Stefano Saletti and Piccola Banda Ikona (Italy)

Stefano Saletti and Piccola Banda Ikona brings together some of the most important musicians of Italian world music to play the music of the Mediterranean. The band features original compositions sung in Sabir, a lingua franca which sailors and other sea-going folk on the Mediterranean used in the ports to communicate with each other until the early decades of the 20^th Century, incorporating terms from Spanish, Italian, French and Arabic. The group’s latest recording, titled Folkpolitik, contains Saletti’s original compositions and arrangements of tunes by Mediterranean authors who, through their music, have described the struggle against power, suffering, persecution, arrests and violence.It is a journey back in time to rediscover the different types of music that tell the stories about the suffering and passion of the Mediterranean people. The band includes: Stefano Saletti (bouzuki, oud, guitar, vocals), Barbara Eramo (vocals), Ramya (vocals), Carlo Cossu (violin), Mario Rivera (acoustic bass) and Leo Cesari (drums and percussion).