BASILICATA and CALABRIA

Now we head north west, to BASILICATA. First we pass through the city of MATERA where we can listen to a Gothic folk band called Lupi Gladius (MySpace) and to the martial folk Hautville (MySpace). Matera is also home to the theatrical, experimental Breznev Fun Club (Facebook), a band that has been active for many years before the release of a debut album in 2010, L'onda vertebrata.

Then we reach the capital of the region, POTENZA. Here we can listen to a psychedelic prog project called La Scentifica (MySpace) and to Ethn’n’Roll (MySpace), a young band formed in 2009 that blend Mediterranean influences with committed lyrics and a strange Oriental taste led by ukulele, bass and percussion.

Then we set off again, direction south west, leaving Basilicata for CALABRIA. We pass first through COSENZA, where a prog band called Aedos Cluster Of The Waterfall (MySpace) come from, then we pass through CROTONE, the city of birth of late singer-songwriter Rino Gaetano who in the seventies collaborated with Perigeo and Pierrot Lunaire. Our next leg is CATANZARO where we can listen to the heavy Citriniti (MySpace) and to some emerging bands such as Aridha (MySpace), Le Hibou (MySpace) and Nera Luce (MySpace).

Catanzaro is also the birthplace of Enzo Capuano (Official Website) who in the seventies released an interesting prog album, Storia mai scritta, and is now a well known opera singer.

Still heading west we finally reach REGGIO CALABRIA, the largest city in the region, where we conclude our short visit to Basilicata and Calabria. The city is home to prog bands such as Jet Leg (Facebook), LaBrain (Facebook), XII Icona (MySpace) and the metal influenced Akhenhaton (MySpace) while in the seventies the nearby town of Palmi gave us an excellent prog band called Apoteosi.