Biography
Areasud Electric Roots is a musical collective formed in Catania in 2023 as a parallel project of Quartetto Areasud, active in Sicily since 2010 in folk and world music, with the addition of Palermitan producer Alfredo Giammanco on live electronics.
The ensemble ventures into unexplored territory by infusing electronics and improvisation into themes from Sicilian, Calabrian and Mediterranean popular tradition, and pushes the boundaries between ethnographic research, contemporary listening and performative gesture.
The line-up features Maurizio Cuzzocrea (chitarra battente, marranzano, frame drum, vocals), Franco Barbanera (friscalettu, keyed bagpipe, Galician gaita, flutes), Giampiero Cannata (bass and mandola), Mario Gulisano (frame drums, bodhrán, marranzano, vocals), Marco Carnemolla (bass, vocals) and Alfredo Giammanco (live electronics).
Young composer Mattia Cavallaro worked on the string quartet arrangements of some traditionally-inspired themes, contributing to an original rereading of popular material in dialogue with electronics.
In 2024 the self-titled album "Areasud Electric Roots" was released. The collective is active on the main Sicilian jazz and world music circuits, with performances at Monk Jazz Club in Catania, the Soundscape series and Zampognarea.
