concert and exhibit > HIT WEEK LA at the Italian Cultural Institute

Singer Roberto Angelini & violinist virtuoso Rodrigo D’Erasmo will perform songs from their record Songs in a Conversation, a tribute to the timeless British songwriter Nick Drake, known for his acoustic guitar-based folk songs.

Following the concert, there will be an opening reception for Enjoy the Silence an exhibition of music photography by Henry Ruggeri.

The celebration will continue with a special set by a D.J. from the Italian collective Body Funk.

This event is presented in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency, Los Angeles.

22nd Annual Week of Italian Language in the World
Under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy

ROBERTO ANGELINI made his debut as a songwriter in 2001 with the album “Il Signor Domani” (Virgin). In that year, he was invited to Sanremo Giovani with the song of the same name and won the “Mia Martini” Critics’ Award.

In 2003 he released the album “Angelini” (EMI), including the hits “GattoMatto” and “La Gioia del Risveglio”.
This album, much more pop than the previous one, made him known to the general public.
Shortly afterwards, he soon felt the need to return to his roots: he broke his contract with EMI and founded his own independent label (FioriRari). He released two records under his own name with FioriRari, “La Vista Concessa” (2009) and “Phineas Gage” (2011).

In the meantime, he resumed his activity as a musician, becoming very popular for his personal way of playing lap steel (Fabi, Silvestri, Gazzè, Planet Funk, Fabrizio Moro, Emma Marrone, Orchestraccia). Then, various parallel projects were born. The most successful and endurings ones are “Discoverland”, a duo founded with the singer-songwriter Pier Cortese that enjoys reinterpreting and mixing songs from the past and present, and a duo founded with the violinist Rodrigo D’Erasmo to celebrate and popularize a cult artist like Nick Drake.

From here a record will come to life, “PongMoon”, which would give rise to a multitude of events and connections that still persist today (for example the documentary “Songs in a conversation” directed by Giorgio Testi, presented in September 2019 at the Rome Film Festival and still airing on Sky Arte).

As a producer, he launched the music career of artists like Margherita Vicario, Andrea Rivera and Luca Carocci. He signed as co-producer “Tradizione e Tradimento” (2019), Niccolò Fabi’s successful and award-winning album, also participating in the long presentation tour of the album, as a permanent member of the band.

As a songwriter, he wrote the song “Calore” that launched Emma Marrone’s career, making her win the show “Amici” in 2010.

Since 2013 he has established his popularity alongside Diego “Zoro” Bianchi, at first on Rai3 with the program “Gazebo” and then on La7 with “Propaganda Live.” In 2021, he released his fifth album as a singer-songwriter, which includes the song “Incognita” and the single “Condor.”

RODRIGO D’ERASMO is a classically trained violinist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer.
Since 2001 he has recorded dozens of albums worldwide, collaborating in studio and live with numerous bands and artists including Mark Lanegan, Muse, Damon Albarn, Rokia Traoré and many others. Since 2008 he has been a member of Afterhours, with whom he won the critics’ award at the Sanremo Festival in 2009 and the Tenco prize in 2012.

In 2011 he was awarded by M.E.I as best musician of the year ever. He was a producer on X Factor in editions 10,11, 13 and 14 in Manuel Agnelli’s team. Since 2014 he has conducted the Sanremo orchestra for various artists including Diodato, with whom he won the Festival in 2020 with the song “Fai Rumore”. In 2021 he was conductor and arranger for four artists in the competition. He has composed soundtracks for movies and TV including the short film “Chiusi Fuori” with Colin Firth and Stefano Accorsi presented at the Venice Film Biennial in 2021. Rodrigo D’Erasmo has also composed numerous soundtracks for documentaries, including: “C’era 2 volte Rodari,” “Fantastic Mr. Fellini” for Sky Arte and “Art Raiders”, Sky hub’s latest international production. All the music is now part of a digital catalog that can be consulted for listening.

On February 25th 2022 “SONGS IN A CONVERSATION” was released (FioriRari distributed by Artist First), the new project by Roberto Angelini and Rodrigo D’Erasmo, a tribute to Nick Drake 50 years after the release of his latest record Pink Moon.

The release of the album was followed by a tour of Italy’s main clubs and theaters that will resume on July 23 with summer dates. At the end of May Rodrigo D’Erasmo, Filippo Timi and Mario Conte paid tribute to Pasolini with 3 shows full of words, voices, silences, music and lights: “Scopate Sentimentali. Esercizi di sparizione”.

Song in a Conversation was born from the desire to witness the great passion to the timeless Nick Drake, to pass on and introduce young musicians to his artistic and poetic legacy, full of fragility, lyricism and sensitivity, giving a contemporary and modern touch to restore the magic and dreamlike character of the original versions.

This second tribute, which comes after Pongmoon – Sognando Nick Drake in 2005, represents a profound interpretation and sharing of Drake’s counter-current themes and tones, in which the myriad impactful facets of the human soul emerge.

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HENRY RUGGERI doesn’t just take photographs. He is a photographer.
He has been portraying the music since 1988 when he met his idols, the Ramones, at a concert in Rimini by pretending to be a professional photographer. He now captures the same spirit of Rock ‘n Roll on stages around the world.

Since 2007 he has been the official photographer for Virgin Radio Italy. In the course of his 30-year career, he has followed the tours of music legends such as AC/DC, the Cranberries, Green Day, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Iggy Pop, Soundgarden and many others.

Henry Ruggeri’s shots come alive at every glance. The images, imprinted on paper, become living matter depicting the soul of music, those who makes it and those who listen and observe it.

Enjoy the Silence Henry Ruggeri is the shadow beyond the light, a small miracle. There are those who celebrate the collective ritual of the live show or the absolute intimacy of portraiture, but no one has ever united the two sides.

Ruggeri extracts the artists from their context, captures them on stage but isolates them from everything. He brings out their wonderful solitude, because the artist is alone even in front of thousands of people.

Ruggeri captures the moment when the deafening noise and blinding confusion become silence and peace, but only for the artists and those who speak the same language as them, while the audience happily immerses itself in the ecstasy of music.

Massimo Cotto Virgin Radio Italy