|
Franco Battiato |
Battiato in 2005 |
|
Background information |
| Birth name |
Francesco Battiato |
| Born |
23 March 1945
(age 68) |
| Origin |
Riposto,
Sicily, Italy |
|
Genres |
Beat (1965/1970)
experimental,
new wave,
musique concrète,
progressive rock (1971–1979)
synthrock (1980–1987)
pop,
new age,
opera,
classical (1988–1996)
alternative rock, synthrock,
pop/rock (1997–) |
| Occupations |
Musician, filmmaker, painter |
| Instruments |
Vocals,
piano,
guitar |
| Years active |
1965–present |
|
Labels |
Ricordi
EMI
Sony Music |
| Associated acts |
Alice, Juri Camisasca, Giuni Russo,
Milva |
| Website |
www.battiato.it |
Francesco (Franco) Battiato (born 23 March 1945
in
Riposto,
Sicily)
is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the
pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs
contain
esoteric,
philosophical and
religious themes.
He is and has been for decades one of the most popular pop
singer-songwriters in Italy. His unique sound, song-crafting and
especially his lyrics, often containing philosophical, religious, and
culturally exotic references, as wells as tackling or painting universal
themes about the human condition - unusual subjects for pop songs -
earned him a unique spot on Italy's music scene, and the nickname of "Il
Maestro" ('The Master', or 'The Teacher').
Especially, but not only, at the beginning of his career, in the 70s
and early 80s, his work was standing out sharply against the rest of
Italian pop scene with sarcastic, provocative, and dark attitude and
lyrics attacking ignorance, lack of professionalism, and the common
expectations of popular audiences, including his own public.
His works often contained exotic cultural influences.
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 singer
Alice.
His collaborations from 1994 onward with the
nihilistic-cynical philosopher
Manlio Sgalambro have added lyrical references to
Emil Cioran,
Friedrich Nietzsche and other
anarchistic thinkers.
Together with
Alice, Franco Battiato represented Italy at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "I
treni di Tozeur".
Biography
Early years and experimental period
Franco Battiato was born in 1945 in
Riposto
(in the former municipality of
Jonia, that included also
Giarre)
in the
province of Catania,
Sicily.
At the age of 20 he moved to
Milan and
in 1967 he obtained the 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 further covers of
pop songs, he 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: Foetus (1971, its cover was censored),
Pollution (1972), Sulle Corde di Aries (1973),
Clic (1974) and M.elle le “Gladiator” (1975).
Clic is a haunting yet largely conventional exploration in the
electronic style reminiscent of
Philip Glass and even German experimental rock band
Can.
In 1975, he moved to the
Dischi Ricordi label, producing Battiato (1975), Juke Box
(1976) and the experimental L'Egitto prima delle sabbie (Egypt
Before the Sands, 1977), which won the
Stockhausen award for contemporary music.
National success
After the Ricordi label failed to re-sign him, Battiato signed with
EMI. He
abandoned the Prog Rock experiments of the previous years and moved to a
more pop-oriented style which afforded him ever increasing popularity
with Italian 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.
After L'era del cinghiale bianco (The Era Of The White Boar,
1979) and Patriots (1980), Battiato obtained astounding success
with La voce del padrone (His Master's Voice) in 1981, which was
the first Italian LP to sell more than one million copies. The
commercial success was confirmed by L'arca di Noè (Noah's Ark) in
1982. Songs like "L'era del cinghiale bianco", "Prospettiva Nevskij" ("Nevsky
Perspective"), "Centro di gravità permanente" ("Permanent Gravity
Centrepoint"), "Bandiera bianca" ("White Flag"), "Voglio vederti
danzare" ("I Want To See You Dance") which were characterized by an
original mix of middle-eastern melodies, lyrics which touched upon
philosophical themes and electro-pop rhythms, established Battiato as
one of the most popular musicians in Italy, with his strange mixture of
Pop songs and intellectual attitude. Many of the songs of this era
contained some lyrics in English and, most notably Arabic, a language
that Battiato had started to study after a trip to Turkey. Battiato's
albums were also released in Spanish and English versions.
