Eraldo Bernocchi

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Eraldo Bernocchi
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
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Born = Italy
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Instrument = guitar
Genre = Avant-garde Art-rock Ambient Dub Electronic Experimental
Occupation = Musician, Producer, Arranger
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Associated_acts = Somma, Ashes, Sigillum S, Verba Corrige Productions, Interceptor
URL = http://www.eraldobernocchi.net
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Eraldo Bernocchi is an Italian musician, producer and sound designer.

History

Bernocchi's musical career started around 1977 at the age of 14, when Eraldo started playing guitar with independent punk bands. In short order though, he found that he felt the medium was too limited and he started moving towards experimental electronic-based music. In 1985, together with Paolo Bandera and Luca Di Giorgio, he created the audio conceptual project Sigillum S, an ongoing project that exists to this day. Concurrently between 1987 and 1992, Eraldo also worked as a general manager for tourism in the Far East for a leading wholesaler company. This position enabled him to travel frequently, bringing him in contact with other musical expressions and cultures, as well with eastern shamanic traditions. This had a deep influence on his future work. During this same period, Sigillum S also became an international cult act and Bernocchi started branching out into other musical ventures, such as (what was initially a solo project) Ashes.

In 1993, together with his wife, the visual artist Petulia Mattioli, Eraldo created the cultural project Verba Corrige Productions. VCP’s aim is to provide different artistic forms a permanent laboratory where the interaction between all these forms would be complete and limitless.

Soon after the creation of VCP, Eraldo expanded the cadre of musicians he would work with to include such as sonic-terrorist Mick Harris (of Napalm Death, Scorn, and Lull), Jim Plotkin (of Old) and bassist/producer Bill Laswell. These collaborations have up to this day provided an array of releases and shows. Along with the aforementioned artists, the last 15 years have seen collaborations with musicians and artists including Harold Budd, Russell Mills, Toshinori Kondo, Raiz, Almamegretta, Thomas Fehlmann, Zu, DJ Olive and a host of others.

The late 1990s into the 21st century also saw Eraldo composing film music (such as in 2000 for the Oscar winner Gabriele Salvatores’ film "Denti"), as well as work for advertisements. Additionally, Eraldo created music for national television for Europlis, Telecamere, and Elisir. He has also been involved in the sound design for a number of art installations including those done by Petulia Mattioli and Russell Mills.

Presently Eraldo has a number of projects both completed and ongoing including Black Engine (Eraldo + ZU, and featuring Mick Harris as second live drummer), production and remix work for Ephel Duath as well as other collaborations ongoing with Laswell, Kondo and others.

Notable projects

igillum S

Sigillum S was born on 23 December 1985. The project has had, since the beginning, the aim to be totally against the logic of the “band". It was conceived as an open structure in which people could work and research different subjects.

Formed by Eraldo Bernocchi, guitars, electronic treatments, voice and programmation, Paolo Bandera, electronic treatments, bass and voice and Luca Di Giorgio, keyboards; the project has always been a double faced creature, mixing together on the same level precise ritual/ethnic aspects with a violently noisy music. In the ensuing years, Sigillum S has studied and researched on a multitude of matters, from politics to philosophy, from deviant media to ritual traditions ... Since the beginning, Sigillum S had as path to be followed the knowledge and the total war against any kind of limit or taboo, refusing any kind of relationship with political/religious structures. Particularly during the first 10 years they toured quite extensively through all Europe and Canada, taking on stage a multimedia attack based on videos, slides and artworks used as a part of the stage.

Having pared down along the way to consist of only Eraldo and Paolo as core members, they collaborated with different groups in different situations, like: Ain Soph, The Sodality, Gerstein, Iugula-Thor, Dive, Outoff Body Experience, the sculptor Milo Sacchi, the multimedia/artist PM.Koma and many others.

After a slew of releases through their first 15 years, they released the album "Abstraction" on Daft Records. This proved to be their last release for a number of years. Finally in 2007, Verba Corrige has announced the completion of "23/20", a celebration of the history of Sigillum S. The release will be done in two different formats (Digipak CD and gatefold vinyl) featuring different track lists and sequences for each. The release will feature all new material and collaborations with artists such as Toshinori Kondo, Bill Laswell, SH Fernando/WordSound, Prof. Shehab/Baboon Records, Martino Nicoletti, Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari, Zu, Xabier Iriondo, Ephel Duath, various members of Crisis, Mark Solotroff, Thomas Fehlmann, Gudrun Gut, Andrea Marutti, Claudio Agostoni and many others.

Ashes

Ashes was started in 1990 as a solo project. The basic idea was to produce works that would be out of context for Sigillum S, as Ashes is a very personal project, based on a strong individual introspection. The first release was recorded between 1990 and 1992, finally being released on the newly founded Verba Corrige label. This release, entitled "Ashland" was based on the guitar treatments, which are often used as a mantra for newly born mind paths.1996 saw Ashes grow beyond the context of a solo project to include the bass and production of Bill Laswell and vocals of Raiz from Italian group Almamegretta. After a silence of almost 10 years, the project returned with a new album called "Unisono", expanding on the core trio to include contributions from Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari, Antonio Denti and Paolo Mongardi.

