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All Music Guide:
America's self-regarding vision of itself is such that artists who are undisputed legends elsewhere are not seen to have made it if they have no stateside success. That doesn't mean that they can't have an influence worldwide, whether English-speaking or not, which is where longtime Italian superstar Franco Battiato comes into the picture. Avant-rocker Jim O'Rourke has named him as one of his favorites, Simple Minds' Jim Kerr has collaborated with him, while an ever-expanding series of reissues brought his early work to the attention of prog-psych fanatics around the globe in the late '90s, even as he pursues his current recording interests in other spheres.
Born in 1945 in the village of Jonio, Battiato's initial stabs into musical work in the 1960s didn't go anywhere beyond a single or two, leaving his first real break to occur in the early '70s when he began recording a series of albums for the underground label Bla Bla. Starting with Fetus in 1971 and concluding with L'Egitto Prima Delle Sabbie (Egypt Before the Sands) in 1978, he staked out his own claim in the high-ferment world of Italian prog rock. Musically accomplished if sometimes poorly recorded, and unafraid to indulge in more than a little whimsy, these records covered the gamut from extreme experimentalism to more song-focused efforts, the two most notable of which would be 1972's Pollution and 1973's Sulle Corde Di Aries (On the Ropes of Aries). Compared to other bands like Area and PFM, however, Battiato and his band were cult figures more loved abroad than at home; performances in France and Germany as the opening act for Brian Eno and Nico give a sense as to his appeal elsewhere. Battiato's often extravagant appearance at this time make him something of an Italian Peter Gabriel, while his lyrics eschewed then-fashionable Maoist/terrorist posing in favor of a deep but humorous combination of Asian philosophies and literary reflection.
Switching labels to EMI's Italian branch, his fortunes in the Italian popular eye turned (also in an uncanny parallel with Gabriel) in the '80s, specifically with 1981's La Voce del Padrone (The Voice of the Master). Embracing a more direct, synth-pop style -- not too surprising given that keyboards were always his primary musical instrument -- Battiato found himself rewarded with an Italian smash, enabling his star to rise both at home and elsewhere in Europe. Since then, while he has not specifically revisited his earlier style in full, Battiato has continued to explore any number of musical styles and approaches in the present day. This includes a number of collaborations with orchestras and multimedia touring, notably including a visit with Virtuosi Italiani in 1993 to Baghdad to collaborate with Iraq's national orchestra, as well as works commissioned by his native Sicily to celebrate that island's rich history. Something of an elder statesman of Italian popular music as of the turn of the millennium, Battiato continues to record and perform, following his muse wherever it leads him.
Wikipedia:
Francesco (Franco) Battiato (born 23 March 1945 in Riposto) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes. His collaborations from 1994 onward with the nihilistic-cynical philosopher Manlio Sgalambro have added lyrical references to Emil Cioran, Friedrich Nietzsche and other anarchistic thinkers.
Together with Alice, Franco Battiato represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "I treni di Tozeur".
Biography
Early years and experimental period
Franco Battiato was born in 1945 in Riposto (in the former municipality of Jonia, that included also Giarre) in the province of Catania, Sicily.
At the age of 20 he moved to Milan and in 1967 he obtained the first musical contract. His single La Torre was released and Battiato appeared on TV to perform the song. He scored some success with the romantic song È l'amore. After further covers of pop songs, he met the experimental musician Juri Camisasca in 1970 and collaborated with Osage Tribe, an Italian psychedelic-progressive rock band. As a solo artist, he released the science-fiction single La convenzione (The convention), one of the finest Italian progressive rock songs of the 1970s.
Starting from 1971, Battiato devoted much of his efforts to experimental electronic music, producing a series of LPs that remained almost unknown at the time, but are now eagerly sought by collectors worldwide. Starting out with electronic Progressive Rock with some emphasis on vocals, his music became increasingly experimental, gradually moving into the realms of musique concrète and minimalism: Foetus (1971, its cover was censored), Pollution (1972), Sulle Corde di Aries (1973), Clic (1974) and M.elle le “Gladiator” (1975). Clic is a haunting yet largely conventional exploration in the electronic style reminiscent of Philip Glass and even German experimental rock band Can.
In 1975, he moved to the Dischi Ricordi label, producing Battiato (1975), Juke Box (1976) and the experimental L'Egitto prima delle sabbie (Egypt Before the Sands, 1977), which won the Stockhausen award for contemporary music.
