Search - Almamegretta :: Venite Venite

One of the world's best semi-known bands

George De Stefano | Long Island City, NY USA | 07/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Almamegretta, founded in the early '90s by several young men who met at Oficina 99, a centro sociale (social center) in Naples, is one of the best bands in contemporary pop music, yet they're virtually unknown outside of Europe and among cognoscenti (mainly Italian Americans ) in the U.S. The band's genius lies in their synthesis of their Neapolitan musical roots with diverse foreign influences, especially reggae and dub, but also techno and trance. They're masters of electronica, but unlike most bands in that genre, Almamegretta writes strong melodies, typical for Neapolitan musicians. The band's roots also are evident in their lyrics, most of which are in the Neapolitan dialect. (The band also records in standard Italian, and increasingly in English.) They've got a wonderful,charismatic lead singer/songwriter who calls himself Raiss (an Arabo-Sicilian word meaning "chief")and a masterful drummer. "Venite" is a collection of live performances recorded throughout Italy, from 1995-2001. The performances are exciting, and many of the tunes here are more powerful than the original studio versions. Check out "Maje" ("Never"), which obviously was inspired by Black Uhuru and the Sly Dunbar/Robbie Shakespeare approach to reggae "riddims." The only reason I didn't give the CD a 5-star rating is because there are only a couple of tunes from "Imaginaria," their superb 2001 album. People like David Byrne and Elvis Costello are hip to Almamegretta -- Costello in fact chose one of their CDs as one of the recordings he'd want with him on a desert island. Now if BMG, their label, would only try to break them in the US, with a proper tour....then they'd no doubt develop a following here. Even if you don't understand a word of Italian, the band's fiercely rhythmic grooves and great tunes are irresistible."