Orizzonti perduti (Lost Horizons, 1983), which Battiato
himself called a
kipper, 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 1984
Eurovision Song Contest, the science-fiction/metaphysical "Via
Lattea" ("Milky Way") and "No Time No Space".
1988's Fisiognomica (Physiognomy) sold more than
300,000 copies and it confirmed Battiato's success. The album,
considered by Battiato himself his best work for the balance between
music and lyrics, contained the hit "Nomadi" ("Nomads"), originally
recorded by Alice and written by his old friend
Juri Camisasca, who in the meantime had retired to a Benedictin
monastery. The album also included the songs "E ti vengo a cercare",
which was performed by director/actor
Nanni Moretti in his 1989 movie Palombella Rossa, and "Veni
l'autunnu" with lyrics entirely in the
Sicilian and
Arabic languages.
Come un cammello in una grondaia (Like a Camel In The
Gutter, 1991), was divided into two parts, the second made up by
classical German
lieder. Among the pop songs, "Povera patria" ("Poor Homeland"), a
poetical denouncement of Italy's lack of culture and honesty, became a
kind of hymn of the civil society rebelling against the 1992
mafioso bomb attacks against judges
Giovanni Falcone and
Paolo Borsellino.
Pio and Battiato also worked as composers, musical arrangers and
producers for several singers, including
Alice and
Giuni Russo, and for two of
Milva's
albums.
Starting from 1987, Battiato also produced several classical operas:
Genesi (1987), Gilgamesh (1992) and Il Cavaliere
dell'Intelletto (1994). In 1990 he also began to experiment with
painting, initially under the pseudonym of Süphan Barzani.
Collaboration with Manlio Sgalambro
Battiato in concert during the
Notte Bianca 2007 in
Rome
In 1994 Battiato began to collaborate with the Sicilian philosopher
Manlio Sgalambro, who was to write almost all the lyrics of his
following albums.
After the tentative L'ombrello e la macchina da cucire of
1995, in 1996 the duo published what is considered their best work so
far, L'imboscata, containing the romantic hit "La cura" ("The
care"), elected best Italian song of the year.
Gommalacca (1998, with an unusual stress on hard rock),
Ferro battuto (2000) and Dieci stratagemmi (2004) continued
on the same path, with variations mainly set by Battiato's unceasing
desire for musical experimentation.
In 2003 Battiato released his first feature film, Perduto amor
(Lost love), for which he also composed the soundtrack. The movie won
the
Silver Ribbon for the best debutant director. However, heavy
criticism struck against his following movie, Musikanten, a
rather experimental work about
Beethoven's last four years of life. The German musician was played
by the Chilean director
Alejandro Jodorowsky.
In 2004 he hosted a cultural show named Bitte, keine Reclame
for a satellite channel of
RAI, the
Italian state network.
In November 2012 he accepted an offer from newly-elected Sicilian
president
Rosario Crocetta to become the new Regional Minister for Tourism and
Culture, announcing he will not take any compensation for the job.
Franco Battiato in concert in Teatro Circo Price,
Madrid 2013
Personal life
Battiato is not married; he had been very attached to his mother
Grazia, who died in 1994. He prefers spending time in a personal retreat
in
Milo, a little town near
Mount Etna, rather than socializing with the so-called "cultural
elite".
Trivia
- In 1999 Battiato released a collection of covers of Italian love
songs, Fleurs. He repeated the experiment three years later
with an album inexplicably numbered Fleurs 3. The median
album Fleurs 2 was released unexpectedly in November 2008.
- Battiato's cover of
The Rolling Stones' "Ruby
Tuesday", originally released on Fleurs, is prominently
featured in the 2006 film,
Children of Men.
- In his album Fleurs 2 (2009) Anthony Hegarty performs, in
Italian, "Del suo veloce volo", Battiato's cover of
Antony and the Johnsons' song "Frankestein".
