Tazenda
Murales

TAZENDA MURALES - 1991 - DE SA ZENTE, SOS DOLORESNON SI PODEN’ CANZELLARE. CHERIDES A NOS CAGLIARE? VIDA LONGA A SOS MURALES! 07-12-1990

And so came the day when Tazenda decided to take the big leap. After years spent backing various Italian singers like Gianni Morandi and after an excellent debut, which had reasonable success at a regional level, Tazenda appeared at Sanremo. For what it may matter, the Sanremo audience showering them with a minute and a half of roaring applause is not something that everyone experiences.

On that occasion, the song Spunta La Luna Dal Monte was performed in duet with Pierangelo Bertoli, but three-quarters of the success is attributable to Tazenda. In fact, the Sardinian version of the song is decidedly superior (both versions are included in the album anyway). The most beautiful thing about that distant 1991 was hearing half of Italy sing the chorus and wonder: "But what is UNU DILLO??".

Tazenda will always have this limitation imposed on them due to singing in Sardinian. The CD is dedicated to the Sardinian tradition of painting murals on the walls of houses, usually depicting facts of current events or politics. In Sardinia, the mainlander is often represented as a conqueror, one who comes, plunders, and leaves, but here we will talk about music. Supported by Parodi's wonderful voice, the three Tazenda make extensive use of launnedas, Sardinian fisa, and muttos, managing to intertwine tenores singing with rocking guitars, and Parodi's voice blends perfectly with those of Marielli and Camedda, always leaving the listener with a strange wonder on their lips. Mamoiada - the opening track - is the poignant tale of the feud that took place in those years in Mamoiada, a clear invitation to let go of enmity and grudges, trying to keep the door of the heart open ("apperri cussa janna apperri apperri" - open that door open open). However, Martelli's lyrics are almost always bucolic, describing rural life and in some cases delighting in their musicality. "In Sas Nues Tuas (in your clouds)" becomes a nice reggae piece precisely thanks to the Sardinian phonetics, it would sound really bad in Italian. And between launeddas and choirs, the work closes with the rock of Naneddu, a strong denunciation against a politician from the past. With this work, Tazenda found themselves projected into the splendor of Italian music, though slowly, they returned to being predominantly a regional group. The first work of Tazenda was written in collaboration with Marras (another disappeared talent in Italian music), while in this one they come under the protective wing of a certain Fabrizio (De André), and so it will be for the subsequent work Limba. These three works are the minimum to understand this group now forgotten by most.

"Apperri cussa janna e fache loco a mie"