Marco Masini
Marco Masini (Florence, September 18, 1964) is an Italian singer and musician. He was known in the 1990s for his daring and extravagant way of singing[citation needed]. One of its greatest virtues is his voice due to his vocal range, which reaches, according to experts, musical notes that are difficult to reach. The critics acknowledge his significant gain in length, with maturity, in addition to virtuoso rhythmic sense, interpretive strength and a tone of voice that stands out among the popular singers, being rated as one of the largest and by others as the best popular singer in Italian twentieth century[citation needed]. Accompanied by guitarist Riccardo Cherubini, Marco Masini is one of the creators of a new perspective with his verses, a fusion of classical music, rock and blues[citation needed].
Marco Masini has become one of the greatest icons of Italian pop of the last 20 years. Among his musical achievements we can highlight T'innamorerai, Disperato, L'uomo volante, Dal buio, Malinconoia, Ali di cera, Cenerentola innamorata, Bella Stronza, Niente d'Importante, Ti Vorrei, Principessa, Caro babbo, Vaffanculo (sic), Vai con lui and Perché lo fai. In Asia, songs like "T'innamorerai", "L'uomo volante" and "Dal Buio" are successful to this day. Particularly in Brazil, are successful songs "L'amore sia con te", "Dal Buio", "Voglio Volare." Marco Masini is a solo artist with the highest number of "hits" on the charts worldwide.[citation needed]
Early Years
Marco Masini was born in the city of Florence, in the region of Tuscany, on September 18, 1964.[1] His mother, Anna Maria, sang and played piano, and was an elementary school teacher before she quit the profession to have a life at home with the family. His father, Giancarlo, worked as a representative of hairdresser products.
When Marco was three years old he received a toy piano as a Christmas present. The little boy showed an instant interest in music and soon he began attending music classes.
During high school he created, along with friends, a music group called Errata Corrige. In the meanwhile, his lack of interest in studying, made him leaving high school when he was 16, causing problems within his family.
For a time, Masini worked with his father as a representative. In 1980 the family opened a bar in Florence. Sadly, the fights between Marco and his father increased, causing his mother great suffering.
Some years later, she discovered to have a cancer and her husband was forced to sell the bar. Marco left to serve in the army (military aircraft in Florence), and one day after his return on August 22, 1984, his mother died, to the deep sadness of Marco, who always regretted the fact that he could not be close to her in her last moments.
In his early years of his career he did know the record producer Giancarlo Bigazzi who introduces the young musician in the music business, as collaborator of artists like Raf and Umberto Tozzi. Eventually, in 1990 he participated in the 40th edition of popular Sanremo Festival with one of his signature songs, Disperato, winning the first prize as new artist of the year.
Fame and Consecration
After a third place, now among the main competitors, in the 1991 edition of Sanremo Festival with Perché lo fai (a controversial song about an addicted young woman), Masini, now an emerging star, releases his second album, Malinconoia (a pun word coined by the artist indicating a mixture of melancholy and boredom, in Italian malinconia and noia), that becomes a big hits in the Italian charts, despite the somber mood of most of the record. Malinconoia music video, taped during a concert at Palaeur in Rome, won the first prize in the category "Best live video" during the 1991 edition of Riminicinema festival.
The title track is presented during the popular summer music competition Festivalbar in the long playing records category, being eventually awarded with the first prize.
The year 1993 was released the album T'innamorerai, the record that creates the bases for the international success of Masini. The song that introduces the LP, Vaffanculo (literally fuck off), generated a lot of controversies and it was banned both by most radio and television networks. In an interview for the newspaper Corriere della Sera, Masini claimed that the v-word was dedicated to "the liars and who calls me 'prophet of the depression'"[2] and the song contained also some harsh verse directed to the record labels and their policies.
In the meanwhile, Marco became an international sensation. With a style both in music than in lyrics that synthesized his diverse musical influences, challenged conservative society and many prejudices of the time[citation needed], Marco opened a new path in Italian music and popular culture. The album T'innamorerai became a huge hit, with over a million of copies sold worldwide.
In 1995 (January), the fourth album was released, Il Cielo della Vergine in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the Spanish version (El Cielo de Virgo) in Spain and Latin America. For this album he was criticized again, this time because of two songs Bella Stronza ("Beautiful Bitch") and Principessa ("Princess"), both very direct and explicit.
In 1996 he published L'Amore Sia Con Te, a compilation of his greatest hits, with the new song that gives title to the album and Meglio Solo, an old song, released originally as the B-side of the single Disperato. This collection was also released in Spanish speaking countries as Mi amor allí estará, presenting a slightly different tracklist. During the summer, the tour called L'amore Sia Con Te occurred.
In 1997, fellow singer-songwriter Enrico Ruggeri called him to sing La Gente di Cuore, included in the Ruggeri's album Domani è un altro giorno.
After nearly four years of silence, on November 12, 1998, the Scimmie ("Monkeys") album was released by Ma label. Ma, founded by himself, Mario and Marco Manzani Poggione. This new album was a major turning point in the production, which played in front of the public with a new look: white hair and beard. But mostly, he said the separation of Bigazzi, Marco's old teacher, who had marked the beginning of his musical career. The disc is a harder rock and the lyrics are generally less sentimental, but more airtight, with Scimmie, Marco said he wanted to recover music from the 1970s, he loved and that was back in fashion: the views of critics was strangely positive, but not the public opinion, that decreed the album's commercial failure.
References
- ↑ Simonis, Damien (2006-03-01). Florence. Lonely Planet. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1-74059-809-5. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1993/gennaio/13/Masini_mio_vaff_bugiardi_co_0_9301133693.shtml In Italian
External links
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