La Batteria’s Tossico amore, a tribute to composer Detto Mariano and the soundtrack he did for Claudio Calligari’s Amore tossico (Toxic Love) in 1983 has just been released by Italy’s Penny Records. The album of original and reworked music was inspired by the cult film that realistically explored Italy’s “junkie generation.” Players include Emanuele Bultrini on guitars and mandolin, David Nerattini on drums and percussion, Paolo Pecorelli on electric bass, and Stefano Vicarelli on piano, Hammond C3, Mini Moog, Fender Rhodes, and several other instruments.

Side A of the LP includes “M1,” “M29,” “M2,” and “M3,” with “M11,” “M21,” “M17,” and “M35” on the flip side. The album was recorded by Paolo Pecorelli at Studiosette and mastered by Simone Sciumbata at Telecinesound, the latter facility owned by none other than Maurizio Majorana, the bass player from I Marc 4. Both studios are located in Rome. The band also produced the vinyl, CD, and digital download release.

Tossico amore begins with a series of heavy themes drawn from the gritty, hardcore world of heroin use. This transitions into a sound reminiscent of classic 1970s Italian prog rock, with added sonic elements from several genres of popular music from the 1980s including New Wave and Synth Pop.

A video for La Batteria’s “M1,” the opening track on Tossico amore, was filmed by Valerio De Berardinis and Piero Perilli:

At this time, “M1” is the only album cut from Tossico amore online although it is quite likely new videos will be uploaded as the band promotes the new album on a summer tour that starts tonight in Genoa and continues through August.

Composer Detto Mariano’s 1983 Amore tossico soundtrack has also recently been released by Penny Records, the first time it has been available in any format.

La Batteria’s Tossico Amore Tour 2016

La Batteria is on the road from June through August. The following is a current listing of confirmed dates and venues of the band’s summer touring schedule:

• 10 June – Lo-Fi, Milan
• 11 June – Blah Blah,Turin
• 17 June – FEM in the Club, Polvese Island
• 23 June – WOW Festival, Como
• 25 June – MAS Festival, Avellino
•  6 July – Pop – Sagra Urbana, Genoa
•  9 July – Roma Brucia 2016, Villa Ada Roma Incontra il Mondo, Rome
• 16 July – Red Bull BC ONE Camp Italy, Cesenatico FC
• 23 July – Arzibanda Festival 2016 – XX edizione, Capistrello (AQ)
• 30 July – MAGDA Beach Club, Baia Domizia (CE)
• 19 August – MAT laboratorio urbano, Terlizzi (BA)
• 20 August – Sagra del Diavolo, Lecce

Check La Batteria’s facebook page for the latest information about performances.

More Music from La Batteria in 2016: Fegatelli

In March 2016, La Batteria released Fegatelli, a remix album that features seven tracks by the Rome-based quartet. The digital-only release includes new mixes of “Chimera,” “Persona Non Grata,” “Vice Versa,” and two for “Chimera,” all compositions that first appeared on the La Batteria debut album the previous year.

The first two tracks, “Superbum (Replay)” and “Derrick Theme” are non-album tracks that have not been released before.

La Batteria’s “Superbum (Replay),” written by Emanuele Bultrini, David Nerattini, Paolo Pecorelli, and Stefano Vicarelli and featuring Bultrini on electric and acoustic guitars, Nerattini on drums, Pecorelli on electric bass, Vicarelli on clavinet, Hammond C3, and Minimoog, plus Ernesto Lopez Maturell on congas and bongos, is on SoundCloud:

Another of this correspondent’s favorite cuts on the pay-what-you-want release at Bandcamp.com is “Derrick Theme,” an original composition by Les Humphries that, like “Superbum (Replay),” was recorded at StudioSette in Rome, produced by the band.

The track showcases Emanuele Bultrini on classical and electric guitars, whistle, and glockenspiel, David Nerattini on drums and percussion, Paolo Pecorelli on electric bass, and Stefano Vicarelli on Hammond C3 organ, Minimoog, Modular Synth Dot Com 66, Prophet 12, and prepared piano. The track was also used in Game of Songs by Rockit.it.

La Batteria’s “Derrick Theme” is on YouTube:

All seven tracks from the Fegatelli album are HERE.

La Batteria Debut LP Released in 2015

In 2015, the four musicians of La Batteria released their eponymous debut LP, an album of original music using vintage instruments that channeled Italy’s golden age of soundtrack music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Acknowledged influences include Alessandro Alessandroni, Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, and bands such as Goblin and I Marc 4.

Among the dozen tracks on La Batteria, an album initially intended as a library album for one of Romano Di Bari’s Flippermusic labels, is “Formula,” a composition co-written by Bultrini, David Nerattini, Paolo Pecorelli, and Stefano Vicarelli.

A video for La Batteria’s “Formula,” featuring Patchani Brothers, is online:

Besides studio versions, La Batteria has also recorded several of the La Batteria LP cuts live in concert. This includes “Formula” and “Vigilante,” recorded live at Teatro Quirinetta in Rome on 21 March 2015.

The video was shot and edited by Gabriele Gianni and Paolo Barberi.

La Batteria’s smokin’ live version of “Vigilante” from their debut LP is on YouTube:

La Batteria’s David Nerattini and Stefano Torossi

Before co-founding La Batteria with Emanuele Bultrini, Paolo Pecorelli, and Stefano Vicarelli, David Nerattini worked on several projects with Stefano Torossi including Costanza Records’ Musica per commenti sonori: Check Up and Rai Trade’s Sport & Travel, both released in 1999.

The Costanza Records’ album has recently been reissued as a digital download with the original cover, along with the dozen other Musica per commenti sonori CDs issued by the Italian label between 1994’s Musica per commenti sonori: World Scenes and Musica per commenti sonori: Indian Pictures, released in 1999. Each album was produced by Stefano Torossi.

In 2015, the album was reissued by Flippermusic’s Deneb Records as a digital download. Both of these versions, which also feature Federico Arezzini, Sandro Brugnolini, Fabrizio Fornaci, Claudio Gizzi, Piero Montanari, and Claudio Scozzafava, are currently available.

A video for David Nerattini and Stefano Torossi’s “Existential Torment” is here:

David Nerattini and Stefano Torossi also collaborated on “Indianapolis,” a track on Rai Trade’s 1999 library music compilation Sport & Travel.

The CD, produced by Torossi, also features Federico Arezzini, Sandro Brugnolini, Pierluigi Campili, Attilio Casati, and Marco Vannozzi.

David Nerattini and Stefano Torossi’s “Indianapolis” is on YouTube:

A closer look at some of the musical highlights of David Nerattini, including finding out more about his position with Flippermusic, is located in an exclusive interview HERE.

And one more from La Batteria, “Chimera,” a composition by Emanuele Bultrini, David Nerattini, Paolo Pecorelli, and Stefano Vicarelli released in 2014 that is the opening track on their first album.

A video for La Batteria’s “Chimera” is online: