Simon Scardanelli

“Simon Scardanelli's performance was particularly memorable. Powerful melodies, an impeccable vocal performance, decent song structures and lyrics that are actually worth listening to. Perfect.”
BBC Radio Berkshire


“Simon Scardanelli is completely individual and utterly uncompromising. His dynamic performance takes you on musical journeys through seedy underbellies to profound ruminations. An expert guitarist with a unique voice, Simon has talent in abundance but his ability to make a stage his own is a strength unparalleled by most performers. Currently touring the U.K. to promote his new album 'Hobohemia' make sure you check out one of his stunning live shows.”
Oscar’s Academy of Sound, 4th April 05 at Viva Viva

VF All-Dayer at the Chapel Bar, Saturday 6th August 05

“Simon Scardanelli both opened and closed the show for us with an exquisitely crafted set of perfect songs from a singer/songwriter with well over 15 years experience in the trade. Simon’s original brush with pop stardom came in the late 80’s when he charted in the US with his then-band Big Bam Boo – but now he is back with a new album (Hobohemia) and you can catch him on the road at venues across the country. Powerful emotions run throughout lyrics delivered by a rich voice that reaches out to parts that other singers can only dream of. Iron Strike and Uncommon Times are stand-out examples of songwriting from the heart, and to be frank we can’t rate Simon’s talents highly enough.” www.virtualfestivals.co.uk


“Simon Scardanelli was just total class, his songs are masterly observations of life and his voice is startlingly powerful. A highlight for me was the epic "Why" which evolved from a monologue about his years living in New York’s "Alphabet City"(the ones Prince sings about in his song of that name).Those of us who witnessed it were blown away - we MUST get Simon back to Leicester to a bigger audience - he well deserves it.”
Kevin Hewick, The Musician, Leicester

CD REVIEW: Simon Scardanelli – Hobohemia

“Simon Scardanelli says a lot with an acoustic guitar and incredibly emotive voice. He uses the guitar very well to support his message full of grit and Scardanelli means every word. You really get the feeling that Scardanelli is on a mission to make us aware of what’s going on around us. I like where Scardanelli is coming from, I visited his website and this guy is into some really cool and interesting stuff.”
Ann Klein – Musesmuse.com

“Simon’s Songs are sensational”
– Jon Massey, St Albans Observer, January 27th 2005

The sensation you get when you listen to a really good album for the first time is of excitement, joy and exhilaration. Despite its irritating title, Simon Scardanelli’s first album for ten years, HOBOHEMIA, has already warmed my heart and I’ve only had it for three days.
When I first opened the jiffy bag and pulled the CD out, I was confronted by an extraordinary looking man. The face that stared back at me from the cover was gaunt, drawn and extremely intriguing. Scardanelli’s curious appearance made me most anxious to find out what sort of sounds might emanate from this individual.
Most importantly for any work, I like my expectations and preconceptions to be baffled or exceeded. Rarely does a work come along that succeeds in doing both so effectively.
This collection of eight songs is like an open wound. Sore and red raw in places the lyrics are stuffed with powerful imagery which, when rendered in Scardanelli’s delicious whine, become imbued with melancholy and passion.
The subjects touched on include politics, love and homelessness. All are dealt with effectively and in a style which offers comment only through a comparatively unbiased statement of the facts.
The listener is invited to make up their own mind rather than being told specifically what to think on an issue. This sort of delicate handling of complex and difficult topics gives the body of songs and the album its flavour.
I had not heard of Scardanelli before this album arrived on my desk but it is clear both from listening to his material and looking at his biography that he has a long history as a songsmith.
His work is full of the intricate lyrical turns of phrase present in the songs of writers who have spent a lifetime behind the guitar and pen. Nevertheless, this record sounds remarkably fresh and exciting to me.
I suspect this owes more to the fact that its author is currently undertaking a PhD in electro-acoustic composition than the years spent in America both with and without Big Bam Boo with whom he found fame in the 80’s.
The PhD follows long years of study and sonic research which must, I feel, be the inspiration behind some of the sounds heard here.
The guitar work is consummate in its ease and sounds quite literally perfect to my ear in places; the result I think both of great writing and a real knowledge of how to translate sounds into songs through recording media.
I suggest anybody ought to go and buy this album if they have any love of singer-songwriters. -

From Caractacus on http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/simon_scardanelli/that_dangerous_sparkle/

An album of incredible beauty and with an extremely dark heart. The first track - The Valentines kicks us off and with couplets like:

They met in October/By Valentine's Day they were wed
Perfectly suited in madness/To New York they fled

You know you're in for a great time. Scardinelli has a wonderful voice, soaring above the impossibly catchy tune. You can't help but think of this as a theme to a lost F Scott Fitzgerald story.

But this is only the first on an embarrassment of riches on this album. A later song contains the line:

And I'm sat in front of a coca cola billboard that says Love, Love, Love, Love is a sticky brown fluid that leaks from the pores of my blistered skin.

That such a line exists proves that we are in the presence of a wordsmith, that it fits into any kind of tune is pure talent, the fact that it is a piece of music that will worm it's way into your head and stay there for days, is nothing short of genius. Something that infuses the whole album. Every song on here, in a myriad of styles, full of memorable hooks, but all with hearts of darkness is a little triumph in itself. If the album can be faulted? There's not enough of it.

