Fiamma Fumana began as a studio project in 1999 -- a tribute to the female vocal tradition of Northern Italy (like the choirs of mondine, the rice gatherers who were all young girls) revitalized by a new generation and electronic dance music culture. The result is an intriguing blend of old Italian...
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Fiamma Fumana began as a studio project in 1999 -- a tribute to the female vocal tradition of Northern Italy (like the choirs of mondine, the rice gatherers who were all young girls) revitalized by a new generation and electronic dance music culture. The result is an intriguing blend of old Italian dance tunes played to new Italian dance grooves, traditional ballads and state-of-the art electronica. To these young urbanite Europeans, electronic beats make a natural bedrock for re-interpreting the songs of previous generations. Female vocals connect past to future with unforgettable pathos. One other key ingredient, a rare regional bagpipe called the piva Emiliana, adds an unexpected Celtic-sounding flavor to the mix. The result is clearly Italian yet broadly international in its appeal.
The band members themselves are an interesting mix. Alberto Cottica, veteran of the acclaimed Modena City Ramblers, hails from Emilia Romagna and plays accordion, guitar and piano. Tuscan Jessica Lombardi is a Celtic music devotee who plays flutes and whistles as well as the bagpipes. Also from Tuscany, lead vocalist Lisa Kant brings a background in electronic music and fashion design to the band. Medhin Paolos is the group's DJ, an Eritrean-Italian who keeps the loops and samples flowing. These dynamic contrasts are well-expressed in the band's name which translates as flame and fog, opposing elements of fiery emotion and ageless cool.
"Assured and accomplished, Fiamma Fumana cross genres and geography in a single bound." -- Chris Nickson, amazon.com
"Fiamma Fumana keeps its age-old soul rather modern." - Marty Lipp, Global Rhythm
Past members of the group include founding member Fiamma Orlandi, who at 22, was then an absolute beginner but who had been brought up musically in the Emilian countryside, by her mother and grandmother. Her singing is a unique blend of traditional style and modern sensitivity. The elements had been carefully selected and balanced: Fiamma Fumana was to be a tribute to the tradition of female vocals of Emilia and Italy in general (like the choirs of mondine, the rice gatherers who were all young girls), and that tradition was to be revitalised by a new generation and its musical culture: hence, electronica, the most natural musical expression for Fiamma and people her age in post-industrial and affluent Italy. The result was an intriguing blend of old Italian dance tunes played to new Italian dance grooves, traditional ballads and state-of-the art electronica.
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