TRENT. Thirty years of history contained in one concert. As part of the 72nd edition of the Trento Film Festival this Saturday (27 March) at 8.30pm, in Piazza della Mostra in Trento, the absolute protagonist will be the singer-songwriter Stefano “Cisco” Bellotti who, accompanied by his band and his “historic friends ” of the “Modena City Ramblers”, of which he was the frontman for years, will go on stage for a stage of the tour celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his debut album “Riportando tutto a casa”.
After that first artistic stage, there are numerous songs and records that over the years have brought their “combat folk” to every latitude inspired by traditional Irish music and able to restore meaning and value to those words in music that are too often “emptied” of their essence.
One arrives in 2005 sliding door for the group, with “Cisco” choosing to pursue a solo career and that years later, in October 2021, closes a circle by writing the song “Riportando tutto a casa” eponymous song from the first album which becomes a symbol of his coherence and his path.
On the Trentino stage, before the live performance, iThe singer-songwriter will also be the protagonist of a 360° interview with the journalist and music critic John Vignola: an opportunity for a “personal” journey through Irish music, from U2 to the Cranberries and to retrace the band’s Irish folk influences.
Cisco Bellotti, can you tell us how the idea for this concert was born?
The idea was born when, at the end of last year, at the Carpi theater we met for a date with all the former Modena City Ramblers, with the line-up which was that of the two initial albums “Riportando tutto a casa” and “La big family”. We talked among ourselves and we decided to organize this tour that wants to celebrate those years and that album that was fundamental for our journey.
On stage with her there will be many old friends, and you will propose a “particular” setlist.
It will be a setlist almost exclusively with songs from those first two albums that saw us work together for a long time. The protagonists will be Luciano Gaetani, the one who started the artistic project, Marco Michielini on violin, Roberto Zeno on drums and Caba Cavazzuti, to whom are added Max Frignani on guitars, Enrico Pasini on accordion and trumpet and Bruno Bonarrigo on bass.
Now that the tour is coming to an end, what are your feelings and what responses have you had from the public?
It was also extraordinary and above all for the public’s response, with almost all sold out: this is a sign of hope for me because it means that there are still people who want to listen to those songs. I realize that they have been passed down from generation to generation and young people still feel they are “theirs”. However, there is also an aspect that I consider negative, and that is that certain songs have not “aged”: I think of “Forty Years” in which we described the sick and corrupt Italy of over thirty years ago and, upon closer inspection, we have not yet managed to shake off certain sad habits.
Let’s jump to 2005, when his path and that of the Modena City Ramblers split. What happened?
Basically I was no longer at peace with myself and I felt in the wrong place, and I can say that it was something “all mine”: I felt distant from the moment of the group and from this a natural artistic and life choice arose. I wanted to do new things with new musicians, I felt the need for a change of scenery, but after almost twenty years the thought and desire returned to me to retrace my steps to reread them in the light of a different age, and this makes me feel good. I am no longer “angry” as I was then, because I understood that my path – with experiences, reasoning, successful and less successful things – was the right one to undertake.
Now, with this live show, he can say he has reconnected a thread that perhaps had never been severed.
I really made peace with my past: even if there weren’t many “unfinished” things, I made peace with my artistic path and also with all the songs that I no longer wanted to sing. This has helped me a lot and I feel more comfortable continuing my solo journey, despite always having that past by my side and, why not, also those musicians who started this journey with me.
Let’s get to his songs, one of his distinctive traits is that he always wanted to give great weight to words and stories. How does this intertwine with the contemporary musical landscape?
Beyond labels, I believe that it is fundamental, in music and art in general, to communicate something: this is what interests me, and also as a listener I like to perceive this urgency which has nothing to do with the singles of the summer and by climbing the rankings. Combat folk must do this and all musical genres could do it, it’s a shame that today young artists are asked for something else. I certainly don’t want to generalize, but this leads young people to set other goals than ours at the time.
The theme of travel has always been a cornerstone for her, but also for the Modena City Ramblers.
The trips were fundamental for us, starting from the first ones in Ireland where we encountered a different world from the one we knew, arriving at the discovery of local culture and music. But also the trips to Africa and South America, where we slept in tent cities together with refugees and visited the slums, were fundamental for us and everything then emerged in our subsequent records.
And Ireland itself is the meeting point between this live show and the 2024 edition of the Trento Film Festival.
Irish culture, music and also the way of life have left a profound mark on us and this is directly connected to the Festival, which is why we will be there too. However, I would like to make a reflection: the Ireland that we knew at the time no longer exists, and is now a super technological country full of multinationals. Beyond this, however, it remains a magical place where we are able to gather energy and stories, and then tell them in songs. Returning to the Trento Film Festival, I confess to you, however, that the mountains and I are two “entities” that are difficult to be compatible with, because I am a man from the plains (laughs, ed.). However, I find it fascinating, just as I am struck by those who choose to live it by abandoning the comfort of the city and the plain, embracing a lifestyle more connected to the natural environment. Having said that, as a man “from the lowlands” I look at the mountains on beautiful days when the wind sweeps away the clouds: from my area we see the Alps to the north and the Apennines to the south, and we feel protected by these two entities that embrace us distance.
A confession: of all the songs you’ve written, is there one you’re most attached to?
“Ebano” is the song that I love most of all, and to which I am consequently very attached: I play it in every concert. It was one of the first pieces that I heard really close to perfection: I’ll explain, I always try to improve my songs, but every time I play or listen to “Ebano” I feel inside me that it is difficult to improve. Another special song is one of the last ones I wrote and it’s called “Bringing everything back home”: it was intended to be the telling of a story from thirty years ago and every time we play it it really seems like it was written then. People who don’t know her go looking for her in the first records and can’t find her (laughs, ed.). It has a narrative and musical strength that, in some way, hit the mark.
And, as a listener, what are your absolute references?
Above all I say “The Pogues”, an Irish group that inspired us and without which the Modena City Ramblers would not exist. But then we cannot fail to mention Bob Dylan: for those who do this profession he is an essential inspiration and it is essential to listen and research his songs which I would define as unattainable, and it is no coincidence that he won the Nobel Prize.
One last line, after this live, what projects do you have in the pipeline?
The most imminent thing will be a tour with Bandabardò: we will spend the summer together, it will be great fun and a great party. I’m also working on a new project but I don’t want to reveal anything, because I want it to be a surprise.
