Mannarino

Mannarino is the stage name of Alessandro Mannarino, a singer-songwriter from Rome, born in 1979. His work draws on Italian popular music while also incorporating Balkan and Roma musical elements, with references to surreal, Fellinian and circus-like imagery in his lyrics. His songs often focus on dreamlike, tragicomic figures such as clowns, drunks and lovers.

Career

He begins performing in 2001 in the Monti district of Rome, where he appears in sessions that combine DJing and acoustic live performance. In 2006 he forms the five-piece band Kampina, with trombone, bass, accordion, drums, violin and guitar, and this period marks a more established phase of his career, including performances in major clubs and venues in the Italian capital.

His early work includes collaborations outside music as well. With writer and actor Massimiliano Bruno, he creates the show Roma di notte, staged as part of the LET theatre programme at the Cometa Off in Rome. He also appears at events and venues including Villa Celimontana for the Jazz Festival, the Festival Decò in Salento, and the Off section of Castel dei Mondi, the international festival in Andria, where he is the only Italian guest. He performs in settings such as Teatro Eliseo in Rome for Soul Food: Incontro su cibo, arte e sostenibilità ambientale, and appears on radio programmes including Radio Città Futura, Viva Radio 2, and Radio Popolare. He also sings in the Regina Coeli prison.

Recordings and releases

His first album, Bar della rabbia, is released in 2009 on Leave and distributed by Universal Music. He performs at the Primo Maggio concert in Rome in 2009, takes part as actor and musician in the film Tutto l’amore del mondo with the song “Me so ‘mbriacato”, and contributes music for films through a collaboration with Fandango.

Recognition and other appearances

Mannarino is a finalist for the 2009 Premio Tenco in the category for debut albums by emerging artists. In the same period he appears at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo and contributes a new theme tune for the Radio 2 programme Vasco de Gama, presented by David Riondino and Dario Vergassola. He also appears on television in Serena Dandini’s Parla con me, performs at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome for Repubblica Roma Rock as a special event of Generazione X, and appears at the Teatro Ambra Jovinelli in the show Agostino.