental pop, electronic music, minimalism, avant-garde, progressive rock, new wave, symphonic music, sound collage, opera, oratorio and movie soundtrack.
He was for decades one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Italy. His unique sound, song-crafting and especially his lyrics (often containing philosophical, intellectual and culturally exotic references, as well as tackling universal themes about the human condition) earned him a unique spot on Italy's music scene, and the nickname of "Il Maestro". His work includes songwriting and joint production efforts with several Italian and international musicians and pop singers, including the long-lasting professional relationship with Italian singers Alice and Giuni Russo. Together with Alice, Battiato represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "I treni di Tozeur".
Battiato was born in Ionia, the former name of the town of Giarre-Riposto, in Sicily, southern Italy. After graduating from high school at the Liceo Scientifico "Archimede" in Acireale, and following the death of his father (truck driver and longshoreman in New York), in 1964 he moved first to Rome, and then to Milan at age 19, and soon after won his first musical contract.
His single "La Torre" was released and Battiato appeared on TV to perform the song. He scored some success with the romantic song "È l'amore". After some works as a guitarist and sound engineer for popular singers, he traveled to America for a small tour where he had considerable success. After that, Battiato met the experimental musician Juri Camisasca in 1970 and collaborated with Osage Tribe, an Italian psychedelic-progressive rock band. As a solo artist, he released the science-fiction single La convenzione (The convention), one of the finest Italian progressive rock songs of the 1970s.
Starting from 1971, Battiato devoted much of his efforts to experimental electronic music, producing a series of LPs that remained almost unknown at the time, but are now eagerly sought by collectors worldwide. Starting out with electronic progressive rock with some emphasis on vocals, his music became increasingly experimental, gradually moving into the realms of musique concrète and minimalism. Fetus, his first album, was released in January 1972, followed by Pollution (1973), Sulle Corde di Aries (1973), Clic (1974) and M.elle le "Gladiator" (1975).
In 1975, he moved to the Dischi Ricordi label, producing Battiato (1977), Juke Box (1978) and the experimental it:L'Egitto prima delle sabbie ("Egypt Before the Sands", 1978), which won the Stockhausen award for contemporary music. Battiato's early research about sound represented an important innovation as the basis of the THX and Stereophonic Sound.
After the Ricordi label failed to re-sign him, Battiato signed with EMI. He abandoned the progressive rock experiments of the previous years and moved to a more pop-oriented style which afforded him ever increasing popularity with both Italian and worldwide audiences. In this period his albums were usually in collaboration with the renowned musician and violinist Giusto Pio, whose two later albums were produced by Battiato.
L'era del cinghiale bianco ("The Era of the White Boar", 1979) was followed in 1980 by Patriots, which reached the No 30 on the charts. It contains a few songs which have become Battiato's classics, such as "Le aquile" ("The Eagles") and "Prospettiva Nevskij" ("Nevsky Prospect"). This new era of his music marked the beginning of his collaboration with the singer Alice and the violinist Giusto Pio. His next album was La voce del padrone ("The Master's Voice"), with which he had even more success than with Patriots. The album contains numerous songs which became classics of Italian popular music and stayed at the number one position for six months, becoming the first Italian album with more than one million copies sold in a single month. His commercial success was confirmed by L'arca di Noè (Noah's Ark) in 1982. Songs such as "L'era del cinghiale bianco" (1979), "Prospettiva Nevskij" (1980), "Centro di gravità permanente" ("Permanent Gravity Centrepoint", 1981), "Bandiera bianca" ("White Flag", 1981), and "Voglio vederti danzare" ("I Want To See You Dance", 1982) established his reputation in his own country. Orizzonti perduti (Lost Horizons, 1983) was followed by the successful Mondi Lontanissimi (Faraway Worlds, 1985), which featured a solo version of the popular "I treni di Tozeur" ("The Tozeur Trains)", originally a duet with Alice performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984.
