All Stories (RSS)
Gaudi
Name:.................... GaudiProfession:.............. Music Producer
Style:................... Unclassified
Location:................ London UK
DOB:..................... 12-07-63
Distinguishing Features:. Noticeable Reggae Mania
Gaudi's eclectic style and versatility has kept him at the forefront of his field throughout a noteable and prolific career. His music, which is an organic fusion of dub, world and nu-beat, is in production, on the playlists and regularly being performed live in the UK and internationally.
He has been stretching the boundaries of music since the start of his career in the early eighties. From a very early age however, Italian born Gaudi cultivated his obsession with music by constantly searching for and experimenting with new forms of sounds and grooves. A classically trained pianist with a fascination for anything that could produce sound distortion, his musical foundations were set in electronic and reggae music.
www.gaudimusic.com
www.myspace.com/gaudimusic
Gaudi Biography
Gaudi's been up to rather a lot over the last 20 years...
80s
Gaudi's professional career started in 1981 in Italy as a keyboard player in the band Wild Planet with the creation of a new music style fusing new wave and ska . His leaning toward the unconventional became apparent early in a high speed Guinness Record-esque collaboration - Paranoise - it was formed one morning, an album was recorded that afternoon and the band split that night!
His first steps in electronic music where taken two years later with the band Red Light and in 1985 he joined Violet Eves , a band with an important role in the Italian underground music scene. Their sound combined electronic, punk and traditional melodies. That same year Gaudi was contacted by reggae band Bamboo Company who gave him the opportunity to develop his production skills and also specialised his music knowledge in what was to become the heart and soul of his style from then on - Reggae music.
The band had a part in the movie Sold out, and the title track was co-written by Gaudi. Contacts were made on this project that led to another part in another film 'La settimana della sfinge'by director Daniele Lucchetti. Little by little Gaudi gained recognition in the music underground scene for his production work and started to be approached by other bands for studio production and collaboration work. This included work with The gang, Crocodile tears, Disciplinatha , and a project with producer Roberto Vernetti co-writing a track for XXX skateboard magazine .
In 1986 Gaudi and three members of his previous band Bamboo Company formed Raptus, the first Hip Hop band to use Italian lyrics. They released the single 'Peggio della colla'with the Indie label Multimedia Attak Punk Records and were soon noticed by Italian popstar Vasco Rossi and his production team Terryball . They produced their next single but although expectation for the project was high unfortunately exposure was low and the band split.
This left Gaudi free to follow his passion for reggae music and he began his first solo project as a singer, under the name Lele Gaudi with the creation of the first Raggamuffin album to be done in the Italian language. In 1988 the project was finished and Gaudi encountered his first taste of a boundary that was not ready to move; record companies were uneasy with the concept of an untried formula and unwilling to take the risk of releasing it. Gaudi however strongly believed in this project and spent the next 2 years meeting companies to find an appropriate record deal. During this period he also spent time in Jamaica , testing his project and getting valuable feedback on the quality of his work; it was well received.
Back in Italy , he teamed up with producers Ricky Rinaldi aka Ohm guru and Frank Nemola and formed a production company called Tubi forti. Together they produced many indie bands like Deep signs, Xango, Africa bosso and eventual icons of the Italian hip hop scene Isola posse all stars. This versatile production team also released many dance tunes under different names, like National Rare Groove, Dr Muff & crazy stuff, 4t thieves 'Etnotechno'(Gaudi's first experiment using world music with a fusion of Egyptian chants and electro funk).
90s
Two years on from the initial knock-backs Gaudi's belief payed off and he signed his first major record deal with Polygram for his solo project. His first single 'Maliniconico love'was recorded in London featuring the Ragga artist Crucial Robbie and the video which followed was given major attention by MTV.
Gaudi's debut album 'Basta poco'was released in Italy in 1991. Massive national media exposure culminated in the winning of his first award as 'Best Italian New Coming Artist 1991'.
Gaudi's second single '1990 anni fa'was released later in the year by Polygram/Mercury and was promptly banned from Vatican City due to its ‘sensitive content'. Needless to say this did nothing to harm record sales!
