- country:Italy
- style(s):Ethnic, Folk
- label:ALFAMUSIC - RAITRADE
- artist posted by:ALFAMUSIC - Label & Publishing
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Alfio Antico was born in Lentini (Sicilia), where he lived 'til he was 18, working as a shepherd: to survive a life made of hardness, he greedly absorbed all the myths coming out the stingy, dry but somewhat close words of the peasant culture, which brightened his life of hard work and waiting. He had no school friends: his faithful companions were his drums and tambourines, that he himself built straining the tanned sheep skins over an old CRIU (peasant sifter). In a life hung between silence and vibrant sounds, he started following his own soul: lost in the halo of a daily mistery, the looks and faces of the ancient inhabitans of his homeland were the only witnesses of this inner, creative journey.
Tambourines, drums, voice and soul
The soundtrack of his childhood and adolescence has been the jagged sound of his herd 600 bells, ringing through Sicilian summer heat: the young shepherd learned to build and play drums and tambourines, remembering his grand-mother's words about the power of a drum against fear and loneliness.
The will of trying something new and strong, led him to play on the road as to survive, when he was 18 years old. A day in Florence he met Eugenio Bennato, who stood captured by his powerful playing some extraordinary handmade drum, and this meeting stroke the beginning of an astonishing artistic career, both in music and theatre, by the side of Musicanova, Maurizio Scaparro, Roberto De Simone, Peppe Barra, Fabrizio De Andrè, Lucio Dalla…the last step of this journey is named SUPRAMARI which is his recent Album co-produced by the italian labels ALFAMUSIC & RAI TRADE.
These experiences led him to a complete artistic maturity: Alfio Antico now is on stage with his own group, featuring LUIGI POLSINI (MIDDLE AGES INSTRUMENTS, plectrum, mandole), AMEDEO RONGA (double bass), and SANDRO PIPPA (percussions).
Something hasn't changed in this former shepherd vision of life: nature is still his religion, represented as an armonic unity. Drum is still his best friend, a faithful companion to talk to. Alfio has over 70 drums and tambourines, each of them is handmade and decorated with symbols and images, agrestic divinities, ancient signs of an eternal wisdom. Drum is an instrument of joy, and Alfio's big hands become butterflies singing with the bells' chattering. Through this instrument, ...skinned, shelled, voiceless and singing on the road like a banshee.