Scardinelli may not have a high profile, this  album may not have bothered the masses but you owe yourself to seek it out. - RateYourMusic.com

CD REVIEW: Simon Scardanelli - That Dangerous Sparkle
By Chip Withrow - 11/25/2007 - 07:09 PM EST
Artist: Simon Scardanelli
Album: That Dangerous Sparkle
Label: Resonator Records
Website: http://www.scardanelli.com
Genre: Alternative Folk/Pop
Sounds Like: Roxy Music, David Bowie, U2, Coldplay
Production/Musicianship Grade: 9/10
Commercial Value: 8/10
Overall Talent Level: 8/10
Songwriting Skills: 8/10
Performance Skill: 9/10
Best Songs: Let There Be a Place, It's Only Life.

CD Review: This disc is off the well-worn path of what I listen to most, which makes it both challenging and refreshing. Simon Scardanelli reminds me of a couple of lush-sounding artists from the past (Roxy Music and Roger Waters’ solo work, for example) and also brings to mind some of the atmospheric, dramatic pop offered today (such as Coldplay and Keane).
The album opens with the prettily-strummed, synth-washed “The Valentines.” This tale of star-crossed lovers builds in intensity, Scardanelli’s low rumble of a voice becoming more plaintive as layers of instruments and backing vocals are added. On “They Dance,” Scardanelli’s vocal might be a bit overwrought, but the percussion-and-arpeggioed-synth loop is hypnotic.
Then comes perhaps the best track, the gospel-ish “Let There Be a Place,” a well-conceived blend of electronica and power ballad. A choir of backing vocals is the perfect heartfelt foil for Scardanelli’s weathered, world-weary delivery.
The title track is a letdown after “Place,” and “She Comes” also starts out ponderously. But a couple of minutes in, tension starts to build, and "She Comes" bursts into frenzied sax and thumping bass guitar and snare. I would like to hear that groove developed with lyrics. “Risky Business” starts with sweet yet mournful sax, and it drags some before settling into a heavy backbeat and sweeping synth/strings.
“It’s Only Life” is the fully-realized serious groove that “She Comes” and “Risky” hint at, a Bowie-meets-U2 burner. Scardanelli’s guttural spoken vocal is by turns humorous and sinister.
“When You’re Lying” is a simple, pretty acoustic ballad – a nice change from the density of the other tracks. And the closing “Take Your Hand Away” is similarly charming, morphing back and forth between a Cole Porter-style jazzy plea and a Harry Nillson-style tear-jerker.
That Dangerous Sparkle stumbles just a few times, but overall it is an ambitious grand statement from Simon Scardanelli. As a writer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, Scardanelli is a craftsman who deserves an in-depth listen. - Muses Muse

Conceived on an epic scale this CD proves a real surprise. Once a hit maker as half of pop-rockers Big Bam Boo, Scardanelli has been emersed in serious music study over the past decade, following a period of living in New York composing installation works for art events and scores for experimental films.

He has definitely brought some of that experimental flair with him into this new CD,although here it’s used to add texture to what can mostly be described as conventional song structures. The albums opener, The Valentines, starts with the sound of waves before the acoustic guitar and piano kick the song into life. Simon’s vocals have something of the David McComb about them and The Triffids are a good reference point.There’s also a touch of Scott Walker as the first half of the album gives up a series of epic ballads.

In the middle of She Comes the tune suddenly gives way to clattering percussion and soprano sax drenched in reverb and the ground has shifted. Surpise twists follow, with Risky Business and the following It’s Only Life taking serious left turns. This is ambitious stuff that demands serious attention.         Sid Cowens - Properganda

To be honest, when I first pressed play on Brummie singer/songwriter Simon Scardanelli’s third album That Dangerous Sparkle I was expecting to hear dreary and inoffensive James Blunt type music. I was even more put off by the fact that he was previously in an (now defunct) ’80s rock duo called Big Bam Boo which some of you older music fans might have heard of, or not. However I was surprised with the versatility of the album. What isn’t a surprise however is the fact that Scardanelli is currently taking a PhD in electro-acoustic composition. The album sees him flirting with folk flutes, subtle keyboard textures and bleepy electro bits.

The album can be divided into two parts musically. The first half packed with powerful melodic ballads, with Scardanelli crooning away over flutes and acoustic guitar.

The album takes a dark experimental twist halfway through the tense ‘She Comes’ where Scardanelli’s wail pierces through the tranquil acoustic guitar and summons a frantic saxophone solo from the pits of hell. The second half also sees Scardanelli breaking away from his croon and singing in his own natural accent. The album highlight is the vocoder heavy ‘Risky Business’ which sees the return of the unsettling saxophone, which this time battles with a haunting organ. At 9:11 minutes long the track never feels bloated or pretentious.

You never know what is lurking around That Dangerous Sparkle’s dark corner, but whatever it is will always shock and surprise. Scardanelli is always prepared to take a risk, and we should all hope that it is this experimentation that is the future of British singer/songwriters.

Genre: acoustic/alternative
Label: Resonator Records
Released: 11/6/2007 - Ben Harper