Giovanni Di Domenico was a pianist, performer and composer. He was born in Rome on 20 July 1977. This period was markedly turbulent in socio-political terms. It saw hostile polarizations, an ostensive parmilitarism and mutinous ideologies, as well as terrorist attacks. The infamous title ‘Years Of Lead’ is now a common term for these events. The so-called “Movement of 1977”, a non-aligned group with no ties to Parliament or violence, entered the fray of conspiracy-steeped paranoia, condemning the authoritarian, discriminatory, and authoritarian tendencies of Italy’s State, and demanding equal rights for minorities. This period was also marked by the liberalization of the media markets, which ended RAI’s monopoly. It was also the peak time for pirate radio. The result was a libertarian fragmentation in youth culture, best exemplified by punk. —- Giovanni was self-taught up to the age of 24. He inherited the best qualities of that period in philosophy, politics, and art. This allowed him to diversify his actions in the context of a newly unified Europe. He also promoted improbable connections and explored diverse geographies. He also managed to comfortably maneuver aesthetical fringes and made a commitment live performance at its most liberating, engaging, and inspiring. Surprisingly, his path to this point took him on a surprising turn. He lived his first decade in Africa, until he was five years old in Libya and then until his eighth anniversary in Cameroons. Then he moved to Algeria, where he was ten years old. His distant native country wasn’t synonymous with civil unrest, but opera, which he learned with his siblings to practice the language and provide family entertainment. His expatriate status had a significant influence on his education. He clearly recalls the sounds of the muezzin and exotic instruments in local markets. He also remembers the ritualistic expression music he heard in Yaounde or the songs his Cameroons nanny sang to him. He enrolled in music school, majoring in jazz piano. This helped him to develop an encyclopaedic technique. His rhythm, harmony, and tone were informed by non-western traditions, but equally sensitive to Luciano Berio’s “Sequenzas”, Debussy’s “Preludes”, Cecil Taylor’s polissemic density, Paul Bley’s bruised transparency, and, of course, the most radical manifestations of the underground of pop music. A distinction, one might call it generational, he shares with many musicians he has met recently. We could enumerate Nate Wooley and Chris Corsano as well as Arve Henriksen and Jim O’Rourke. Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama or Joao Lobo are just a few of those we can enumerate. Silent Water is Di Domenico’s label. It features an eclectic, sometimes unclassifiable, production. He lives in Brussels. from https://goingband.wordpress.com
