Ecologist and independent musician Luca Bassanese regularly fills public spaces and concert halls around Europe with his cocktail of poetry, love stories infused with Italian folk music, Transalpine tarantellas and Balkan-style brass. His performances with La Piccola Orchestra Popolare are meant to put the listeners in a good mood, dance, move their feet and lose themselves for a moment in the fantasy world of Ecotopia. This is what happened to thousands of people at numerous European festivals such as Paléo in Switzerland; Esperanzah! and Dranouter in Belgium; Sziget and Vidor Festival in Hungary; Nuits Metis in France; Bardentreffen in Germany and Jazz&The City Festival in Austria.
Over the years, Luca Bassanese has collaborated with numerous Italian and foreign artists, including the Original Kocani Orkestar of Macedonia; Berber singer Bachir Charaf (nicknamed The Voice of the Desert); and satirical artist Antonio Cornacchione.
Luca Bassanese & La Piccola Orchestra Popolare released the album: Live at Paléo Festival Nyon – Switzerland (Ola Ola Music) in 2019. It contains Luca Bassanese & La Piccola Orchestra Popolare’s best songs, some rearranged tracks and the unpublished version of the Domenico Modugno’s song “Malarazza.”
In February 2020, Luca won the Viareggio Carnival Music Award for the best soundtrack of the street parade with his song “Home Sweet Home – Save The Planet.”
Luca is without question one of the major characters of the new committed Italian traditional music. His electrifying and colorful shows are accessible to a wide audience, including family and children.
Luca Bassanese released Piazza Bassanese (Ola Ola Music/AIDA Records) in 2020. During the suspended and forbidden time for live music due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bassanese teamed up once more with his friends, guitarist and producer Stefano Florio, and singer Elodie Lebigre to make a new album. With new musical arrangements, Piazza Bassanese revisits some tracks of Luca’s musical career that have been the most popular among his fans. It also includes the single “Passserà” (It Will Pass) and the new track “La Piazza”.
In 2023, Luca Bassanese presented his album Reset! and toured Europe with his carnivalesque Piccola Orchestra Popolare during the summer. The band in 2023 included Luca Bassanese on lead vocals, accordion, tammorra, guitar, bass drum; Stefano Florio on guitars, bouzouki, effects, vocals; Tommaso Maddalena on drums; Elodie Lebigre on vocals, dance; Domenico de Nichilo on trumpet; and Paolo Cecchin on bass, vocals.
Luca Bassanese said: “We need a general RESET! because from the moon the world looks wonderful, a planet rich and full of beauty. But the closer you get, the more you realize that a part of humanity is wearing itself out and destroying itself by cultivating the logic of evasion, the unsustainable exploitation of the planet, thoughts, and actions of war.”
Discography:
Live at Paléo Festival Nyon – Switzerland (Ola Ola Music, 2019)
Piazza Bassanese (Ola Ola Music/AIDA Records, 2020)
RESET (Ola Ola Music / Aida Music, 2023)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.