I Viaggiatori

When Melbourne’s ARIA award winners Kavisha Mazzella and Irini Vela team up with Wollongong’s own David De Santi, Mark Holder-Keeping from the legendary Zumpa band they become “I Viaggiatori” - The Voyagers. i Viaggiatori play lively, old time Italian folk music from the 19 th century and beyond. It’s romantic, poignant, frenzied, sweet and earthy. It’s a place where memory sits down with imagination to share a good coffee and a glass of grappa then have a good yarn. It’s also a place where accordions, clarinets, bouzoukis, mandolins, violins and tambourines dance with sensual, earthy vocals. Drawn from over 400 years of storytelling, these songs from Italy and Greece tell of harvests, war and revolution, factory protests, seductions, weddings, funerals and the brave act of migration. BAND MEMBERS Kavisha Mazzella - vocal, guitar, accordion Irine Vela - bouzouki, mandolin, guitar Mark Holder-Keeping - clarinet, saxophone David De Santi - accordion DALL' ITALIA ALL' AUSTRALIA - THE FILM In 1924, the Italian film director Angelo Drovetti embarked on an epic 8000-nautical-mile voyage with his movie camera. The result, Dall’Italia All’Australia (From Italy To Australia), is regarded by many as the most comprehensive film ever made of a migrant voyage. Dall’Italia All’Australia chronicles the crossing of the Regina d’Italia (Queen of Italy) - one of three passenger ships first built for the Lloyd Sabaudo Line at the turn of last century. The film showcases the panoramic views witnessed by Italian, Yugoslav, Greek, Arabic and Jewish migrants as they stood atop the deck of the old steamer during their seven-week world odyssey from Genoa to Australia, by way of Egypt and Sri Lanka, arriving in September 1924. Dall’Italia All’Australia first screened in Italy in May 1925. I VIAGGIATORI present LIVE MUSIC to the silent film DALL’ ITALIA ALL’ AUSTRALIA Since 2007 the film and live music by I Viaggiatori has been presented all over Australia. The film is black and white and in DVD format. It has Italian intertitles with English subtitles. It is 65 minutes in duration. The film is usually presented in 2 parts with an intermission of 15 minutes usually. The musicians are positioned in front of the film screen and to one side and perform live Italian folk tunes and songs while the film is showing. SHORT DESCRIPTION (68 WORDS) - I Viaggiatori Be transported with I VIAGGIATORI to forgotten fishing villages, moonlit olive groves, and a hard life under a hot sun where women sang melancholy songs of lost love, displacement and revolution and fought hardship with a fierce sense of humour. The band of Kavisha Mazzella, Irine Vela, David De Santi and Mark-Holder Keeping provide the sounds of folk, Celtic, gypsy, blues and Italian world music woven expertly together. SHORT DESCRIPTION (55 WORDS) - I Viaggiatori and Dall' Italia All' Australia Be transported with I VIAGGIATORI to experience the scenes of the 1924 silent film Dall’ Italia All’ Australia “The most comprehensive film of the migrant voyage known to be in existence”. Historian Tony de Bolfo presents the film with the band of Kavisha Mazzella, Irine Vela, David De Santi, Samuel De Santi and Mark-Holder Keeping.

Melbourne, VIC