National success
After the Ricordi label failed to re-sign him, Battiato signed with EMI. He abandoned the Prog Rock experiments of the previous years and moved to a more pop-oriented style which afforded him ever increasing popularity with Italian audiences. In this period his albums were usually in collaboration with the renowned musician and violinist Giusto Pio, whose two later albums were produced by Battiato.
After L'era del cinghiale bianco (The Era Of The White Boar, 1979) and Patriots (1980), Battiato obtained astounding success with La voce del padrone (His Master's Voice) in 1981, which was the first Italian LP to sell more than one million copies. The commercial success was confirmed by L'arca di Noè (Noah's Ark) in 1982. Songs like "L'era del cinghiale bianco", "Prospettiva Nevskij" ("Nevsky Perspective"), "Centro di gravità permanente" ("Permanent Gravity Centrepoint"), "Bandiera bianca" ("White Flag"), "Voglio vederti danzare" ("I Want To See You Dance") which were characterized by an original mix of middle-eastern melodies, lyrics which touched upon philosophical themes and electro-pop rhythms, established Battiato as one of the most popular musicians in Italy, with his strange mixture of Pop songs and intellectual attitude. Many of the songs of this era contained some lyrics in English and, most notably Arabic, a language that Battiato had started to study after a trip to Turkey. Battiato's albums were also released in Spanish and English versions.
Orizzonti perduti (Lost Horizons, 1983), which Battiato himself called a kipper, was followed by the successful Mondi Lontanissimi (Faraway Worlds, 1985), which featured a solo version of the popular "I treni di Tozeur" ("The Tozeur Trains)", originally a duet with Alice performed at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, the science-fiction/metaphysical "Via Lattea" ("Milky Way") and "No Time No Space".
1988's Fisiognomica (Physiognomy) sold more than 300,000 copies and it confirmed Battiato's success. The album, considered by Battiato himself his best work for the balance between music and lyrics, contained the hit "Nomadi" ("Nomads"), originally recorded by Alice and written by his old friend Juri Camisasca, who in the meantime had retired to a Benedictin monastery. The album also included the songs "E ti vengo a cercare", which was performed by director/actor Nanni Moretti in his 1989 movie Palombella Rossa, and "Veni l'autunnu" with lyrics entirely in the Sicilian and Arabic languages.
Come un cammello in una grondaia (Like a Camel In The Gutter, 1991), was divided into two parts, the second made up by classical German lieder. Among the pop songs, "Povera patria" ("Poor Homeland"), a poetical denouncement of Italy's lack of culture and honesty, became a kind of hymn of the civil society rebelling against the 1992 mafioso bomb attacks against judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
Pio and Battiato also worked as composers, musical arrangers and producers for several singers, including Alice and Giuni Russo, and for two of Milva's albums.
Starting from 1987, Battiato also produced several classical operas: Genesi (1987), Gilgamesh (1992) and Il Cavaliere dell'Intelletto (1994). In 1990 he also began to experiment with painting, initially under the pseudonym of Süphan Barzani.
Collaboration with Manlio Sgalambro
In 1994 Battiato began to collaborate with the Sicilian philosopher Manlio Sgalambro, who was to write almost all the lyrics of his following albums.
After the tentative L'ombrello e la macchina da cucire of 1995, in 1996 the duo published what is considered their best work so far, L'imboscata, containing the romantic hit "La cura" ("The care"), elected best Italian song of the year.
Gommalacca (1998, with an unusual stress on hard rock), Ferro battuto (2000) and Dieci stratagemmi (2004) continued on the same path, with variations mainly set by Battiato's unceasing desire for musical experimentation.
In 2003 Battiato released his first feature film, Perduto amor (Lost love), for which he also composed the soundtrack. The movie won the Silver Ribbon for the best debutant director. However, heavy criticism struck against his following movie, Musikanten, a rather experimental work about Beethoven's last four years of life. The German musician was played by the Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky.
In 2004 he hosted a cultural show named Bitte, keine Reclame for a satellite channel of RAI, the Italian state network.
Personal life
Battiato is not married; he had been very attached to his mother Grazia, who died in 1994. He prefers spending time in a personal retreat in Milo, a little town near Mount Etna, rather than socializing with the so-called "cultural elite".
