Opa Cupa
Gig Seeker Pro

Opa Cupa

| INDIE

| INDIE
Band Jazz World

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"it's hard to keep your ..."

“…It’s hard to keep your feet and hands still: as if by magic, you start dancing ravished by this music’s energy that goes right into your heart… the listener becomes dancer at the magical rhythm of a sounds mixture of incredible intensity.”
M.P. Romano - Qui Salento (Magazine)


"Uneven and irregular ..."

“…Uneven and irregular tempos. Bosnian and Albanian songs mingled with South Italian big brass band sonorities, in sudden jazz improvisation moments. That and much more, with the southeastern Italian-Balkan ensemble Opa Cupa (...) Their music compositions (…) work as if a soundtrack to a party, with epic
melodies and slow ballads speeded up to a hectic pace, in a pure gypsy style… Excellent confirmation from this young band, formed in not much more than one year, around the trumpet player Cesare Dell’Anna…”
Antonella Gaeta - La Repubblica (National Daily Newspaper)


"Opa Cupa demonstrate a ..."

“…Opa Cupa demonstrate a really unique creative fancy and an expert mastery for musical instruments – but, above all, they demonstrate their elaboration of composition … (Opa Cupa) Create a captivating sound of excellent quality. The best particularity of the band is not so much the composition mastery, as it is the ability to catapult us into a vivacious and joyful multiracial atmosphere. The most distinctive soundtrack for what Puglia (southern Italy) is like today.”
Francesco Serini - Music-on (Music Magazine)


Discography

“live in Contrada Tangano”
World Music/Sottosuono rec. – 2001

“ Hotel Albania”
11/8 Records 2005/Self distr. - 2005

Photos

Bio

«Opa Cupa» (read: «opa tzupa»), is an urgent call to the dance of South-East European gypsies. This musical project got started in the south of Italy (Salento) and is directed towards the research of the repertoire of Balkan music. All the music and lyrics are written by Cesare Dell’Anna, who mixes vibrant jazz and typical traditional band music from South Italy, creating something new and original. Don’t call this project Balkan, because is it something more than that.

Musicians coming from different cultures (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Morocco, Romania and South Italy) gather around the leader: Cesare Dell’Anna (trumpeter), and creates a truly festive atmosphere. The irregular rhythms are strongly influenced by several styles, creating a vibrant kaleidoscope of sounds and brilliant moments of pure musical- and technical interpretation. Opa Cupa also incorporates ethnic experiences, resulting in a fusion and elaboration of fast and , with irregular and odd rhythms.

Moments of improvisation have been introduced into the popular structures where a jazz attitude takes advantage in the articulation of the phrase, clustering suddenly, situations dissonantly performed by the brass band.

The musical elaborations become the theme of the party, accompanied by ancient epic songs and slow ballads accelerated according to the gypsy style.

Opa Cupa’s latest record “Hotel Albania” (an 11/8 Records production) fully represents the style, element and sound changes that the Salento- Afro Balkan band has made since the release of their first record “Live in Contrada Tangano”. The new record feautures many guests. The tracks keep a strong liaison with the Balkan tradition, even if they are being enriched even more by a medley of Salentinian and African music traditional sounds, obtained by playing Salentinian bell tambourines, and Algerian karkabu and beendire.

In some tracks of the new Opa Cupa record, jazz patterns are unexpectedly mixed with traditional gypsy irregular tempo, while DJ Trinchetto harmonizes his bizarre tricks on the record player with the strong impact of woodwind and brass, which play some Balkan traditional pieces with “ska upon irregular tempo” arrangements.

“Opa Cupa” has played in: “Sziget Festival” – Budapest, “Mad in Salento” – Durazzo, “Alba dei Popoli” Otranto Festival, “Tirana Film Festival” - Tirana, “Milano Film Festival” - Milano, “Notte della Taranta” – Galatina (Lecce), “Ferrock Festival” – Vicenza, “Carpino Folk Festival”, “Carnevale di Venezia”, “Festival Negroamaro” – Cursi (Lecce); “La Notte della Taranta” Melpignano - Martano; “Popoli in Movimento” Villaggio Globale – Roma; “La Palma” Roma; “Kulturbeiz Neuhof” – Bachs (Belgio); “Amore e Rabbia” Verzino (Crotone); “Etnica musica dai mondi conosciuti” Bordighera; diretta su “Radio Popolare”; “Med Video Festival” Aschea Marina (Salerno).