About Vinicio Capossela
Vinicio Capossela is an Italian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist.
Capossela is renowned for the highly original and poetic lyrics of his songs. Many of them draw from traditions of Italian folk music, especially those of his parents' native Irpinia, part of the Campania province.
Some of his songs — especially in the album Marinai, profeti e balene — are inspired by themes and legends from around the world and from world literature, such as Homer , Samuel Taylor Coleridge , Joseph Conrad , Herman Melville , John Fante , Oscar Wilde , Alfred Jarry and Geoffrey Chaucer . His musical style has been compared to that of Tom Waits. He also published translations of original songs by other authors, including Bob Dylan , Vladimir Vysotsky and Markos Vamvakaris .
Capossela was born in Hannover to Italian parents. His father Vito was from Calitri and his mother from Andretta, both towns in the Irpinia region of Campania. The name "Vinicio" was an homage to a famous accordion player whom his father admired.
At an early age he returned to Italy with his family, and they settled in the province of Reggio Emilia. Growing up, Capossela became popular in the underground musical scene of the Emilia-Romagna region. There he attracted the attention of Francesco Guccini, who introduced him to Club Tenco, an organization founded in 1972 to promote emerging songwriters. Capossela published his first album in 1990. It was followed by Modì and Camera a Sud . Capossela's big breakthrough came in 1996 with the album Il ballo di San Vito.
That was followed by Capossela's first live album, Liveinvolvo, released in 1998. It was recorded during three live concerts of the Il ballo di San Vito tour. It also features the Macedonian brass band Kocani Orkestar. In 2000 he released Canzoni a manovella, for which he won the Targa Tenco for the best album. Between this record and the following one, Ovunque proteggi , in 2004 he published his first book, Non si muore tutte le mattine.
In 2008 he released Da solo, recorded both in Milan and in the USA. The following year, he published a new live album that features a CD and a DVD, called Solo Show. It was recorded during the unique and spectacular Solo Show, that was inspired by American side shows. The experience behind the making of the record was included in his first film, La faccia della terra, directed by Gianfranco Firriolo and published by Feltrinelli in 2010.
Map & Directions To Venue
