From Terlizzi, in the Bari district (South Italy), MUNICIPALE BALCANICA comes back on the music scene with its infectious enthusiasm, releasing a brand new album: Road To Damascus.

The group from Puglia, follows the path of their first effort Fòua (2005), a rich and ingenious synthesis of Eastern Europe sounds and Mediterranean flavors, adding for this occasion an opening to Middle Eastern melodies. The countless live shows (many of them abroad) have strengthened and sharpened their sound, allowing the MUNICIPALE BALCANICA to express itself with more and more inventiveness, even if inside some definite musical boundaries. In Road To Damascus the instrumental precision gives a strong verve to the traditional tracks (Kolomeika, Artigiana di luma, Usti usti baba), always arranged with an attentive eye to jazz and improvisation. The saxes of Armando Giusti and Raffaele Piccolomini, the trumpet of Paolo Scagliola, the clarinet of Michele de Lucia manage to preserve the truly popular inspiration, which remains the great strength of the group, completed by Raffaele Tedeschi (guitars), Giorgio Rutigliano (bass), Luigi Sgaramella (drums) and Nicolò Marziale (percussions). The group sings as a collective most of the tracks, including the lyrics of Orso ballerino and L’aria migliore, which open up the perspectives of the band in the songwriting field. We also have to draw attention to their reprise of Contessa, an archaic proto punk track written and presented at the Sanremo Festival by Enrico Ruggeri in 1980 with his group, Decibel. Different situations and moods make Road To Damascus particularly interesting, with its strong rhythmical lines and its brass improvisations. Mandolin (Alessandro Paparella), accordeon (Giuseppe Volpe) and violin (Francesco Moneti) are all welcomed guests, precious additions to the sound palette. And, as a bonus, there is also the modern remix of Hava nagila and Caravan, two tracks from their first album.