DAVIDE AMBROGIO – EVOCATIONS AND INVOCATIONS
RITUAL SONGS OF THE ASPROMONTE

In Calabria, a region in the extreme south-west of Italy there is a mountainous territory called Aspromonte. A land where the wonderful still wild nature is the backdrop to difficult social and economic conditions and where ancient religious rituals and devotional songs still live.
Davide Ambrogio was born in a small town in Aspromonte and drew on this heritage of oral tradition to create his own original musical language.

Davide Ambrogio (born in 1990) is a Calabrian singer and multi-instrumentalist who grew up in Cataforìo (RC) and then moved to Rome. After having won the Loano Giovani Prize with Linguamadre and having achieved the “Award Musica contro le Mafie” and “Ethnos Gener / Actions 2020”, he presents the debut album “Evocations and Invocations”.
Already included in the Transglobal Music Chart and in the World Music Chart Europe, the album was awarded by Songlines Magazine for the Top of The World Album in November 2021.
The album is the result of a work that recovers the multiple functions of singing, capable of translating a vocal expression linked to the Calabrian Aspromontana oral tradition into contemporary sound elements.
Just as in the music of the oral tradition every song and every sound is manifested within a rite, each piece of the album is linked to a specific function – from lullaby to protest song, from lament to conjuration.
In the concert, the Calabrian artist builds an immersive show around the voice through the use of lyre, guitar with pencils, frame drum, zumpettana, bagpipe and live electronics. In the timbre, melodic and rhythmic research, the show tells an intimate and current truth, capable of evoking different suggestions in the present.

“Aspromonte is the place where I was born and raised for more than twenty years.
At its feet, there is a Calabria still rich in ancient knowledge and traditions that the mountain has protected. In this place, time and space have a unique value and the word community means being together and sharing a language. Here, between sound and people there is a direct relationship between the buzz of words, the cries of the animals, the bagpipes, the dance, the noises of the cars in the distance, the flow of the water from the fiumara. It all seems to be part of the same dance and song.”
Davide Ambrogio

Solo concert:
Davide Ambrogio: Voice, lyra, guitar, percussion, zumpettana, bagpipe, live electronics

Trio concert:
Davide Ambrogio: Voice, lyra, guitar, percussion, zumpettana, bagpipe, live electronics
Walter Laureti: Live electronics, keyboards
Valeria Taccone: Voice

Songlines – Top of The World Album (NOV 21)
“Ancient resonances tinge Davide Ambrogio’s timbre. He is a Calabrian singer and multi-instrumentalist – guitars, Calabrian lyre, zampogna (bagpipes), electronics and percussion – from the mountainous Aspromonte area. His debut (which translates as ‘Evocations and Invocations’) is a melodic and rhythmic exploration of his home dialect, intertwining acoustic instruments and electronics, tradition and sound design, singing and spoken word.
Belonging to a generation of cutting-edge artists (he’s a member of the adventurous LinguaMadre) it’s no surprise he’s more aligned with Kate Tempest’s artistry than the canon of the folk revivalists. The nine tracks here emerge from the idea of following the aesthetic and ecstatic dimension of sound. Ritual-like chants, celebrations, lullabies, protest songs, laments and spells create an ancestral connection. Opener ‘A Sant’ Andrea’ touches on ideas of memory and the sense of belonging, while ‘A San Rocco’ displays a percussive ostinato of pencil-plucked guitar before launching into a zampogna-led trance-inducing dance. ‘A San Michele’ is a lament, an explosive cry of conscious rage against the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organisation. Elsewhere, on ‘Veniti Sonnu’, a lullaby originally recorded by Alan Lomax, crystal clear arpeggios and layered singing lead to an eerie atmospheric theme. On ‘Canto dal Carcere’ spoken word and rap explore isolation and the suspended time of an inmate. Ambrogio is an innovative artist forging new paths to reconnect past and present.”

DAVIDE AMBROGIO. ÉVOCATIONS ET INVOCATIONS
CHANTS RITUELS DE L’ASPROMONTE

En Calabre, région de l’extrême sud-ouest de l’Italie Il y a un territoire montagneux appelé Aspromonte. Une terre où la merveilleuse nature encore sauvage est la toile de fond de conditions sociales et économiques difficiles, et où vivent encore d’anciens rituels religieux et chants dévotionnels. Davide Ambrogio est né dans une petite ville de l’Aspromonte et s’est inspiré de cet héritage de la tradition orale pour créer son propre langage musical original.

Davide Ambrogio (né en 1990) est un chanteur et multi-instrumentiste calabrais qui a grandi à Cataforìo (près de Reggio Calabria) et puis s’est installé à Rome.
Après avoir remporté le Prix “Loano Giovani” et avoir obtenu les Prix “Musica contre les Mafias” et “Ethnos Gener / Actions 2020″, il présente son premier album “Evocations and Invocations”.
Déjà inclus dans le Transglobal Music Chart et dans le World Music Chart Europe, l’album a été récompensé par Songlines Magazine pour le Top of The World Album en novembre 2021.
L’album c’est le résultat d’un travail qui récupère les multiples fonctions du chant, capable de traduire une expression vocale liée à la tradition orale calabraise Aspromontana en éléments sonores contemporains. De même que dans la musique de tradition orale chaque chanson et chaque son se manifestent au sein d’un rite, chaque morceau est lié à une fonction spécifique – de la berceuse au chant de protestation, de la complainte à la conjuration.

En concert, l’artiste calabrais construit un spectacle immersif autour de la voix à travers l’utilisation de la lyre, de la guitare à crayons, du tambourin, de la zumpettana, de la cornemuse et de l’électronique live. Dans le timbre, la recherche mélodique et rythmique, le spectacle raconte une vérité intime et actuelle, capable d’évoquer différentes suggestions dans le présent.

“Aspromonte est l’endroit où je suis né et où j’ai grandi pendant plus de vingt ans.
A ses pieds, il y a une Calabre encore riche de savoirs anciens et de traditions que la montagne a préservés.
Dans ce lieu, le temps et l’espace ont une valeur unique et le mot communauté signifie être ensemble et partager une langue.
Ici, entre le son et les gens, il y a une relation directe entre le bourdonnement des mots, les cris des animaux, les cornemuses, la danse, les bruits des voitures au loin, le ruissellement de l’eau du fiumara. Tout semble faire partie de la même danse et de la même chanson.”
Davide Ambrogio

Solo concert:
Davide Ambrogio: Voice, lyra, guitar, percussion, zumpettana, bagpipe, live electronics

Trio concert:
Davide Ambrogio: Voice, lyra, guitar, percussion, zumpettana, bagpipe, live electronics
Walter Laureti: Live electronics, keyboards
Valeria Taccone: Voice