Niki Gravino

This is a new cycle in the saga. Niki Gravino & the Laughing Shadows boast a completely new line-up since Niki made his debut as a solo artist in 2004 with the EP Vitamins & Eyecream, thereby coining the term Designer Art Rock. During these five years Gravino’s solo project has been veering away from a one-man studio release, thus steadily moving towards achieving a delicate balance between a carefully designed aesthetic and the surprising magic of ‘band-feel’. Niki has mesmerized local and foreign audiences with performances that have been compared to those of the all-time greats. Now with the vigour infused by the musicianship and dedication of the Laughing Shadows it is a good time to step it up another notch. The release of The Politics of Double Beds in 2007 rooted Niki firmly in the local music consciousness as an artist and producer of quality and integrity. The album, which Niki wrote, performed, engineered and produced alone in his studio, received unfettered praise from all sides. Niki and his mates not only became one of the most recognized local acts, but took home a national record of 5 Malta Music Awards in 2008, which included the awards for best song and best songwriter. Since mid-November 2009 Niki, Martin, Francesco, Tuomas, Vin and Maria have started working on a new release. This is the stage in which the delicate balance between the ‘designer’ and the ‘band-feel’ side of the music is going to be sought during the ‘making’ stage of the release. The next release will be closer to the soul of the band while keeping the detail involved in designer music. In the meantime Niki Gravino & The Laughing Shadows are willing to entertain you with their knack for strangely familiar beauty.

MALTA, MT