Composer Paolo Fosso and violinist Jacopo Bigi are classical-trained, but "classical" is not how they would describe themselves. Through their teenage years, they joined a few local bands playing a variety of genres and artists, from the Beatles to Dream Theater.
Armonite was formed in 1996. Though still in college, they released their first album in 1999, and performed a few dates live. They eventually split up, so Jacopo could follow his career as a classical violinist and violin teacher, while Paolo started working in the music administration. It wouldn’t be until 15 years later, that they would unite to form a new band while borrowing the name of their old one.
Paolo went straight to work and once he had composed enough tracks to make an album, Armonite came together as a transnational project. Joining Paolo and Jacopo was Porcupine Tree's bassist, Colin Edwin and Dutch drummer Jasper Barendregt. The production was scheduled to allow the recording of all materials remotely.
Things took a turn for the best when the first producer of Muse, Paul Reeve, accepted the offer to produce the entire work, with mastering at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Their album "The Sun is New each Day" was released in June 2015 after a production of about 6 months. Armonite has already published the videos of Suitcase war, "Die Grauen Herren", "Le temps qui fait ta rose", "Insert Coin", and "Bastian's Happy Flight". With more videos in the pipeline.
"The Sun is New each Day" is an exciting mix of electric violin, keyboards, bass, and drums, including amazing participation by Porcupine Tree's bassist, Colin Edwin and Dutch drummer Jasper Barendregt. "Working with a team like this is fantastic,” says Fosso, composer of the album, "Everyone’s unique skills and talents added something special to the album and the final result is powerful. We tried to give the album one sonority, but also characterize each track with a different setting".
“For example, in the song 'Suitcase war' you’ll see a rejection of how our life has changed after becoming workaholics. Whereas 'Insert Coin', featuring 8-bit sounds by Swedish demoscener Anders 'Goto80' Carlsson, is a tribute to 80’s and 90’s arcade coin-ops.”
Each track captures the various passions found in the band. “Satellites” is a reflection on space exploration and technology, “’G’ as in Gears” features Samuel Gomper’s famous speech, “What does the Working Man Want?” and “Die Grauen Herren” recalls the Men in Grey from Michael Ende’s novel, Momo.
"The Sun is New each Day" is a whirlwind of sounds, themes and emotions. "Connect Four", a track composed by Bigi, finds its sound in a protest against gambling addictions. While the track “Sandstorm” is a look at the living energy that can be found in Marrakech. “We hope the album connects you to the world around you,” says Fosso, “Tracks like 'Le temps qui fait ta rose' from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery suggest ‘It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.’ Yet, the track 'Slippery Slope' explores that unclear side of the human soul.”
The band’s hopes and goals go well beyond the free release of their album. "Releasing our tracks for free is a way to instantly share this music we all love so much," says Bigi, "But what we really want to do is bring these tracks live. In order to do this, we need to show how great our fan base is.”
For more information www.armonite.com