Vinicio Capossela

Born in Hanover in 1965 to an Italian family from Calitri in Irpinia, Vinicio Capossela has been part of the Italian song tradition since the early 1990s, writing that blends piano songs, cabaret, folk, singer-songwriter rock and Mediterranean popular traditions. He emerged with All’una e trentacinque circa (1990) and Modì (1991), then broadened his world on Camera a sud (1994) and Il ballo di San Vito (1996), where southern Italian, Balkan and maritime motifs were already present. With Canzoni a manovella (2000) and Ovunque proteggi (2006) his work took on a more narrative form at the crossroads of song, musical theatre and an imagination nourished by literature and popular culture. Subsequent releases — from Marinai, profeti e balene (2011) to Rebetiko Gymnastas (2012), Canzoni della Cupa (2016), Ballate per uomini e bestie (2019) and Tredici canzoni urgenti (2023) — continued this movement between folklore, Greek rebetiko, brass bands, blues and more stripped-down acoustic forms. Present on theatre, club and festival stages, Capossela has developed a body of work in which language, storytelling and collective memory occupy a central place.