Hailing from Romagna, Italy, Sacri Cuori is led by guitarist/producer Antonio Gramentieri and plays (mostly) instrumental, topographical music that mirrors the varied terrain of their experiences whether that be a Rimini beach full of nostalgia and desire or the barrens of the Mojave Desert in the dead of winter.
Their sound palette is defined by a moody, Adriatic twang, falling somewhere between the old time dance music of their native Romagna and Lynch’s Mulholland Drive; between vanished innocence and dark dreams of the future; between Santo & Johnny and Ry Cooder (or Brian Eno). Of course Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are also present, as are Riz Ortolani, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Armando Trovajoli and other maestros of Italian film music’s golden age. Over their previous three albums Sacri Cuori have created a sensuous cinematic ouevre that has led them towards live and recorded collaborations with an inspired cast of characters: Calexico’s John Convertino, Dan Stuart (Green on Red), Hugo Race (Bad Seeds, Dirtmusic), Robyn Hitchcock, Italian heroes Vinicio Capossela and Il Pan Del Diavolo. David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, James Chance, PJ Harvey producer John Parish and many others… In 2014, Sacri Cuori composed and performed the original score for ‘Zoran – il mio nipote scemo’, a cult movie that received several major awards from the Venice Film Festival. The soundtrack itself was awarded ‘best soundtrack of the year’ at the Est Film Festival.

This album was crafted over the last two years in a series of sessions where the band consciously stretched the definition of who they are. While still primarily an instrumental affair, the album introduces the resplendent voice of Carla Lippis, the last Italian diva, who Sacri Cuori met in Australia and brought back to her ancestral homeland (and language). She sings in both English and Italian. Other vocalists include French chanteuse Emmanuelle Sigal and Howe Gelb of the famed American cult band Giant Sand. As always Sacri Cuori is more like an enlarged family than a fixed ensemble and other guests include Evan Lurie (Lounge Lizards & Roberto Benigni’s soundtracks) on keyboards, guitar pioneer Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth on drums and members of the Mexican Cumbia sensations Sonido Gallo Negro.

Vinyl version includes download