For the tour that followed the success of the album, Gaudi was backed by reggae band WDX guided by Antonio Testa , one of Gaudi's most important collaborators. This was the beginning of 4 years of continuous touring and live performances with major international reggae artists including: Ziggy Marley, Third World, Sister Carol, I Three, Sweety Irie, Half pint, The Wailers, Yellowman, Freddie Mc Gregor, Mutabaruka, Maxi Priest, Shinehead and Jimmy Cliff . All the while he continued to develop and create.
By 1992 Gaudi was becoming an established figure in the Italian music scene and his next single 'Magari'was a top ten hit. The video was also a regular on the MTV playlist. 1992 also saw the release of the politically controversial single 'Legala'by To-sse , a landmark collaboration between many of the major names in the Italian underground scene of which Gaudi was one.
In 1993 Gaudi added his signature to a collaboration with socially conscious popstar Ricky Gianco (well known for his upfront social commentary). The exposure gained from this project, firmly established Gaudi as a household name.
His second album Gaudium magnum was released, and the tag Lele Gaudi became simply Gaudi. The single 'Andavo a 100 all'ora'and the video were well received, also this single reached the top 10.
The serious issues raised in his music, such as racism, political injustice, social unease, generated support for Gaudi from many high profile organisations such as
Greenpeace, Amnesty International, WWF, Mir sada, Telefono azzurro, Cuba estamos contigo, Do it for children and Lila.
In 1994 Gaudi wrote a vocal Ragga part for the single 'Lei sta con te'for pop singer Francesco Baccini and also co-produced the track with music producer Glezos .
At this point in his career, Gaudi felt the need to expand his music skills and started to study a new instrument, the Theremin, which was to become Gaudi's instrument of choice in all his live performances as well as his studio work. Besides looking like no other instrument, the Theremin is unique in that it is played without being touched .
Pulling together previous influences and flavours Gaudi started experimenting with the Theremin in dub and world music, releasing 9 tracks under the name Dub Alchemist. The single 'Restrospective 'was released on Irma records , two tracks were chosen by Ohm guru for his debut album 'The groove improver', all the other tracks are part of various compilations. (see compilations ).
This new style and musical freedom suited Gaudi and he was drawn to pursue this new avenue. Being an artist with a need for constant evolution, Gaudi found that with the production of a considerable volume of work and 4 years of touring, he had pushed the boundaries as far as the Italian music scene would allow and was beginning to become constricted...
In order to prevent stagnation and artistic compromise, in 1995 Gaudi made the decision to move to London where access to a growing international and more groundbreaking music industry would allow him to continue to develop both artistically and professionally. This was not a decision taken lightly as it meant leaving all previous success behind and practically starting over.
The space and freedom to work with new mediums that Gaudi found in London turned out to be the catalyst needed to prompt the start of a key project that was later to become 'Earthbound '. A new chapter started in Gaudi's life.
One of his first projects in London was a collaboration with dj/producer Angel Eno, - Terra terra was the result and they released the single 'I want to break free 'by Los Angels as well as remixing Janet Rushmore .
The early days in London were challenging, with time and energy being split between writing and production and the daunting task of re-establishing a presence in a completely new scene, with new peers and new audiences. Bit by bit however Gaudi made new contacts in the music industry and built up his profile in the UK producing artists and bands such as: Lippy Lou, Valerie Malcolm, Tangina Skye and Jackie Quinn .
Gaudi had laid the foundations for his ‘new chapter'and his next task was to set up Metatron Studio London which is his current creative HQ and the studio from which the majority of his music is produced. At this time he also founded the production company Sub signal . Gaudi was also still exploring the frontiers of his field and wrote and produced a concept album 'Ultraviolet 'with Pauli Atzei. Ultraviolet is an ambient psychedelic journey into the human body mixing electronic elements with the sounds and rhythms of the body; today its sound is fresh and innovative.. then, it was ahead of its time and has sadly never been released.
