NEWPOLI
Southern Italian folk music and its evolution
Exclusive presentation at the ICC
Winner of the 2016 Independent Music Award in the category of Best World Traditional Album, NEWPOLI will be in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 28, for an exclusive presentation at The Italian Cultural Center (1:00-2:00 PM) and concert at The Cedar (7:30 PM).
For ICC Members: 2 x 2 free tickets will be given away during the presentation!
Join us on Thursday, March 28, 1:00-2:00 PM, at The Italian Cultural Center. Members from Newpoli will talk about the history of the group, how they met and evolved as a group. They will discuss how Southern Italian folk music has been shaped by influences and cultural exchange across the
Mediterranean and keeps evolving by exposure to world stages and interactions in the musical community.
The lecture will continue with the presentation of Newpoli’s new CD, Mediterraneo, released in October of 2018. The musicians will talk about the concept behind the album, their musical research and the process of writing new material with a living tradition in mind.
They will give also an introduction to the more unique instruments used such as the Chitarra Battente, Ciaramella, Zampogna and various Italian frame drums. Furthermore, there will be opportunities to participate in discussions with the members as they will leave the floor open to questions.
The presentation is FREE. Only 25 spots available! Register now
- ENGLISH VERSION BELOW - Non appena si sente il tamburello scandire il ritmo incalzante della musica di Newpoli e le due cantanti iniziano una frenetica e selvaggia danza, sarà difficile rimanere immobili! Benvenuti ad un concerto dal vivo di Newpoli!!!
Vincitore dell’Independent Music Award 2016 per il migliore album di musica world tradizionale, Newpoli porta avanti una tradizione così antica che è difficile da datare, eseguendo il repertorio musicale del Sud Italia allacciato alle influenze provenienti dalle culture mediterranee circostanti. Emozionanti arrangiamenti di musiche tradizionali emergono dalle canzoni scritte da Newpoli e il dramma e la passione che ribolle nelle vene dei musicisti, può essere percepito in ogni singola nota.
Il loro ultimo album, Mediterraneo, uscito da pochissimo (Ottobre 2018) è già salito al quinto posto della classifica della Global World Music di Roots Music Report. Mediterraneo contiene brani originali che esplorano il complesso fenomeno dell’immigrazione moderna, ma anche pezzi tradizionali della tradizione lucana e salentina, presentati con una prospettiva globale che vuole enfatizzare le variegate influenze delle culture mediterranee sulla nostra tradizione musicale.
I concerti di Newpoli sono travolgenti, impregnati di ritmo e danza e riescono a far viaggiare gli spettatori nel tempo passando attraverso decenni di musica e immergendoli nell’incredibile svariata tradizione culturale che il Sud Italia rappresenta.
Fondato nel 2003 dalle cantanti Carmen Marsico e Angela Rossi e dal tamburellista Fabio Pirozzolo, conosciutisi al Berklee College of Music a Boston, Newpoli da oltre quindici anni si esibisce in tutti gli Stati Uniti e nell’amata patria. Ha all’attivo cinque dischi ed è stato nominato ben tre volte Miglior Gruppo di World Music a Boston e due volte finalista nel Premio Nazionale Città di Loano per la musica tradizionale italiana. Inoltre, il brano “Sciure D’arance”, dall’album del 2015, Nun te vutà, è entrato tra i dieci finalisti della 2015 USA Songwriting Competition nella categoria “World Music”.
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Newpoli crosses through time, culture, and musical styles as it performs modernized, old-world taranta music from southern Italy and surrounding countries. The high-energy ensemble stirs up a mesmerizing sound that melds traditional Italian folk music, Greek and Turkish grooves, Mediterranean and Spanish colors, and a contemporary sensibility they call Ritmi della Terra—Mediterranean Pulse.
Their new album Mediterraneo, released in October 2018, takes a deeper look at cultures that influenced the folk traditions of Southern Italy. It speaks about the Mediterranean Sea as a unifying element culturally and musically, as well as from a humanitarian perspective—a bridge that facilitates exchange between countries rather than a wall that divides us. The band found beautiful traditional songs from Basilicata and Puglia, songs that have not been rerecorded in modern times to add to the CD. Mediterraneo includes original and traditional music along with songs the band had developed many years ago that have since taken on a life of their own.
Called "...a brilliant outfit...who grab southern Italian traditional music by the neck and recast it in a dramatic style" by Songlines (UK), Newpoli is a unique group with a powerful sound and a 21st-century take on their tradition that is beyond comparison.
Newpoli is fronted by singers Carmen Marsico and Angela Rossi, a pair that PopMatters in 2016 called “…visual and musical cynosures with their contrasting looks and twining vocal lines.”
In concert you’ll hear the tamburello, played by virtuoso Fabio Pirozzolo, pounding out the heartbeat of Newpoli’s music, the two female singers will start up a wild, frenetic dance, and you’ll have a hard time sitting still! The tempo is high and the drama and passion can be heard in every note!
Winner of the 2016 Independent Music Award in the category of Best World Traditional Album, Newpoli has performed in theaters, performing arts centers and festivals throughout all United States from New York City to Chicago, from Arizona to California and in their home country, Italy. In July 2018 Newpoli was invited to performed at The Library of Congress in Washington, DC as part of their Homegrown Concert Series that presents the very best of traditional music from a variety of folk cultures thriving in the United States.
They were honored to be among the ten finalists for the 2018 and 2015 USA Songwriting Competition in the “World Music” category. Furthermore, their album “Nun te vutà” was nominated for the “Premio Nazionale Città di Loano per la musica tradizionale italiana 2015”, the Italian national award for traditional music.
photo courtesy of farasddi under the Creative Commons license
The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization