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Nun te ne fa’ is the title of Italian singer songwriter Gnut’s fourth album. In Napoletano, his native language, Nun te ne fa’ is a way of saying “don’t worry” or “it’ll all work out for the best” and is a kind of philosophy that sums the southern Italian way of life, in particular the city and the people of Naples.
The album began to take shape a few years back when Gnut be friended the street poet Alessio Sollo. Gnut began putting Sollo’s Neapolitan words to music and soon a steady stream of songs began to flow.
Getting the anglo italian songwriter Piers Faccini on board,who had also produced Gnut’s second album, Il rumore della luce, was the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place. Faccini’s record label Beating Drum had also released Gnut’s Hear my Voice Ep in 2018.
As the post pandemic unfolded and the world lurched from crisis to crisis, responding to turmoil with songs became a vital response for Gnut, Nun te ne fa’ or don’t worry, we’ll get through it! Working closely with Faccini who arranged the whole album as well as playing a wide variety of instruments to accompany Gnut’s finger style acoustic guitar playing, the two, the songwriter and producer assembled and built the record together, piece by piece.
Calling on a small but select cast of musicians to play on the record, the two were joined on the journey by the exceptional grooves of drummer Simone Prattico as well as the violinist and mandolin wizard from Naples, Michele Signore who has accompanied many of the great luminaries of Neapolitan music, like Roberto Murolo, Sergio Bruni, Nino Taranto or Pino Daniele. Joining the cast, Gnut and Piers Faccini called on Ilaria Graziano for backing vocals as well as a guest appearances from the star of the cult Neapolitan traditional ensemble, Nuova Compagnia di Canto popolare, the singer, Fausta Vetere.
Throughout the album, the songs arrangements and production blend American folk influences with southern Italian colours. Electric guitars swoon to Tarantella tambourines, mandolins and violins pulse to Motown style back beats. With Gnut’s highly original and daring album, Neapolitan colours are painted over Californian ground, Americana swings Italian Neapolitan style, like Pino Daniele dancing with Fleetwood Mac. Nun te ne fa’ is the confirmation of Gnut’s already established reputation, as the leader of the pack of today’s young Folk singer songwriters from the south. Gnut is an Italian Elliott Smith, a Neapolitan Nick Drake.
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J'adore le globe-trotter-musicien qu'est Piers Faccini, toute la beauté d'un monde fraternel et sans frontière dans sa voix, ses mélodies et ses chansons. francois_mercat