Gaudi had risen to the challenge of re-establishment and in November 1996 he reached No.1 in the UK dance chart with Terra terra remix of Cool Jack 's 'Jus'come'(AM PM Records). This was followed in 1997 with No.15 in the UK Chart with Mansun - 'Taxloss'and a No.3 UK chart hit with Peter Andre - 'All about us 'in 1998.
All this bought Gaudi recognition for his work as a remixer and in the following years he remixed an impressive line up including: Lamb, Simple Minds, Artful Dodger feat. Romina Johnson, Kinobe, Dusted, Trilok Gurtu, 1 giant leap, Africa Bambaataa, Apachi Indian, Shpongle, Almamegretta, Elisa among others (See remix section for full list).
Since 1997 Gaudi has got busier and busier, producing many tracks and albums for artists like: Native Soul, Moni, Romina Johnson, Nerise, Recycle, Rey, NTT, Caroline Henderson, Str8 Playaz, Masq, Lia, Kiren Vibes among others (see productions section for full list). He has also written and produced soundtracks for many TV programs including the 'MTV Europe Music Awards 1998', and music for TV commercials for Sony Playstation, Longines watches, Fiat, Seat, Energie, Fiorucci and 'The Express'newspaper.
In September 1999, after 3 gold discs and 1 silver, Gaudi's highly acclaimed fourth album 'Earthbound'(Antenna/Bustin'Loose) was released worldwide. Earthbound is a dub journey inspired by our planet, a musical melting pot of influences ranging from Indian ragas to African chanting and from Jamaican chatting to Italian melodies, it has one unifying element however which is Gaudi's devotion to reggae and dub. The album featured 39 artists from around the globe, including Jamaican Ragga artist General Levy , Indian singers Kiren Sambhi and Sonal Varsani , Sardinian voice virtuoso Tenores di Neoneli with Trio Cocco, and Antonio Testa who provided the track 'Stalagmite', which was recorded in a cave playing natural stalagmites!
Earthbound gave Gaudi worldwide sales recognition and the exposure led to many tracks appearing on various compilation albums (see compilations list).
A massive tour started where Gaudi could promote his live new formula of music without frontieres, with Indian and Jamaican vocalists,Sitar player, on stage VJ, natural organic percussion ,Theremin, Moog, Tape echoes and seriously fat 'trademark'bass-lines!!
00s
Following his passion for knowledge of different world cultures, 2000 saw Gaudi heading to Africa to experience first hand the lifestyles and culture of indiginous communities. Not only was his time in Burkina Faso a deeply profound experience personally, it was also a time when he connected with many talented musicians and started recording the beginings of his album 'Bass, sweat & tears'.
Another important event of 2000 was when Gaudi met DJ Pathaan (www.pathaan.com), one of the biggest exponents on the World music scene. They decided to create a project together that mixed Pathaan's refined music taste with Gaudi's experience in production and live performance. Thus Orchestral World Groove 'OWG'was born. A record deal was signed with Music for Dreams followed by a world-wide promotional tour that continues to attract and build a loyal following.
Gaudi and Pathaan now do regular live performances worldwide and have performed at many major music festivals such as The Big Chill (UK), Dreamdaze (Ibiza), Gatecrasher (UK), Roskilde (Denmark), Skol Beat (Brazil), Arezzo Wave (Italy), Chillennium (Ibiza) among others.
Aside from a busy schedule of performances, production and writing, 2001 saw a return to the movies for Gaudi with the remixing and production of a track from the Italian movie 'Luna Rossa 'by Sergio Capuano which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. He also co-wrote a few tracks for the soundtrack of the movie 'Cuore scatenato 'by director Gianluca Sodaro , with Raiz and Paolo Polcari from Italian band Almamegretta .
Two further movie projects followed in 2002 as Gaudi wrote the soundtracks for 'High Speed'by Hollywood director Jeff Jensen and 'The Ride'by UK director Andrea Strand . He also wrote the soundtrack for the theatre play 'My beautiful laundrette 'by Hanif Kureishi . This year also saw the production of the album 'Recreational'(Sub Signal 2002) released under the name 'Weirdub'one of Gaudi’s side projects, this time in collaboration with Dr Cat and Polcari and featuring bass legend Bill Laswell.
