With a new line-up and a more acoustic sound, it seems that the Sicilian band Agricantus has never been so good. Their new project "Akoustikos" is showing the band at a new top. I saw them live recently and....YES. The magical alchemy they create with the audience is your pass for a mystical adventure out of space and time. Thanks also to the new arrival, the amazing Anita Vitale on voice and piano. 

 

In the end of the 1980s, the music industry discovered that southern Italy had some wonderful productions to offer to the world. Hailing from Sicily, and rooted in the traditional music of a place that has always been a receptor to many cultures, Agricantus made their name in Europe blending Sicilian traditional themes with contemporary styles such as ambient and trance, before swiftly adding Arabic and North African influences to their Mediterranean melting pot. 

 

By 1996 they were looking even further afield, travelling to Mali to record the multi-awarded album "Tuareg" with local musicians - long before the successes of Tinariwen and the Festival In The Desert made such trips de rigeur. In 1997, their song "Istanbul" is included  in the sound-track of the famous movie "Hamam" by director Ferzan Ozpetek. In a decade, the band has released no less than 12 adventurous albums. 

 

The new album Akoustikòs (Vol. 1) was released in May 2018 by CNI Music. 

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