Spaccanapoli band
Encyclopedia
Formation and identity
The band was founded in 1999 by violinist and composer Antonio Fraioli and vocalist Monica Pinto. It was named after SpaccanapoliSpaccanapoli (street)
Spaccanapoli is the main street that traverses the old, historic center of the city of Naples, Italy. The name is a popular usage and means, literally, "Naples splitter"...
, a street that traverses the ancient city centre of Naples.
In 2004 the band changed its name to Spakka-Neapolis 55.
Performances and recordings
In 2000 the band released the album Aneme Perze – Lost Souls on Peter Gabriel'sPeter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
label Real World Records
Real World Records
Real World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...
.
In 2001 it opened two concerts given by Manu Chao
Manu Chao
Manu Chao , is a French singer of Spanish roots . He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages...
in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Naples, and in September of the following year it opened two world premiere concerts for Peter Gabriel's album Up
Up (Peter Gabriel album)
Up is the seventh studio and 13th album overall released by the British progressive rock musician Peter Gabriel.-Pre-release:In the Spring of 1995, Gabriel began work on the album. Its name was Up from the start, though at one point it was considered to be called I/O...
.
In 2003 the band won the Miroir Award (Prix Miroir) for World Music and Traditions at the Quebec City Summer Festival
Quebec City Summer Festival
The Festival d'été, or Summer Festival , has been taking place annually since 1968. It is organized by groups of businesspersons and artists of Quebec City in order to show the artistic, economic, and tourist potential of the region...
.
In June 2004 it performed again with Peter Gabriel in Genoa.
In 2009 the band released the album Janus, on which Alim Qasimov
Alim Qasimov
Alim Qasimov is an Azerbaijani musician, and one of the foremost mugam singers in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of the highest international accolades for music. His music is characterised by his vocal improvisation and represents a move...
performed as a special guest.
Television and theatre
In 2001, the American TV series The SopranosThe Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
used the song “Vesuvio” from the album Aneme Perze – Lost Souls in the episode "The Weight".
In 2005, the music of Spakka-Neapolis 55 was used by New York's Theater for a New Audience for a show entitled Souls of Naples, written by Eduardo De Filippo
Eduardo De Filippo
Eduardo De Filippo was an Italian actor, playwright, screenwriter, author and poet, best known for his Neapolitan works Filumena Marturano and Napoli Milionaria.-Biography:...
and directed by Roman Paska. The play was staged at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples, in New York and in Paris.
In 2007 the songs “O’Mare”, “Santa Notte” and “Mmiezo a Festa” were used in the first two episodes of the TV series “The Long Way Down”, produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.