Moreno Conficconi and Romagna 2.0: With E-Wired Empathy, Liscio Will Be Reborn
by Giuseppe Ceccato
As he tells his story, his passion grows, like a river in full flow.
Open, sunny, curious—Moreno Conficconi, known as Il Biondo, is 66 years old and has been performing since he was 14.
The clarinetist from the Casadei Orchestra, “we did 330 shows a year for 15 years,” he tells me, is now experiencing a second artistic life. After his time with Extraliscio, he’s embarked on a project he deeply believes in.
It’s about the salvation and elevation of Liscio, a dance music proudly tied to village festivals and not typically intended for listening. This tradition is deeply rooted, especially in his Romagna region. Liscio has a strong musical soul; it just needs to be discovered and opened up to dialogue with musicians from different backgrounds.
With this spirit, today sees the release of Romagna 2.0, an album Il Biondo created with E-Wired Empathy, a familiar name to Musicabile fans.
Two seemingly incompatible worlds—seemingly. In reality, this album, which I recommend listening to carefully and without prejudice, starts a new reinterpretation of a folk music genre that carries significant weight in our country. Just like the Taranta Salentina, when Stewart Copeland, the legendary drummer of The Police, fell in love with it so much that he turned it into a show he toured worldwide.
I had mentioned this recently when I interviewed Antonio Castrignanò. “We’re here to show how Liscio can break regional boundaries, how it can be a genuine force,” says Moreno. And, listening to the title track Romagna 2.0, it’s clear this project is on the right path. The classic ballroom waltz, now turned into a hymn of Romagna pride, transforms into something new while keeping its essence intact, with just a few notes needed to recall it. It’s all about improvisation and dialogue, what jazz musicians today often call “interplay.”
Music knows no boundaries, it’s often said, and cross-pollination is the fertile ground where ideas germinate. However, to achieve this, two magic words are needed: respect and listening. Not all musicians possess these qualities. Many don’t even realize they have them.
Moreno, for example, managed to draw out a world of notes from his softly played C clarinet, surprising even himself. E- Wired Empathy, consisting of Giovanni Amighetti, Luca Nobis, Roberto Gualdi, and Valerio Compass Bruno, along with specially chosen guests like the extraordinary Congolese artist Gasandji, chose this path for their music.
Different backgrounds, with a single goal: to play while listening to each other, giving free rein to improvisation and creativity. “Giovanni brings together people who have the ability to speak the same language; he’s the real old-school music producer,” says Moreno about Amighetti. “I believe that’s what today’s young Italian musicians are missing—this empathy,” the artist asserts.
Back to the album: eight tracks for 56 minutes of listening, with a final 29-minute and 27-second medley, Viaggio nella Musica Popolare—almost a suite like in the 1970s, which we could call “liscioprog,” Italian folk summarized and played with that clarinet that never ceases to amaze.
If you want to hear Moreno and E-Wired, mark September 14 in your calendar, for La Notte del Liscio in Gatteo a Mare, Moreno’s hometown. “You’ll have to come to Romagna!” Il Biondo “threatens” with that contagious Romagna cheerfulness.
Moreno, your clarinet is distinctive; it’s instantly recognizable!
“There’s something I have to tell you—I’m the only one who plays and uses the C clarinet in such a distinctive way. It’s about playing with a broad concept of interpretation and sound care that makes the difference. The B-flat clarinet puts you in a position where performances are ‘very constrained.’ I’ve been playing the C clarinet since I was a kid; I know all its flaws—because it has many. I found a great combination with Patricola (a company from the province of Alessandria that crafts artisanal oboes and clarinets, ed.): they made me a carefully crafted instrument, with the right wood, unique. I’m happy that, at the end of my career, I’m doing things I never thought I’d do...”
At the end of your career? That's an exaggeration! How old are you?
"I'm 66, and I've spent 52 of those years playing Liscio on stage!”
Let's talk about Romagna 2.0, the track that gives the album its name. It's a little masterpiece! How did it evolve from a classic waltz to what it is now?