IMM

SIMM was a short-lived beat and bass oriented project in a slightly similar style to Mick Harris' Scorn project, whom Eraldo had played a batch of live shows with. The project released one full-length release on Mick Harris' short-lived Possible Recs label as well as a 12" on the same label. Additionally, the moniker provided some tracks for a few compilations from around the same time period.

Releases:
"Welcome" (Possible Recs)
"Nowhere" 12" (Possible Recs)

Compilation appearances:
'Black Loop' and 'The Perfect Shadow' featured on (Ion Records)
'Backstage Sonic' and 'Bathroom Elephant' featured on (Ion Records)
'While You Sleep' featured on "Gone Too Far!" (EST Records)

omma

The Somma project was conceived by Petulia Mattioli and Eraldo Bernocchi. The concept behind Somma is the real interaction among different cultures with the aim to contaminate and explore ancient traditions connecting new electronic music and technology with jazz, dub, and mantric concepts.

Unlike several so called "world music" issues and experiments, Somma aims to have real interaction between different worlds, both sonically and visually. This approach rejects the traditional meaning of the moniker "world music" and avoids ethnic cliches, proposing that each event held be different, where participants will be building a sonic and visual ritual using both ancient and modern tools. Ranging from acoustic to electric to electronic, Somma aims for the creation of new rituals for a contemporary age, the interaction of the sacred and dub, a digital mantra for a new sacred ground.

Entirely improvised, every event/concert of Somma ties together two theoretically distant worlds using interaction between eastern and western musicians who look for a different concert/event for each performance. Tibetan culture is not at all used as a folkloristic or curious event, as too many times happens in the west, but as living part of the creative process. Visuals are also totally improvised and constructed in real time according to what is happening musically on stage to close the circle erasing any difference between past and future.

Since 1996 Bernocchi and Mattioli involved well know New York producer/bass legend Bill Laswell and start to work on the first studio recording of the combo together with 7 Tibetan monks. The album, "Hooked Light Rays" came out for Low Records, a division of Pete Namlook's Fax label, gaining positive reviews. In 1998 the album was reprinted by Felmay/New Tone an Italian label specialized in traditional/modern musics.

With the encouragement of Musica 90, one of the most renowned booking/production agencies in Europe, Somma's first public appearance took place on November 26 1996 at Teatro Regio in Torino Italy in front of 1600 people.

Line-up:
Eraldo Bernocchi - treated guitars and electronics

Bill Laswell - bass

Petulia Mattioli - stage design and visuals

Oz Fritz - sound engineering and space dislocations
7 tibetan monks - vocals, horns, bells, drums

In 2001, on occasion of the official visit of H.H. The Dalai lama, Somma performed in Trento at the Centro Santa Chiara theatre, in front of a gathering 2000 people.

Line-up:
Eraldo Bernocchi - treated guitars and electronics

Bill Laswell - bass

Petulia Mattioli - stage design and visuals
7 tibetan monks - vocals, horns, bells, drums

Stefano Cecere - visual assistant

Hamid Drake - drums

Gigi - vocals

Toshinori Kondo - trumpet

Raiz - vocals

Oz Fritz - sound engineering and space dislocations

This show was released as part of a limited edition delux package set in 2007 on Verba Corrige.

Somma continues to grow and expand, most recently playing on May 28, 2007 at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan adding Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari, Nils Petter Molvaer and the vocal group Faraualla to the mix.

Parched

Parched is Bernocchi's new ongoing ambient project combining synths and guitar. This project involves Eraldo Bernocchi and Davide Tiso, guitar player and founder of Ephel Duath (1998). The aim of the artists in this collaboration is to avoid to reveal who they really are and the music they are part of to see and read how a potential audience could react to their music. Until now, they have made one track together, called "One". The band is also collaborating with the two film directors Christophe Thockler and Florian Guillemin on the soundtrack for a short film currently in post production.

Rare Noise

It's recently been announced that Eraldo and two partners have created a new record label to be based out of the UK, called Rare Noise. A new Charged has already begun recording in Bill Laswell's Orange Music Studios. Along with the core of Bernocchi, Toshinori Kondo and Laswell, drummer Guy Licata and others have been added to the line-up. Other releases slated are the aforementioned Parched project, a live recording from Somma taken from a 2007 show in Milan, and archival and new Sigillum S material.

External links

* [http://www.eraldobernocchi.net Homepage]
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* [http://www.sommaproject.com Somma Homepage]
* [http://www.ashesproject.com Ashes Homepage]
* [http://www.sigillum-s.com Sigillum S Homepage]
* [http://www.black-engine.com Black Engine Homepage]