Continuing our trek through Europe this week with a concert from Asiago, Italy by Baustelle – recorded June 30 of 2022 and broadcast by RAI Radio 2.
Formed in the mid-’90s in the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, Italy, Baustelle (a German word that means “construction site” – or “building site” in English) didn’t receive much mainstream attention for their first two albums, 2000’s Sussidiario Illustrato della Giovinezza and 2003’s La Moda del Lento. It was their third one, however, that finally brought them acclaim. Composed of leader Francesco Bianconi on vocals, guitar, and synths, Rachele Bastreghi on vocals and keys, Claudio Brasini on guitar, and Claudio Chiari on drums, the band released La Malavita on Warner Bros. Italy in 2005. Mixing the romantic sounds of British artists like the Smiths and Depeche Mode, with Italian composers like Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti and American acts like Television and Scott Walker, as well as with modern sounds of electronica and indie rock, the record gained immediate attention in the group’s home country, resulting in an extensive nationwide tour. In 2010 the band release I Mistici dell’Occidente and in 2013 Fantasma.
Following 2013’s Fantasma LP, Baustelle issued their first concert album, Roma Live!, in November 2015. A retrospective live set culled from various shows over the previous two years, the album also featured eclectic covers of songs by the Divine Comedy and French composer Léo Ferré. In January 2017, Warner Bros. released L’Amore e la Violenza, Baustelle’s synth-heavy seventh studio LP.
From their debut album ‘Sussidiario illustrato della giovinezza’ (Illustrated Compendium of Youth), to their latest album, ‘L’amore e la violenza, vol.2’ (Love and Violence, vol.2), via great classics such as ‘Charlie fa surfing’, Baustelle have distinguished themselves on the Italian music scene for having recounted contemporaneity with a revolutionary, direct, profound language and deliberately vintage sound, starting a real trend.
Dive in – crank it up and enjoy!