"I believe the secret lies in the word 'Romagna.' Romagna is about welcoming tourists, and the character we inherit through our DNA makes us this way, even in music. So far, as Liscio musicians, we've always been under the radar. Thanks to Elisabetta Sgarbi, Extraliscio, and Riccardo Muti with his Cherubini Youth Orchestra, I've had the chance to engage in extraordinary experiences. However, these didn't allow me to do one fundamental thing—engage in a musical dialogue with musicians from different backgrounds and cultures. I knew I had things to say, but I couldn't express them with those from my musical world—not because of their level, but because of their training. Liscio—like classical music—must be performed as it was written; you can't change a piece that's been composed in a specific way. You're only allowed to interpret it because, as a Romagnolo, you know where the accents go, where the beat falls, which must be strict and quantized, because that's what makes people dance. And then the C clarinet can make people dance even without drums, bass, and guitar! On the one hand, that's extraordinary, but on the other, it closes you off from everything else.”
With this album, you prove the opposite...
"I was lucky; I made myself known in other ways, which allowed me to meet musicians who helped me understand how Liscio could fit into their arrangements and harmonies. Romagna 2.0 is the musical blueprint of this story. It starts with an atmosphere created by an extraordinary guitar, played by Luca Nobis, while Roberto Gualdi works with a three-four rhythm that is there but not there, yet still present. I have the beat, and he doesn't. We're all intertwined, with Amighetti traveling in a futuristic response to one of my phrases that recalls Romagna mia, and when the chorus arrives, everyone creates their own. Liscio is a music we've always offered to those who dance; this time, I've offered it to the musicians who play it. This all excites me, and I hope the work is understood and serves the project of those who want to have it recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. I realized that if we don't take paths like this, which lead to different developments and new stories, we won't get very far. We need to reach foreign audiences with a message for...foreign audiences because if we present it as just a waltz or a polka, we're not saying anything new to many European countries..."
You mean Austria and Germany...
"Exactly. We actually learned from them! Liscio came from an already existing music. It was brought to Romagna by Carlo Brighi, a violinist from Toscanini's Orchestra. It was perfected and cemented by Secondo Casadei, and then it became what it is today. Now we need to make the most of what it has become.”
What's lacking in Liscio compared to Taranta, which is considered world music?
"Here's how I see it. We're talking about folklore: if we head towards Naples, we're light years away because there, they have a culture of lyrics and music. As for Taranta, we might be closer because we're talking about a dance with popular lyrics, like our Liscio. The only thing is, we've lacked the fortune of crossing paths with other artists who understood the value of this music. Let me give you a recent example: invited by Roberto Gualdi, Dave Weckl (one of the most skilled and influential drummers around) came to see us in Gatteo a Mare for one of our concerts with E- Wired Empathy and Gasandji. He was positively shocked by the sound of these folk pieces, the use of the drums, and the dialogue between all the instruments. That's why I say we're missing that bit of luck; we need to get there, thanks to Amighetti and also to you who write about these
things. You need to challenge us, explore this style of music in our original arrangements, from Brighi to Secondo Casadei. After that, it's the musical level that will carry it forward, just like what happened with Romagna 2.0."
How did you get along with E-Wired Empathy?
"In Giovanni Amighetti, I found a crazy talent scout. To play with them, you need to have that welcoming nature and openness, which I've always had as a Romagnolo and by character. I'd call it musical hospitality, which must be reciprocated by giving of yourself. I didn't know they played like this. I've worked with musicians of the highest level. What is about to happen to our folk music is exactly the journey that Taranta has already made. E-Wired Empathy will be the group that elevates Liscio. With Extraliscio, we tried this transition. Mariani and I talked a lot about this recipe, but then the limitations of people emerge; both he and I were two boxes that communicated but remained at opposite ends. We lacked the ability to respect and care for each other musically. I say 'we' because blame is always shared in these cases. With E-Wired Empathy, the rule starts with empathy, understanding that while one is playing, the other is listening, and vice versa.”
And how was it with Gasandji?
"She let me listen to her voice, her way of singing, and it brought out a phrase from me that I didn't think I had. While I was playing, I was thinking of Africa, of the way the people of that continent relate to the earth. Meeting these musicians brought out unknown languages in me. I haven't studied jazz; as kids, we devoured Henghel Gualdi's records, but I've never really studied jazz..."
So with E-Wired, this is just the beginning!
"We're in constant creation. We record all the live shows because they are our truth. Playing this way, we don't know where we're going, and by listening back, we capture our creativity.”
article posted by:Giovanni Amighetti, Grande Evento srls