2003 started very well with Gaudi producing for historic band Simple Minds, a version of 'The man who sold the world ', by David Bowie. This work highlighted Gaudi to Jim Kerr with whom Gaudi then became involved with on another project called 'Innerworld '(Absolutely records).
He also produced a track for The Dum Dum Project 's new album, featuring OWG.
With Pathaan he remixed one of the pioneers of the Asian underground scene Black Star Liner , as well as the much talked about 1 Giant leap. He also co-wrote the track 'Mastani'with the Indian classical singer Swati Natekar (Featured on the OWG Album 'The Message') .
Summer 2003 saw Gaudi working on a number of different projects and a significant one being the final touches to his fifth solo album 'Bass, sweat & tears '. This new album is an organic fusion of dub and nu-beat with a global mix of influences, inspired by native cultures from around the world. Deep sensual bass-lines and seductive rhythms unify the album giving it what is now a trademark ‘Gaudi flavour'. He also co-produced with Ed Bigland (Twisted Records) the track 'Fron on front'(Tribe records) from Ghanaian percussionists Kakatsitsi.
Gaudi also found new ground to break in the form of a collaboration with Italian classical composer Massimo Nunzi on a symphonic/jazz interpretation of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest 'for 20 piece Jazz/Classical orchestra infused with live electronic input and manipulation. On stage are many of the major exponents of the world jazz and Italian pop scene such as: Gianluigi Trovesi, Mederic Collignon, Gianluca Petrella, Paolo Damiani, Ada Montellanico and Niccolo Fabi. The Tempest started touring in summer 2003.
Things continue to go from strength to strength with many diverse and high profile projects marking the start of 2004... The Phunk Investigation remix of Gaudi's track 'Sufani' was released on vinyl in February and went straight to no.1 in several DJ Charts and a second vinyl release is on the way with remixes by Adam Freeland, Redseal and Tripswitch. February also saw Italian rock star Irene Grandi select 3 tracks written and produced by Gaudi in a joint project with Riccardo Cavalieri for her new album.
From rock beats to Yogabeats (www.yogabeats.com) Gaudi continues to explore new avenues in a colaboration with yoga innovator and teacher David Sye. Together they are developing a new concept of yoga with music. Currently monthly events are held at London's Cobden Club where the pair put on an 'evening of ultimate chill' with yoga, music, alternative therapies and healthy food, all served up in the informal and relaxed environment of the club.
Gaudi's most most prized project to date came when he was asked to remix the track 'Soul shake down party' (Universal Music) by musical legend and the undisputed king of reggae Bob Marley. Universal recently signed a 10 year deal with Jad Records giving them access to Jad's catalogue of early works by Bob Marley and the Wailers spanning the years 1967 to 1972. Gaudi's remix will be submitted with others for a new Bob Marley box set.
Colaborations continued, with Gaudi having recently co--produced the track 'Walking in the snow' for The Egg and Red Seal giving Gaudi's track 'Sufani'the once over with a very Red Seal remix which is featured on their debut album 'Black Ops'as 'Voices from beyond'. On the live front Gaudi is working on a unique collaboration with French musical inventor Michel Moglia and his unique fire organ (www.orgue-a-feu.com). Their first performance was a spectacular double performance at The Coliseum, Rome - where they performed 'Elemental'- an 'opera of electricity'for fire organ and theremin composed and performed by the duo - to an international audience of more than 350,000. for more info see Press Release page.
Gaudi's 5th solo album 'Bass, Sweat & Tears', released worldwide by Interchill Records - www.interchill.com - in October 2004, has been a huge success and is now the labels best selling release to date. Summer 2005 saw the ablum reach no.2 in the I-Tunes European Chart and no.32 in I-Tunes USA .. (see album release section for press information and reviews). Tracks from the album are so far featured in 32 compilations with 2 film soundtrack licenses having been signed already (2 tracks were featured in Pooja Bhaat's Bollywood 'film noir''Rog' as well as appearing on the oficial CD soundtrack); One of the tracks 'Sufani'has also been used in the Indian Film 'Fareb'.
