Welcome to gaudi music, the official web site of London based music producer and artist Gaudi. Gaudi's innovative approach to live performance and versatility as a producer has kept him at the forefront of his field throughout a notable and prolific career. His music is stylistically hard to pin down as he is an artist in constant evolution. His musical exploration, over the last 30 years in the industry, has however seen him foray into punk, new wave, dub and reggae, experimental electronica and 'stuff that rocks dancefloors'.. he has however got deep roots, which run like a vein throughout his music, and they are in the big basslines and spacious soundscapes of dub and the anarchic sonic potential of the world of electronic music… where anything's possible.
He's a full time internationally touring solo artist, a studio producer in demand and a respected musical innovator. He's had chart hits, gold discs and awards & nominations for his work; he has released 12 albums, has more than 250 productions and 90 remixes to his name and his tracks feature on more than 120 compilations... There is however no resting on laurels for this London-based, international bass man.
Gaudi's been up to rather a lot over the last 30 years so to save you having to wade through the whole history... find the section you need by clicking on the relevant link below...
80's
Gaudi's career started in 1981 in his native Italy as a keyboard player; He played in various different bands through the decade - ska, new wave, punk and reggae - and also during that time started to hone his production skills. He was a pioneer in various underground scenes but rose most notably above the parapet towards the end of the 80's with his first solo project (as a vocalist) when he wrote and produced the first raggamuffin album in the italian language. It was a brave move, but one that eventually paid off and to this day he is credited by many as being one of the foundation artists in the Italian reggae scene - a scene which has grown into a fertile and respected international arena.
90's
In 1990 Gaudi signed his first major record deal with Polygram for his solo project under the moniker 'Lele Gaudi'. His first single " Maliniconico love" was recorded in London featuring the reggae vocalist Crucial Robbie and the video which followed was given major attention by MTV. His debut album " Basta poco" was released in Italy in 1991. Massive national media exposure culminated in the winning of his first award as "Best Italian New Coming Artist 1991".
Gaudi's second single "1990 anni fa" was released later in the year by Polygram/Mercury and was promptly banned from Vatican City due to its 'sensitive content'. Needless to say this did nothing to harm record sales!
This was the beginning of 4 years of continuous touring and live performances with international reggae stars including: Ziggy Marley, Third World, Sister Carol, I Three, Sweety Irie, Half pint, The Wailers, Yellowman, Freddie Mc Gregor, Mutabaruka, Maxi Priest, Shinehead and Jimmy Cliff . By 1992 Gaudi was becoming an established figure in the Italian music scene and his next single " Magari" was a top ten hit and again the video became a regular on the MTV playlist. 1992 also saw the release of the politically controversial single " Legala" by To-sse , a landmark collaboration between many of the major names in the Italian underground scene of which Gaudi was one.
His second album "Gaudium Magnum" was released, and the tag Lele Gaudi became simply Gaudi. The single " Andavo a 100 all'ora" and the video were well received, also this single reached the top 10.
In 1994 Gaudi's hunger for musical exploration led him to expand his musical arsenal and he took up the theremin which was to become a mainstay in his live performances. Pulling together previous influences and flavours Gaudi started experimenting with using the theremin in dub music, releasing 9 tracks under the name 'Dub Alchemist'.
In order to prevent stagnation and the artistic compromise he had started to encounter in Italy, in 1995 Gaudi made the decision to make London his home (as it still is today) where access to a growing international and more groundbreaking music industry would allow him to continue to develop both artistically and professionally. This was not a decision taken lightly as it meant leaving all previous success behind and practically starting over. The move to London turned out to be the catalyst needed to prompt the start of a key project that was later to become is third album "Earthbound".
The early days in London were challenging, with time and energy being split between writing and production and the daunting task of re-establishing a presence in a completely new scene, with new peers and new audiences. Bit by bit however Gaudi the ball rolling again. Gaudi had laid the foundations for his 'new chapter' and his next task was to set up Metatron Studio London which is still his creative HQ today. At this time he also founded his own dub label Sub Signal. In 1995 Gaudi wrote and produced the concept album "Sound of Anatomy" with Pauli Atzei under the parallel project title "Ultraviolet Zero". It is an ambient psychedelic journey into the human body mixing electronic elements with the sounds and rhythms of the body.
Gaudi had risen to the challenge of re-establishment and in November 1996 he reached No.1 in the UK dance chart with another side project, Terra Terra, remixing Cool Jack 's "Jus' come" (AM PM Records). This was followed in 1997 with No.15 in the UK Chart with Brit-pop band Mansun's "Taxloss" and a No.3 UK chart hit with Peter Andre's "All about us" in 1998.
All this bought Gaudi recognition for his work as a remixer and in the following years he remixed an impressive line up including: Lamb, Simple Minds, Artful Dodger feat. Romina Johnson, Kinobe, Dusted, Trilok Gurtu, 1 giant leap, Africa Bambaataa, Apachi Indian, Shpongle, Almamegretta, Elisa among others (See remix section for full list).
At this time Gaudi also wrote and produced soundtracks for several TV programs including the "MTV Europe Music Awards 1998", and music for TV commercials for Sony Playstation, Longines watches, Fiat, Seat, Energie, Fiorucci and The Express Newspaper to name a few.