Discography
1970s
- La Convenzione (single, 1971)
- Foetus (1971)
-
Pollution (1972)
- Sulle corde di Aries (1973)
-
Clic (1974)
- M.elle le “Gladiator” (1975)
- Feed Back (1975)
- Battiato (1976)
- Juke Box (1977)
- L'Egitto prima delle sabbie (1978)
-
L'era del cinghiale bianco (1979)
1980s
1990s
- Come un cammello in una grondaia (1991)
- Caffè de la Paix (1993)
- Unprotected (1994, live)
-
L'ombrello e la macchina da cucire (1995)
- Battiato studio collection (1996, collection)
-
L'imboscata (1996)
-
Shadow, Light (1996, collection)
- Battiato Live Collection (1997, live)
- Gommalacca (1998)
- Fleurs (1999)
2000s
- Campi magnetici (2000)
-
Ferro battuto (2001)
- Fleurs 3 (2002)
- Last Summer Dance (2003, live)
-
Dieci stratagemmi (2004)
- Il vuoto (2007)
- Fleurs 2 (2008) (3X Platinum)
- Inneres Auge – Il tutto è più della somma delle sue parti
(2009) (Platinum)
2010s
Singles
- 1965:
L'amore è partito (Love's gone)
- 1965: E piu ti amo (The more I love you...)
- 1967: La torre / Le reazioni (The tower / The reaction)
- 1967: Triste come me / Il mondo va così (Sad like me /
The world goes like this)
- 1968: È l'amore / Fumo di una sigaretta (It's love /
Smoke of a cigarette)
- 1969: Sembrava una serata come tante / Gente (It seemed
it was an ordinary evening / People)
- 1969: Bella ragazza / Occhi d'or (Beautiful girl / Golden
eyes)
- 1970: Lacrime e pioggia (Rain and tears)
- 1971: Vento caldo / Marciapiede (Warm wind / Pavement) -
recorded 1968
- 1972: Energia / Una cellula (Energy / A cell)
- 1972: La convenzione / Paranoia (The convention /
Paranoia)
- 1978: Adieu/San Marco -
Elektra Records, t 123 310
- 1979:
L'era del cinghiale bianco / Luna indiana (The era of the
white boar / Indian moon)
- 1981:
Bandiera bianca / Summer on a Solitary Beach (White flag /
...)
- 1984:
I treni di Tozeur / Le biciclette di
Forlì
(The trains of Tozeur / The bicycles of Forlì) - with
Alice
- 1985: No Time No Space /
Il re del mondo (... / The king of the world)
- 1985: Via lattea / L'animale (Milky Way / The animal)
- 1996: Strani Giorni/Decline and fall of the roman empire
(Strange days / ...)
- 1996:
La Cura (The Cure)
- 1998: Shock in my town
- 1998: Il ballo del potere (The Dance of Power)
- 2001: Running against the grain/Sarcofagia/In trance (...
/ ... / Into a trance)
- 2004:
Tra Sesso e Castità/Le aquile non volano a stormi/Ermeneutica
(Between sex and chastity / Eagles don't fly in flocks /
Hermeneutics)
- 2007: Il vuoto (Emptyness)
- 2007: Aspettando l'estate (Waiting for summer)
- 2007: Niente è come sembra (Nothing is as it seems)
- 2008: Tutto l'universo obbedisce all'amore (The entire
universe obeys love)
Singles in Spanish
- 1985: La estación de los amores (Love's season)
- 1991: Pobre Patria (Poor homeland)
- 1986: Yo quiero verte danzar (I want to see you dancing)
Operas
- Genesi (1987)
- Gilgamesh (1992)
- Messa arcaica (1993)
- Il Cavaliere dell'Intelletto (1995) - not published on CD
- Campi magnetici (2000)
- Telesio (2011)
Filmography
- Perduto amor (2003, also screenplay)
- Musikanten (2005)
- Niente è come sembra (2007)
- Auguri Don Gesualdo (2010)
Bibliography
- Tecnica mista su tappeto, Conversazioni autobiografiche
(1992)
- Evoluzione evoluzione evoluzione (1998)
- Parole e canzoni (2004)
- In fondo sono contento di aver fatto la mia conoscenza
(2007)
- Musica e spiritualità (2008)
- Io chi sono? Dialoghi sulla musica e sullo spirito (2009)
- Sowa rigpa. La scienza della guarigione per un'alimentazione
consapevole (2010)
External links