Verdena

Verdena are an Italian alternative rock band originating from Albino, Bergamo. As of February 2015, they have released six full-length albums on Universal Music Group.

Verdena
Verdena live in Modena
Background information
OriginAlbino, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy
GenresAlternative rock,[1] grunge, neo-psychedelia, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, stoner rock
Years active1995 – present
LabelsUniversal
Websitewww.verdena.com
MembersAlberto Ferrari (vocals and guitar)
Luca Ferrari (drums)
Roberta Sammarelli (bass)
Past membersFidel Figaroli (keyboards)

History

Alberto (guitarist) and Luca Ferrari (drummer) are brothers and have been playing together for 10 years. With the addition of Roberta Sammarelli (bassist), they formed the band Verdena. In 1999 they broke onto the scene with their eponymous debut, and began to perform concerts all across Italy. Their first single, "Valvonauta", received significant airtime on MTV and other music stations. Their style can be described as a mixture of rock, grunge and psychedelia.

Their second album, Solo un grande sasso, exhibited longer songs with more frequent guitar solos. The most important tracks of this album are "Spaceman", "Nova", "Starless" and "Centrifuga".

In 2004, Fidel Fogaroli joined the band as a keyboardist, appearing on the album Il suicidio del samurai. In 2006, Fidel left Verdena and the band returned to its original three-piece setup. The single "Luna", originally released on Il suicidio dei Samurai, was one of the band's most notable successes.

Their following record, Requiem, was released on March 16, 2007. This album shows stoner and psychedelic influences.

In 2008, Verdena opened several shows for MGMT on the American band's European tour.

Their latest studio album, Wow, was released on January 18, 2011. The double album features 27 tracks, most played with piano. The singles taken from this latest album include "Razzi Arpia Inferno e Fiamme", "Scegli Me (Un Mondo Che Tu Non Vuoi)" and "Miglioramento".

Verdena's songs are always sung in Italian, with the exception of some covers, such as ("Reverberation" by 13th Floor Elevators, "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream), "(His Latest Flame) Marie's The Name" by Elvis Presley, "Harvest" by Neil Young and "Creepy Smell" by Melvins), as well as an original song called "Perfect Day". The meaning of the lyrics is often obscure due to the made-up language the song is sung in. Within the lyrics are references to Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, and Fecal Matter (the title of "Il Suicidio Dei Samurai" is a reference of "Samurai's Suicide").

Their albums are also distributed in England (Requiem), Spain (Il Suicidio dei Samurai and Requiem), France, and Switzerland.

Lyrics

Alberto writes the lyrics of their songs, just the lyrics have often been criticized for the lack of external content, Alberto, however, stated several times to write solely to the melody and music, so that the words give only "color disk "without then tell stories or convey some meaning. The texts are not written but with the cut-up technique (as typified by the first album by the Italian band Afterhours). The composition of the texts are first singing in a fake British musical based on the track and then replace the English words with Italian words that sound good. The texts, as already mentioned, have no meaning or political narrative, but they are Alberto dream-like hallucinations. In another interview Alberto said: "They can in my opinion be interpreted differently, depending on the person, or at the time. [...] Everyone has his things differently and feel differently. My lyrics don't make sense, and at the same time have more than one. They also have three/four."

Discography

Albums

Demo Albums

EPs
  • Valvonauta (1999)
  • Viba (2000)
  • Spaceman (2001)
  • Miami Safari (2002)
  • Luna (2004)
  • Elefante (2004)
  • Caños (2007)
  • Radar(Ejabbabbaje) (2011)
  • Split EP (with Iosonouncane) (2016)

Videoclip and Singles
  • Valvonauta (1999)
  • Viba (2000)
  • Spaceman (2001)
  • Nel Mio Letto (2001)
  • Miami Safari (2002)
  • Luna (2004)
  • Elefante (2004)
  • Perfect Day (2004)
  • Phantastica (2004)
  • Muori Delay (2007)
  • Caños (2007)
  • Angie (2007)
  • Isacco Nucleare (2008)
  • Razzi, Arpia, Inferno e Fiamme (2010)
  • Scegli Me (Un mondo che tu non vuoi) (2011)
  • Miglioramento (2011)
  • Un Po' Esageri (2015)
  • Contro La Ragione (2015)
  • Nevischio (2015)
  • Colle Immane (2015)
  • Identikit (2015)
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References
  1. Ankeny, Jason. "Verdena - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
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