The Zen Circus

Active since the mid-1990s, The Zen Circus emerged from Pisa, Tuscany around Andrea Appino, who was joined by Massimiliano “Ufo” Schiavelli and Karim Qqru to form a trio balancing alternative rock and folk-punk. The band’s early recordings, such as About Thieves, Farmers, Tramps and Policemen (1998) and Visited by the Ghost of Blind Willie Lemon Jefferson (2001), were sung in English and relied on a raw energy inherited from punk, before a gradual shift to Italian that began with Vita e opinioni di Nello Scarpellini, gentiluomo (2005). The collaboration with Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes on Villa Inferno (2008) marked a step toward a sound more influenced by folk and the songwriting tradition. With Andate tutti affanculo (2009), Nati per subire (2011) and Canzoni contro la natura (2014), the group established a songwriting approach built on everyday narratives, provincial portraits and social commentary, supported by direct arrangements that are often acoustic yet firmly rooted in rock. The albums Il fuoco in una stanza (2018) and L’ultima casa accogliente (2020) continued this trajectory, adding more melodic nuances without abandoning the rhythmic urgency characteristic of The Zen Circus. On stage, the trio expanded through regular tours of clubs, social centers and festivals across Italy and Europe, culminating in participation in the Festival di Sanremo in 2019 with the song L’amore è una dittatura, which brought them to a wider audience while preserving the direct, rough aesthetic of their early days.