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Subsonica

About:

Subsonica is formed in the summer of 1996, in Turin, out of members of Africa Unite and Amici di Roland. The band is completed with drummer Ninja (who amongst others played with Ornella Vanoni) and Pierfunk who had cooperated with artists like Loredana Bertè and Marcella Bella. In spring the single ‘Istantanee’ (Snapshots) is released followed by the debut album ‘SubsOnica’. In the same year they are contacted by Antonella Ruggiero who asks them to rework two Matia Bazar tracks (‘Il video sono io’ and ‘Per un'ora d'amore’) for her album ‘Registrazioni Moderne’. One of the tracks is turned into a single and means a breakthrough for the band to a wider audience.

In 1999 they record their second album called ‘Microchip emozionale’ The album would quickly get the patinum status. In the same year Pierfunk leaves the band and is replaced for Vicio. In 2000 they enter San Remo with the track ‘Tutti i miei sbagli’ (all my mistakes) but finish eleventh. The single however is a big hit. The video for third single ‘Discoteca labirinto ‘ is a cooperation with Italian bands Bluvertigo and Elastico. The band becomes more and more popular also due to their explosive live performances. With the album ‘Amorematico’ (02)  the relationship with their record company  La Mescal gradually gets worse. In 2004 (after a combined single with metal act Linea 77) they want to switch to EMI. Mescal holds them to their contractual obligations so the band delivers two new instrumental album, considered by the Mescal as "albums with only noise". The story ends with mutual complaints. In 2005 two albums are simultaneously released. The compilation ‘SUBurbani 1997-2004’ on their old label and ‘Terrestre’ on EMI. The single ‘Corpo a corpo’ shows however which way the band wants to take with a more elaborate sound. The video, with the band’s faces and bodies, stacked and distorted, is in the charts for 3 months in a row and a best selling single. In the same year they are invited for the TV show ‘Rockpolitik’, the Adriano Celentano program aired on RAI.

In 2006 they celebrate their tenth anniversary with a free show on Piazza San Giovanni in Rome watched by 200.000 people. In October 2006 they participate in the project protesting the G8 in Genua. A free sampler is sealed in with the news pamphlet Il manifesto with the Subsonica track ‘Come se’ (As if). The alternative Traffic festival in Turin is one of the initiatives of the band and in 2007 they perform a cover of Franco Batiatto, ‘Up patriots to arms’, with the maestro himself. At the end of 2007 the new single ‘La glaciazione’ announces the upcoming album ‘L'eclissi’ (The new Eclipse). In 2008 their track ‘Canenero’ is chosen by Amnesty to accompany their human rights campaign. September 2008 saw the birth of a second compilation called ‘Nel vuoto per mano 1997/2007’ with the new single ‘Il vento’ (the wind). In 2009 they join legendary singer Mina on her album 'Fragilè'. In 2011 they make a strong return with the more pop orientated 'Eden' after a lengthy recording proces at a farmhouse near Turin.

From 2015 they take their liveshows also to other European countries doing a regular clubtour. In 2019 they celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Microchop Emozionale with a rework album where new upcoming artists join in for a duet on each song. The album is released as Microchip Temporale.

On the web:

- Subsonica's website: http://www.subsonica.it

What do we think:

DB: Subsonica's electro-rock maybe reminds listeners to the music of The Prodigy. However where this British act comes from the rave scene and makes music that is focussed on the dance floor Subsonica is more focussed on delivering a song. You could say they are a mediterraennean variety to the electro rock that was popular mid nineties. I saw the band in a small bar in Groningen during the Eurosonic festival of 2005. The room was filled with me and 30 Italian fans. It was in fact so small that i had to positione myself somewhere under the keyboards. Which turned out to be unwise since the thing moved as much as the band itself. No matter how small the audience they gave it all that evening with a flaming showcase. That's the spirit.

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

MIA (Germany)

Darkwood dub (Serbia)

Albums:

♪♪♪ - SubsOnicA - 1997

♪♪♪♪♪ - Microchip emozionale - 1999

♪♪♪ - Amorematico - 2002

♪♪ - Terrestre - 2005

♪♪♪ - L'eclissi - 2007

♪♪♪♪- Eden - 2011

♪♪♪♪♪ - Una nave in una foresta - 2014

♪♪♪ - 8 - 2018

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided