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BIOGRAPHYCarmen Consoli was born in Catania in 1974. Her father is a guitarist, who made her love blues and black music. At the age of nine, she began playing the electric guitar and, when she was fourteen, she started performing cover versions in a rock-blues band, the Moon Dogs Party.Her cover band had a very respectful repertoire from Jefferson Airplane and the Free or other big rock names. Songs that gave success to important black music performers, like Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and the beloved Janis Joplin, were chosen in order to exalt Carmens voice. This kind of music does not have to amaze you, since Catania is the only Sicilian town where a rock scene exists and is well-established.While in other areas musicians play fusion and sing traditional Italian songs, this town has got different groups and hosts the Cyclope Records (Mario Venuti, Flor, Nuovi Briganti and tributes Gram Parsons Tribute and Battiato non Battiato).Francesco Virlinzi, Cyclope producer and owner, was present in a Moon Dogs Partys performance and was immediately struck by Carmen: she was only fifteen, but her talent was already evident. Thus, Carmen plunged herself into her vocation and started her adventure.She moved to Rome, where she created a new blues band and decided to grow her musical competence, while jotting down some songs.The beginningAfter using a walkman as a notebook for every idea she came up with, she completed her songs. In 1994 she went back to Catania and gave Virlinzi what would end up with being her first album, Due Parole. Carmen recorded twenty-two songs for guitar and voice, highlighting her particular voice and a performing style which made her different from the other singers.Her album, recorded by Cyclope Records, contains Amore di plastica, performed during the 1996 edition of the Sanremo Festival, where Carmen had a great success. She captured the attention of music critics and the public with her unique voice and her ability to compose and perform.
In 1996, she went for a long tour in the main Italian cities and took part in many important events 1st of May Concert, Max Generation, Sonoria, Premio recanati, Premio Tenco. In a few of them, Carmen presented some new songs, like Per niente stanca, which is in her second CD.At the same time, the tribute Battiato non Battiato was released. Carmen sang Lanimale, one of the Sicilian artists best works, with unmistakeable style.Albums and gold awardsIn 1997 Carmen returned to Sanremo with Confusa e felice, that launched her new album with the same title. It is a complex collection of songs more electric and polluted than the first one, confirming the artists talent with such memorable tracks as Venere, Blunotte, La bellezza delle cose, Per niente stanca and Fino allultimo. The ensuring great success (over 120,000 copies sold) was endorsed by concerts when Carmen proved her verve as a dynamic and passionate performer.Bésame, istericalThe third album, Mediamente isterica (Averagely hysterical), came out in 1998 and marked another step forwards. The collection, well summarised by the debut single Besame Giuda, is a concentration of energy in which cutting lyrics and a powerful sound full of purist melodies exalt Carmens intensity. As well as reconfirming the publics approval for her new songs (including Geisha, Puramente Casuale, Autunno Dolciastro, Eco di Sirene and Contessa miseria) her two tours that went on for most of 1999 took her towards that crucial artistic maturity that she affirmed in her fourth CD.Unusual accords...Stato di necessità (State of necessity), launched in Sanremo with the single In bianco e nero, became a top seller on the record market in 2000. During the spring, this pop-rock 60s style song, both energetic and reminiscent, achieved maximum radio airplay, while the summer was dominated by the rhythm of Parole di burro. The highly successful summer tour wasnt enough to placate Carmens appetite. As a result, she set off again in the autumn with a scintillating calendar of theatre dates performing a selection of her repertoire from classics to little gems of unreleased material some with new acoustic arrangements. In the meantime, Stato di necessità continued to provide material with its third single from the album Orfeo followed by the splendid and touching Lultimo bacio, the theme song from the much acknowledged film with the same title, directed by Gabriele Muccino (in which Carmen played a cameo role). The album bounced back into the hit parade and topped 200,000 copies sold. To clinch this jubilant period, Carmen received a number of awards, including one from the Italian Music Awards (Lultimo bacio video clip), two from the Premi Italiani della Musica (best female artist and best song of the year), and the 'Nastro d'Argento' from the Taormina Film Festival Awards (best film song of the year). After years of tough work, she got the success she deserved. Carmens satisfaction is not based on gold statues, but on their symbolic value: sound quality, experimentation and risk of playing unusual accords.Gamìne impertinente?After a few concerts in France in 2001, Stato di necessità was released there with the addition of two tracks translated into French and the cover version of a Serge Gainsbourgs song produced by Henri Salvador.
