Prepare to be overwhelmed by an explosive mix of ancient folk and modern sounds that have no qualms about subverting traditions: the Ra di Spina project, led by the talented Laura Cuomo, is back with an album that mixes ethnomusicological research, vocal experimentation and a social commitment that will make your wrists tremble, giving back to popular music its subversive and poetic force in a cocktail of folk, rock and experimental electronics.
The outrageously innovative musical project
Ra di Spina, the project of singer and performer Laura Cuomo, bursts onto the scene with her first album entitled *”Vocazioni”*. Out in physical form on May 23rd for the label Agualoca Records – known for its head-turning with artists such as FLO, Fanfara Station and Maria Mazzotta – this choral and visionary work draws on the popular roots of Southern Italy, turning them inside out with vocal polyphonies, ancestral rhythms, electric guitars and experimental electronics. The result of the collaboration between Laura Cuomo (vocals and research), Alexsandra Ida Mauro (vocals), Ernesto Nobili (guitar and production) and Francesco Paolo Manna (percussion), *”Vocazioni”* is already available on digital platforms and will be presented in a live showcase at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples on May 23rd (admission €10 with CD included, starting at 22:30 pm, pre-sales on Etes.it).
The album that breaks the mold
This album, which also includes tracks from a previous EP, is a real punch in the stomach of sound: a journey that explores the concept of “call” through ancient voices, buried stories and forgotten struggles, mixing world suggestions with an irreverence that clashes with political correctness. **”Voices that chase each other, listened to, imagined, dreamed. Voices that tell of divine and earthly loves, that climb on top of each other, restoring the power of archaic melodies”**: this is how the group describes *”Vocazioni”*, a work that transforms singing into an act of collective memory, an ancestral call that resonates with a primitive force.
After the showcase in Naples, Ra di Spina will bring his tour to Italy and beyond: starting from Rome on May 15th at Santa Libbirata La Carretteria, after the debut in Barcelona with Maria Mazzotta and others, and will continue with stops in Bologna, Palermo, Marche, Basilicata and Salento. **“The voice is the threshold and root of identity: through it, being manifests itself, in its being in the world and in its becoming. It is an instrument of recognition and revelation, capable of indicating the direction of our possible, tracing the boundary between power and limit. The ensemble singing in Ra di spina is the rediscovery of a collective, shared dimension. The song belongs to everyone, because it is a human gesture. The melodies we sing are popular, because they belong to everyone. Music is authentically popular when it belongs to everyone. The melodies that I research and rearrange are not just a pretext, but a vehicle to spread the message that the voice is capable of expressing emotions. These melodies – concludes Cuomo – have survived generations and generations through a fundamentally oral tradition, they retain an intrinsic strength, deriving from their robustness in resisting the natural changes of the communities that, over time, have kept them alive through practice. The Ra di spina project responds to the need to donate the most authentic part of the voice.”** This hymn to cultural resistance continues to shaking up the scenes, mixing screaming synths with raw vocals and bringing ancient stories back to life with an energy that doesn't ask for permission.
Article published on May 12, 2025 - 18:00 pm
Video Chronicles
I think this album is really interesting but I'm not sure if all the mixes work as they should. Some rhythms seem too complicated and Laura's voice is good, but sometimes a bit over the top. It will be interesting to see how the audience reacts.