LINEA 77

With the directness of the bus line they are named after, Linea 77 rocketed from their birthplace of Venaria (Torino) to become Italy's premier rock band, conquering not just Italy but all of Europe and indeed, practically the whole world along the way. Beginning in 1993 by covering songs by Rage Against the Machine and CCCP, the band toured constantly, which allowed them to cultivate a dedicated fan base, as well as develop their sound. Based on the strength of their supremely dynamic live show, they appeared in front of 8000 people at the now defunct Beach Bum Festival in Jesolo within a year of their first raucous cry.

In July 1995, Linea 77 recorded their first record : "Ogni Cosa Al Suo Posto (Every Thing In It's Place)." Self-produced, fiery, and resolute, reviews were uniformly positive and it quickly sold out all 500 copies. 1996 brought a deal with Dracma Records and the release of the band's second record, "Kung Fu", a collection of outtakes from "Ogni Cosa Al Suo Posto." Again, reviews were good, paving the way for the band's signing with Collapse Records of Milan and the November 1998 release "Too Much Happiness Makes Kids Paranoid," the band's first national release, which sold over 2000 units. 70 concerts over the next year expanded their faithful core.

International acclaim began with the inclusion of a Linea 77 song on Canadian compilation INHALE vol.2 – “Liquid Subdual”, which also included tracks by more established artists such as NoMeansNo and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Underground success brought interest from abroad, most notably from Nottingham, England's Earache Records, who offered the Piemontese quintet a contract and worldwide distribution. "Too Much Happiness Makes Kids Paranoid" was remastered and rereleased with new artwork in April 2000, with a limited edition vinyl being published in Japan, which, like the earlier Italian releases, quickly became a collector's item.

A British tour followed, with Nitto, Emo, Dade, Chinaski, and Tozzo playing 23 concerts with Earthtone9 and Kill2This. The concerts, along with the rerelease of "Too Much Happiness....", garnered positive attention from the British press, while the video of "Meat" was shown daily on the MTV UK programs "Brand:New" and "Superock."

2001 saw Linea 77 bring their "happy-core" to a new level. "KEt.CH.UP SUi.Ci.DE" was released and its eleven tracks refined their sound, a robust rock-n-roll crossed with a surprising melodicism. Recorded at Backstage Studios in Ripley, UK with Dave Chang (Earthtone9, Orange Goblin, Stampin Ground, etc.), "KEt.CH.UP SUi.Ci.DE" saw the quintet create an incredibly hard sound that was also very listenable, underlined by a streak of irony, as exemplified by their cover of the Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian," which got playlisted at Radio One, XFM, and TotalRock Radio. The album made top 10 on NME's independent charts, while Rocksound Italia placed the band on the cover of their November 2000 issue. The band made two videos for the record, one for the title track, the other for "Moka," which became an anthem for Italian fans.

The fearsome five spent the next two years touring behind "KEt.CH.UP SUi.Ci.DE", playing over 250 shows all over the Europe, including some of the biggest festivals both in Italy (Heineken Jammin' Festival and Tora! Tora!) and abroad, topped off by an appearance at England's Reading Festival in 2001.

After the hard work following "KEt.CH.UP SUi.Ci.DE", it was perhaps inevitable that Linea 77's next album would see them rise several levels up the rock ladder. "Numb", recorded in Senigallia and produced by Haggis from Senser, realized that promise when it was released in May of 2003. First single "Fantasma" quickly became a new anthem for devoted fans and went into heavy rotation on MTV Italia, placing the band once and for all in the Pantheon of Italian rock. Finally they had overcome the Italian public's general resistance to all things hard and metal, aided also by the collaboration with compatriots Subsonica on third single “66 (Diabolus in Musica)”. Between the two releases, "Third Moon" became a hit single in English.

The buzz around the band led to a featured slot at MTV Day 2003 in Bologna, where it was generally acknowledged that they blew the other bands off the stage. This was then surpassed when the band were invited to play the prestigious Primo Maggio festival in Rome's St Peter's Square on May 1st 2004 in front of an estimated audience of half a million, plus a worldwide TV audience. As the Summer of 2004 turned into Autummn, the band also notched up an appearance at Brand:New Day at the Tora! Tora! Festival in Rome in September 2004 and a nomination for Best Italian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in October 2004, confirming their position as best-loved indie band in Italy.
"Numb" has been released in three versions:
• the first 5.000 copies had a bonus DVD with behind the scenes footage of the recording sessions.
• the re