Gaudi's track 'Lasciala Andare', written for Italian rock star Irena Grandi in 2004, was released in spring 2005 as the first single on her new album. It went straight into the Italian charts and has stayed there since.. including 4 months in the top 10. it continues to receive massive radio airplay and has become a favoured 'sing along'for packed stadiums on Irena's album tour!
The 2005 'Bass, Sweat & Tears summer tour'saw Gaudi performing both solo and with his band 'The Live Dub Laboratory', completing a busy schedule of performances at clubs and festivals around the UK and Europe including Glastonbury, The Glade, Rotom Reggae Sunsplash, Sonica and Omni festivals...
In October 2005 Gaudi's latest work CONTINVVM was released: created in collaboration with percussionist and Sound-therapist Antonio Testa (www.antoniotesta.info), Continuum is a concept album blending experimental electronica with organic elements released worldwide by legendary UK label Em:t Records (www.emitrecords.com). The album is now no.3 in the I-TUNES European Electronic chart. For more information on CONTINVVM please see the Official Press Release on the press page.
As well as his own work Gaudi was also involved in a memorable studio collaboration with dub legend Lee Scratch Perry and highly respected producer Dennis Bovell. His role, with fellow producer Charlie Redseal, was in the programming of new drum parts for the remakes of three iconic Bob Marley tracks: 'Kaya', 'Sun is shining' and 'Funky reggae party'.
Back in his own studio he is currently producing a series of tracks featuring the legendary vocals of 'Pakistan’s Premier Ambassador of Qawwali Music'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, due to be released in 2006.
2006 was kicked off by a great collaborative album release between Gaudi and one of the legends of ambient music Pete Namlook (www.namlook.de); Their first collaboration together, 'Re:sonate', combines Pete’s ‘trademark’ lengthy meandering structures and spacey pads with Gaudi’s dub vibes and unique ‘home-grown’ sounds, producing an end result that is both very Namlook and definitely Gaudi at the same time! Recorded at Klanglabor Hodeshof, Germany, in November 2005, it was released worldwide on 23rd January 2006 by FAX Records...
This year of collaboration also saw Gaudi working on a new track with Greg Hunter (formerly of electronic legends 'The Orb'and a hugely respected producer in his own right), as well as a track with London electro-dub duo 'Sounds From The Ground'(www.soundsfromtheground.com)- 'Palmprint' was featured on their album 'High Rising' (Waveform Records). Work also began on the production of the debut solo album from Ashtech 'Walkin'Target' (also co-written by Gaudi) which includes 4 tracks featuring the inimitable voice of 'Cheshire Cat'from legendary production team Leftfield.
Gaudi's first compilation 'Sub Signals vol.1' - a selection of prime dub cuts from a pedigree stable of artists, was released by Interchill Records in November 2006 with immediate positive feedback. In and around his studio work a long and successful 2006 world tour had Gaudi dubbed by international press as 'one of the freshest and most innovative sounds around'...
2007 looks to be another busy year for Gaudi, both as performing artist and studio producer... With 11 solo albums to date, 250 music productions, 80 remixes and more than 100 compilations featuring his tracks he is an artist much in demand... another busy and high profile international tour is scheduled and further collaborations are on the go and in the pipleline! The Ashtech album is due for worldwide release in May (Interchill Records) and another important collaboration will hit the shelves at the end of the year as Gaudi features on Hardage's debut album 'The five doubts' alongside Peter Gabriel, Mark King (Level 42), Michael Franti (Spearhead), Maxi Priest and Jocelyn Brown.
Gaudi's own very special project 'Dub Qawwali' featuring the amazing vocals of the 'Pakistans premier ambassador of Qawwali music'Nusrat Fate Ali Khan... in dub.. will be released worldwide in August by Six Degrees Records... he is also currently working on a new up-tempo album - aimed for release in 2008 - fusing dub, breakz and new wave, bass n beats, old and new - it promises to be a purveyor of dancefloor devastation!
Written: 27th May, 07
Read: 1780 times
