Hello,
I hope you had a great week.
Years ago, before I seriously got busy with music, I worked as an eco-social project designer and grant writer in various parts of the world. This is when I discovered
Calabria, a region of southern Italy full of history, beautiful natural forests, mountains, and coasts, and rich heritage of traditions. If you remember, Calabria has hosted for many years one of Italy’s largest world music festivals,
Paleriza Festival, in the old Greek area, made up of twelve small municipalities just in front of Sicily. This is also when I worked for a short period with the historical band
Re Niliu.
Recently I got involved with
Calabriasona, a cultural circuit and full-service music agency that is making a great job producing and promoting music “Made in Calabria”. Looking at the roster and listening to the wealth of recordings, one can easily see there is a real potential here. Just think at the bands like
Parafonè,
quartAumentata or
Antonio Grosso &
le Muse del Mediterraneo. The fantastic duo
Loccisano & De Carolis of “chitarre battenti” is something worth to listen to. Then, there is also
Ciccio Nucera who can make dancing your audience for hours at the rhythms of Tarantella, for which Calabria is the
true cradle. I even don’t want to speak of the wealth of
traditional instruments that tell the whole history of the region, from the times of the
Magna Grecia to the
Grand Tour era.
I’m very excited to help promote such a living, diverse and rich heritage, and put it on the world map. If you follow the World Music charts, you’ll be aware of
Davide Ambrogio, who is one of the most popular emerging artists from Calabria. His album ”
Evocazioni e Invocazioni” (Catalea, 2021) was in the Songlines’ 10 Best Albums from around the World last November.
As a professional or journalist, you might want to come down and experience Calabria directly. I’m sure we can help organize your stay.
Sincerely,
Eric
