Magna Graecia was the name given to the southern Italian territories colonised by the Greeks around the 8th century BC.
Having found myself listening to a lot of Greek experimental music, from my favourite Cypriot minimalist Evagoras Karageorgis to Tasos Stamou’s brilliant pastoral drone electronics, I followed an imaginary path in my record collection through the references to the settlements of Magna Graecia (roughly corresponding to the modern regions of Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily).
Franco Battiato, a native Sicilian, reminds me of a contemporary Odysseus looking out to the sea as he sings, in his ‘Sequenze e Frequenze’ [Sequences and Frequencies]:
La maestra in estate ci dava
ripetizioni nel suo cortile
Io stavo sempre seduto sopra un muretto a guardare il mare
Ogni tanto passava una nave
ogni tanto passava una nave
Our teacher in the summer
tutored us in her yard
I would always sit over a little wall watching the sea
Every now and then a ship would go by
Every now and then a ship would go by
Maverick percussionist Toni Esposito from Naples features with his signature (kitchen) pan drums on his own ‘Processione sul Mare’ [Parade Over the Sea] and on Luciano Cilio’s ‘Secondo Quadro’ [Second Picture], while Apulia is sung by Claudio Rocchi in the psychedelic ‘Certa Puglia’ [A Certain Apulia].
Egisto Macchi’s track was the soundtrack of the TV documentary “Sud e Magia” [South And Magic], based on the writings of anthropologist Ernesto De Martino about the religious traditions and ceremonial magic of southern Italy.
Another highlight, at least for me, is the kosmische mediterranean piece by Telaio Magnetico, recorded live in Reggio Calabria in 1975 – not the most obvious city for a concert, off the beaten track today as it was then. Telaio Magnetico was a supergroup formed by Franco Battiato, Lino Capra Vaccina and members of the prog band I Giganti; they embarked on their first and only tour in 1975, playing only in southern Italy and improvising their entire set.
I had to include Xenaxis in the mix, so there’s some Greek noise to be endured before the melody explodes again, but well, let it be the metaphorical Scylla and Charybdis crossing before reaching safer shores.
Full tracklist below.
Photo by Anna Motterle.
Tracklist
Evagoras Karageorgis – ‘Hellispontos’ (Kenthmata, Moneda 2020)
Claudio Rocchi – ‘Apertura’ (Suoni di Frontiera, Ariston 1976, Die Schachtel 2017)
Tasos Stamou – ‘Poor Mum’ (Antiqua Graecia, Ikuisuus 2021)
Iannis Xenaxis – ‘Persepolis’ (1972, Electroacoustic Works, Karl Records 2022)
Franco Battiato – ‘Sequenze e Frequenze’ (Sulle Corde di Aries, Bla Bla 1974, Saifam Group 2025)
Toni Esposito – ‘Processione Sul Mare’ (Processione Sul Mare, Numero Uno 1976, Sony 2021).
Egisto Macchi – ‘Tappeto di Aerofoni’ (Sud e Magia, 1977, Soave 2020)
Luciano Cilio – ‘Secondo Quadro’ (Dialoghi del Presente, EMI 1977, Die Schachtel 2004)
Claudio Rocchi – ‘Certa Puglia’ (Rocchi, Ariston 1975)
Telaio Magnetico – ‘Reggio Calabria Parte I’ (Live 75, Musicando 1995, Black Sweat 2016)
Lino Capra Vaccina – ‘Elegia’ (Antico Adagio, Nō 1978, Die Schachtel 2017)
Tasos Stamou – ‘Epitaph’ (Antiqua Graecia, Ikuisuus 2021)
Franco Battiato – ‘Nel Cantiere di Un’Infanzia’ (Clic, Bla Bla 1974, Sony 2022)