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Franco Battiato
Francesco "Franco" Battiato (Italian: [ˈfraŋko batˈtjaːto, - battiˈaːto] ⓘ; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs explore many themes (including, but not limited to, philosophy, art, spirituality, science, introspection, innovation, esotericism, religiousness), and have spanned genres such as experimental pop, electronic music, minimalism, avant-garde, progressive rock, new wave, symphonic music, sound collage, opera, oratorio and movie soundtrack.
He was for decades one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Italy. His unique sound, song-crafting and especially his lyrics (often containing philosophical, intellectual and culturally exotic references, as well as tackling universal themes about the human condition) earned him a unique spot on Italy's music scene, and the nickname of "Il Maestro". His work includes songwriting and joint production efforts with several Italian and international musicians and pop singers, including the long-lasting professional relationship with Italian singers Alice and Giuni Russo. Together with Alice, Battiato represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "I treni di Tozeur".
Battiato was born in Ionia, the former name of the town of Giarre-Riposto, in Sicily, southern Italy. After graduating from high school at the Liceo Scientifico "Archimede" in Acireale, and following the death of his father (truck driver and longshoreman in New York), in 1964 he moved first to Rome, and then to Milan at age 19, and soon after won his first musical contract.
His single "La Torre" was released and Battiato appeared on TV to perform the song. He scored some success with the romantic song "È l'amore". After some works as a guitarist and sound engineer for popular singers, he traveled to America for a small tour where he had considerable success. After that, Battiato met the experimental musician Juri Camisasca in 1970 and collaborated with Osage Tribe, an Italian psychedelic-progressive rock band. As a solo artist, he released the science-fiction single La convenzione (The convention), one of the finest Italian progressive rock songs of the 1970s.
Starting from 1971, Battiato devoted much of his efforts to experimental electronic music, producing a series of LPs that remained almost unknown at the time, but are now eagerly sought by collectors worldwide. Starting out with electronic progressive rock with some emphasis on vocals, his music became increasingly experimental, gradually moving into the realms of musique concrète and minimalism. Fetus, his first album, was released in January 1972, followed by Pollution (1973), Sulle Corde di Aries (1973), Clic (1974) and M.elle le "Gladiator" (1975).
In 1975, he moved to the Dischi Ricordi label, producing Battiato (1977), Juke Box (1978) and the experimental it:L'Egitto prima delle sabbie ("Egypt Before the Sands", 1978), which won the Stockhausen award for contemporary music. Battiato's early research about sound represented an important innovation as the basis of the THX and Stereophonic Sound.
After the Ricordi label failed to re-sign him, Battiato signed with EMI. He abandoned the progressive rock experiments of the previous years and moved to a more pop-oriented style which afforded him ever increasing popularity with both Italian and worldwide audiences. In this period his albums were usually in collaboration with the renowned musician and violinist Giusto Pio, whose two later albums were produced by Battiato.
L'era del cinghiale bianco ("The Era of the White Boar", 1979) was followed in 1980 by Patriots, which reached the No 30 on the charts. It contains a few songs which have become Battiato's classics, such as "Le aquile" ("The Eagles") and "Prospettiva Nevskij" ("Nevsky Prospect"). This new era of his music marked the beginning of his collaboration with the singer Alice and the violinist Giusto Pio. His next album was La voce del padrone ("The Master's Voice"), with which he had even more success than with Patriots. The album contains numerous songs which became classics of Italian popular music and stayed at the number one position for six months, becoming the first Italian album with more than one million copies sold in a single month. His commercial success was confirmed by L'arca di Noè (Noah's Ark) in 1982. Songs such as "L'era del cinghiale bianco" (1979), "Prospettiva Nevskij" (1980), "Centro di gravità permanente" ("Permanent Gravity Centrepoint", 1981), "Bandiera bianca" ("White Flag", 1981), and "Voglio vederti danzare" ("I Want To See You Dance", 1982) established his reputation in his own country. Orizzonti perduti (Lost Horizons, 1983) was followed by the successful Mondi Lontanissimi (Faraway Worlds, 1985), which featured a solo version of the popular "I treni di Tozeur" ("The Tozeur Trains)", originally a duet with Alice performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984.
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