The summer saw Carmen accompanied by the Orchestra of the Vittorio Emanuele Theatre of Messina conducted by Paolo Buonvino in the beautiful setting of Taorminas Greek amphitheatre.
This event formed the basis for the CD (and film available on DVD and VHS) entitled Lanfiteatro e la bambina impertinente (The amphitheatre and the impertinent girl) to be repeated twice more in surroundings that are worlds apart: at Milans Leoncavallo Social Youth Centre and at Romes Saint Cecilia Accademy.These events served to underline the artists talent and coincided with the publication by Giunti of her first official biography - Quello che sento - Il mondo, i pensieri, la musica di Carmen Consoli (What I feel The world, thoughts, and music of Carmen Consoli), written by Federico Guglielmi.Before her first out-and-out European tour, Carmen was invited to the Premio Italiano della Musica (P.I.M.) in order to collect her award from the critics that had been appreciating her music since she first debuted.L'eccezioneAfter a period spent in a house transformed into a recording studio on the feet of the volcano Etna, Carmen Consolis charisma and courage were brought to the publics attention once again with the release of a brand new, multi-faceted album Leccezione (The exception), available from 25th October. There is no doubt that she was keeping the promise disclosed in the title the same of the first single which went to radio on 20th September. It includes songs like Venti del nord e Uva acerba, Matilde odiava I gatti, Leccezione, Pioggia daprile, Eppur si muove, Lalleanza, Moderato in RE minore, Mulini a vento e Masino. The album went Platinum plus in the first week of release and both the album and single continued to top the charts.For the first time, MTV, the most famous musical station and transmitter in the world dedicated its schedule to one artist for more than one concert. There were two contrasting and complementary sets: whereas one had an acoustic section, the other one had an electric section. 23 October, 2002 became Carmen Consolis day. In addition, our beloved singer received the special award from the jury of the Premio Ciampi and the nomination as best female artist of the year during the Italian Music Awards Alice 2002.Un sorso in piùIn 2003, Carmen started a European Club Tour. After her previous theatre tour and concerts with the orchestra, Carmen decided to play exclusively in pubs in order to exploit their particular characteristics and atmosphere. Clubs have both the theatre intimacy and the informality you can experience in squares, contributing to a more direct relation with the audience. The European Club Tour was virtually a rock tour. However, the use of a Wurlitzer piano, a mandolin and Carmens acoustic guitar bettered this rock section. Furthermore, Carmen took part in the MIDEM International Showcase in Cannes and released the international edition of her last album it included two tracks translated into English and the fascinating punk version of the song Cant Get Out Of My Head by Kylie Minogue. While her album was published in Europe, Canada and Mexico, in Italy her popularity was growing quicklyA new CD Un sorso in più Dal vivo a MTV Supersonic deals with her performance, which took place in Milan on the 23rd October, 2002. It was a very important event: for the first time, MTV channel sponsored a live CD by a big name of the Italian music, as it had done with extraordinary characters in the United States. This album includes sixteen songs that show Carmens double appearance, grown in the last few years. The cover of Cant Get Out Of My Head by Kylie Minogue unrecognisable can be regarded as a sound climax which expresses Carmens irony, capability and great personality. Even if her album includes nothing brand new, it is a fascinating postcard, which depicts different satisfactory experiences.2004 begins with an extraordinary experience for an artists life: America. Carmen Consoli is the only Italian artist at the SouthbySouthWest festival in Austin, the most important festival of independent music in America, which takes place in Texas and host Carmen with interest and admiration on 19th March, 2004. After her concert, Carmen went to conquer the Big Apple, showing her scratching sweetness at the historical cult club, the Joes Pub in New York., on the 23rd March, 2004.Carmen took part in the We are the future concert, organized by Quincy Jones. A global project aired live all over the world and aimed at collecting funds for children, victims of the war. Carmen is the only Italian artist chosen by the We are the future producer.
