Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Fabrizio Piepoli has released a new single, “Sanda Necole Blues”, produced by Zero Nove Nove with digital distribution via Believe. The track is accompanied by a video directed by Domenico Larocca, set in Bari and starring Balsam Asfour, a young Palestinian medical student living in the city.
Timed to coincide with the annual San Nicola celebrations in Bari, the release pays tribute to the patron saint whose relics were brought from Myra to Bari in 1087. Revered across both Christian and Orthodox traditions, St. Nicholas symbolizes spiritual protection and cultural exchange, a theme echoed throughout Piepoli’s work.
Musically, the song blends the melismatic phrasing of Arabic music with the percussive textures of the Bari dialect, forging a sound Piepoli has dubbed Tarabtella, a hybrid of tarab (the emotional ecstasy of Arabic music) and tarantella (Southern Italy’s rhythmic folk tradition). The instrumentation centers on the electric saz, filtered and processed to highlight microtonal and pentatonic melodies, while the beat draws from Maghreb-style shaabi and global blues forms.
“Sanda Necole Blues” opens with a chant-like invocation, reminiscent of a morning prayer from a coastal minaret. It tells the story of a young migrant preparing to cross the Mediterranean, hopeful but burdened with fear and loss. Midway through, the arrangement becomes sparse and wave-like, with synth arpeggios evoking the sea. In the final section, a determined vocal line rises with the beat, suggesting resilience and the will to survive.
The video captures these themes visually, portraying the emotional state of departure, uncertainty, longing, and spiritual plea. Piepoli uses the Saint’s symbolism to link histories of migration, devotion, and cultural pluralism in Bari. His lyrics, alternating between Bari dialect and Arabic, underscore the city’s mestizo identity.
According to Piepoli, this work reflects not just his Apulian roots, but his life’s broader trajectory, a fusion of local heritage and global sound. “St. Nicholas is a saint of crossings,” he says. “Like him, my music carries multiple belongings. It is a blues for a mestizo city, where difference becomes a shared future.”
Author: World Music Central News Room
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