With Glastonbury 2024 committed to the memory books, Festival season is forging ahead – but there’s always time to take a peek back at what we inevitably missed. Bar Italia making (I think) their debut at Glastonbury on June 29th and offering further proof of what UK Magazine The Face hailed as The New At To Watch in 2023.
Bar Italia, stylized bar italia, formed in London in 2019. The band consists of members Nina Cristante (vocals), Sam Fenton (vocals, guitar), and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi (vocals, guitar). Their name is derived from the Soho café Bar Italia.
So far, Bar Italia released two albums, one EP and multiple singles through World Music, the record label founded by London musicians Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland.
In addition to being noted as a “new act to watch” by The Face magazine, they were also proclaimed “rising star to look out for in 2023” by The Times. Their 2022 EP CDR was placed at number one on Gorilla vs. Bear’s list of the best EPs of 2022, and their track “Miracle Crush” was placed at number 13 on Crack’s list of the 25 best songs of 2022.
In March 2023, it was announced they had signed with Matador Records. They released Tracey Denim in May 2023, while their second album of the year, The Twits, released in November and was supported by European and North American tour dates. Both albums received “generally favorable” reviews according to rating aggregator Metacritic,[ with French cultural magazine Les Inrocks placing the two projects collectively at number 10 in their list of the best albums of the year. Allmusic called The Twits a reflection of the group’s growth “into an increasingly singular, expressive band”, and the record debuted at No. 36 on the UK Albums Chart, the band’s highest placement as of 2023.
Fehmi and Fenton also make music as a duo under the name Double Virgo, a reference to their shared astrological star sign. Since 2020, they have created a number of indie rock and shoegaze records together, produced by Vegyn and released via his label, PLZ Make It Ruins.
Nina Cristante has created lo-fi pop music under the alias Nina (stylized NINA), often collaborating with producer and former label mate, Dean Blunt.
Now you know – press Play and jump into Bar Italia’s set at Glastonbury and dive into the weekend:
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