Archive for the 'Music' Category

I am always on look out for something inspirational or remarkable for our blog and could not bypass this 1970’s music video. A number 1 hit when released in 1977, Space’s “Magic Fly” proves that the merging of disco music and sci-fi still can be an inspiration for the Retro Age nostalgia of today.

When you look at the robots rocking out on analog synthesizers, the robotic rhythm of the drums and the hot, golden female humanoid  who dances seductively in front of them, you have to admit that these visuals are space disco at its best. Really cool or not?

Space disco became international pop culture phenomenon in the later part of the 1970’s. The optimism of the space age found its expression in the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals; the outfits were inspired by robotic shapes and the bands also used laser illumination and computer screens sequences to boost their performances.

The band Space was founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani (a.k.a. Ecama), Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top. Their first album “Magic Fly”, considered by many to be their best work, became number 1 in the world, including the number one spot on the Disco-Charts in the United States. Space sold more than 10 million records worldwide with three albums – Magic Fly, Deliverance and Just Blue- before splitting up in 1981. In 2009 Nang records came out with a completely remastered “The Best Of Space” packed with 14 of their classic hits plus a “Magic Fly” Remix from 1998. Another track  that represents this groovy sound of the 70′s is “carry on, turn me on” with the soulful vocals of Madeline Bell.

Retro yourself back to the disco space magic of the seventies, remastered with new audio and presented in hi-res for the first time. If you can’t get enough go to youtube and see the life version “Magic Fly” at the mythical Discomare 1977   in Selinunte, Sicily.

http://fr.space.tm.fr/

The hour still has to be confirmed, but the location is known and we can’t think of a better backdrop for this year – New Year’s Eve- concert,  Negramaro e Giusy Ferreri at the Roman Forum.  And best of all – it’s absolutely free!

Each year on New Year’s Eve the city of Rome plans festivities , from fireworks to free concerts, to give everyone something special to remember  for their last  night of the year  under the Roman skies. The activities are part of the Roma Città Natale 2011 festival that runs from 20 December 2011 till 6 January 2012.

The announcement for the 2011 concert came from Negramaro’s front man Giuliano Sangiorgi on the band’s official website.  “We hope that the Maya are wrong and that 2012 does not mark the end of this spinning ball on which we all clinging”, Sangiorgi wrote. “We decided to celebrate the New Year in Rome at this amazing historical place and see the concert as a tribute to all our fans.”  To get into the right spirit the Negramaro spend Christmas in the rehearsal room. “For us this is already an historic event.” To make the most of the show, they completely re-designed the stage to adapt it to the grandeur of the Roman Forum. Prepare yourself for a show full of energy among the historic ruins of the Ancient Rome and sing your heart out, make your last night of the year one to remember.

Don’t miss out on the hottest free ticket in town. Hopefully it won’t be that cold, but just in case, take something warm and also bubbly with you and  arrive early to make sure you have a seat.

For those who don’t know Giusy Ferreri or the rock band Negramaro; Negramaro started its existence in 1999 in the alternative music scene. Negramaro draws its name from the Italian Negroamaro, a wine from the area of Salento, their home base in Puglia. One can be short about their participation in the Festival of San Remo (in 2005 with the song “Mentre Tutto Scorre”), they were eliminated in the first round, but one thing led to another and after the festival some songs were chosen for the soundtrack of the Italian film “La Febbre”. The rest is history. In the last couple of years Negramaro made headlines in the Italian music scene with its five albums and the “Negramaro Live” DVD.

Giusy Ferreri on the other hand saw her first daylight on the 18^th of  April 1979 in Palermo, Sicily. From early on she studied piano and singing, and performed with various cover bands, singing different styles and genres ranging from Italian and international rock, pop-rock and blues. Her breakthrough came in 2008 when she decided to audition for the first edition of the X Factor show on Rai Due. Although she did not win, she became second, her music carreer took off after the show. On 16th of February 2011 she released her third studio album “Il mio universo”  across Europe.

Negroamaro Meraviglioso

Concerto di Capodanno 2012: Negramaro e Giusy Ferreri
December 31, 2011 (times to be confirmed, but generally it starts at 10 PM, see also the program Roma Città Natale 2011)
Fori Imperiali
Via dei Fori Imperiali

The story of “The Baseballs” kicks off in 2007. Three twenty something’s, Sam, Basti and Digger met by chance in a Berlin recording studio. As they recognize similar interests in music and style, also in their identical hair-do–“jam”, they decide on the spot to form a band with the aim to sing cover versions of songs from the Fifties and Sixties. After a while the appeal of transforming modern songs into a rock-n-roll style and they became masters in mixing today’s pop songs with the rockabilly sound of the fifties following their own motto: “We take good songs and lead them to their true destiny”.

The release of their debut album “Strike!” in May 2009 (produced by JMC Music) turned everything upside down for “The Baseballs”. Strike became a major hit and reached number 2 in album charts in Switzerland and The Netherlands and number 1 in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

In the following 18 months “The Baseballs” were touring almost non-stop throughout Europe, performing at festivals meanwhile receiving countless awards, among these the Emma Award in Finland for the best-selling album of the year. Along the way the band with the pompadours and sideburns sold nearly one million albums. In recognition of their international success the band was presented the European Border Breakers Award 2011 as Europe’s most successful new band at the Eurosonic Festival in Holland. In 2011 “The Baseballs” released a new album titled “The Baseballs – Strings ‘n’ Stripes”.

Go back to the sound of the fifties with ‘The Baseballs’ cover Umbrella and enjoy.

Let’s go back in time.  Ever seen the video  “ti do di me” of  Marco Conidi? For those of  you who already visited RetRome and know something about our design concept it won’t be difficult to find images of RetRome in this video of Marco Conidi.  See for yourself.

Roman Marco Conidi, born in 1969, started off  his career splitting time between rugby and music. In the end music won. His debut album,  “August ’66″, is full of autobiographical stories and observations from daily life. Just listen his opening track “”Quanti come noi / How much like us” and you will understand why. In 2006, Marco organized a series of charity events that culminated in several shows and his 2007 album “Miracoli non se ne fanno / Miracles are not made”. The single “ti do di me / I’ll give you me” came from this album. The proceeds of his charity project were donated to senior resident centers in the city of Rome. On 26 July the same year, he performed at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for the celebration of 80 years AS Roma singing “Never Alone”, a love song dedicated to Rome. In 2009 he won the  Prize Lunezia at San Remo Festival.

He currently works with the group AesseRoma Artists, which includes artists such as: Elio Germano, Luca Barbarossa, Francesco Montanari, Alessandro Roja, Vinicio Marchioni, Roberto Angelini, Pino Marino, Roberto Infascelli, Diego Bianchi. In light of this collaboration, Marco made his debut  in 2010 as an actor participating in the second series of the highly acclaimed television drama Romanzo Criminale (very much the mood of Rome in the seventies)  in the role of Botola.

Readers who have been with us for longer (or who have searched on this page a bit) know her sound already and know that we are fans… Caro Emerald. Back It Up is another great song with a beautiful video clip. Somehow it brings back memories of Cuba, the Caribean and the old days.

 

 
Caro Emerald – Back It Up

The song became widely known after the legendary performance by Jude Law and Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley and is a classic in the Italian repertoire. In respons to a an earlier music blog post about Caro Emerald, Stephanie C. remarked that Caro would be a great option to use in her holiday recap video. Which led us to think that we should list this new version of We No Speak Americano by Yolanda Be Cool as well. Might suite you better for the video of the late hours…

Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – We No Speak Americano