After 3 gold discs and 1 silver, Gaudi's highly acclaimed fourth album "Earthbound" (Bustin' Loose Recordings) was released worldwide. Earthbound is a dub journey and a musical melting pot of influences ranging from Indian ragas to African chanting and from Jamaican toasting to traditional Italian melodies. The album featured 39 artists from around the globe, including ragga star and UK Jungle pioneer General Levy. Earthbound gave Gaudi worldwide sales recognition and the exposure led to many tracks appearing on various compilation albums. Following on from it's success he created Earthbound in Dub (Sub Signal 2000).
00's
Following a passion for knowledge of different world cultures, 2000 saw Gaudi heading to Africa to experience first hand the lifestyles and culture of indigenous communities. Not only was his time in Burkina Faso a deeply profound experience personally, it was also a time when he connected with many talented musicians and started recording the beginnings of his album "Bass, Sweat & Tears".
The same year Gaudi hooked up with DJ Pathaan - one of the biggest exponents on the World music scene at the time - and their collaborative project Orchestral World Groove "OWG" was born. They produced many tracks which can be found on compilations world-wide and kept a busy tour schedule that built them a loyal following.
Aside from a busy schedule of performances, production and writing, 2001 saw a return to the movies for Gaudi with the remixing and production of a track from the Italian movie " Luna Rossa " by Sergio Capuano which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. He also co-wrote a few tracks for the soundtrack of the movie " Cuore scatenato " by director Gianluca Sodaro , with Raiz and Paolo Polcari from Italian cult band Almamegretta .
Two further movie projects followed in 2002 as Gaudi wrote the soundtracks for "High Speed" by Hollywood director Jeff Jensen and "The Ride" by UK director Andrea Strand . He also wrote the soundtrack for the theatre play " My beautiful laundrette " by Hanif Kureishi . This year also saw the production of the album "Recreational"(Sub Signal 2002) released under the name "Weirdub" one of Gaudi's side projects, this time in collaboration with Dr Cat and Polcari and featuring bass legend Bill Laswell.
2003 started very well with Gaudi producing for legendary band Simple Minds, a version of "The man who sold the world" (written by David Bowie). This work highlighted Gaudi to Jim Kerr with whom he then became involved with on another project called "Innerworld" (Absolutely Records).
Gaudi worked on a number of different projects at this time and a significant one being the final touches to his fifth solo album "Bass, Sweat & Tears". Gaudi also found new ground to break in the form of a collaboration with Italian classical composer Massimo Nunzi on a symphonic/jazz interpretation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" for 20 piece Jazz/Classical orchestra infused with electronica.
Gaudi's most prized project to date came when he remixed the track "Soul shake down party" (Universal Music) by reggae legend Bob Marley. Colaborations continued, with artists such as The Egg, Red Seal, Tripswitch, Ojos de Brujo and Sounds from the Ground. On the live front Gaudi made a unique collaboration with French musical inventor Michel Moglia and his unique self-built 20 ton instrument The Fire Organ (www.orgue-a-feu.com). They created a spectacular one-off performance at Rome's greatest landmark The Coliseum - where they presented their composition 'Elemental' to an international audience of more than 350,000.
Gaudi's 5th solo album "Bass, Sweat & Tears", was released worldwide by Interchill Records in 2004. This album is a fusion of dub and nu-beat with a global mix of influences. Deep sensual bass-lines and seductive rhythms unify the album giving it what is now a trademark 'Gaudi flavour'. Bass Sweat & Tears was a great success and is still the label's best selling release to date; It reached no.2 in the iTunes European Chart and no.32 in iTunes USA . Tracks from the album are featured in at least 60 compilations and 3 film soundtrack licenses were signed - the track 'Sufani' was featured on Pooja Bhaat's Bollywood 'film noir' "Rog" and Deepak Tijori's Film "Fareb" and the track 'Chant Thermique' was featured on the award winning soundtrack for the movie "Let it Ride" about the life of snowboarding legend Craig Kelly.
2004 started strongly when the Phunk Investigation remix of Gaudi's track "Sufani" was released on vinyl and went straight to no.1 in several dj and radio charts. Italian rockstar Irene Grandi chose 2 tracks written and produced by Gaudi in a joint project with Riccardo Cavalieri for her double platinum selling album 'Indelebile'. His track 'Lasciala Andare' went straight into the Italian charts and stayed there for 4 months in the top 10.
2005 saw Gaudi's tour schedule start to ramp up - performing both solo and with his band "The Live Dub Laboratory" - gaining new fans at clubs and festivals around the UK and Europe. It was the start of the 'never ending tour' - as since then Gaudi has been almost continually on the road, on pretty much every continent in the world! He has built up large and loyal fan bases in the USA and Canada as well as back home in Europe. He has, and continues to, fill venues and excite crowds with his innovative and energetic live performances at festivals such as the UK's Glastonbury, Glade and Gatecrasher, the USA's Harmony Festival, Earthdance and Burning Man, Canada's Shambala, Vancouver Jazz Festival and Victoria Ska Festival, Brasil's Universo Paralello and Skol Beat, Australia's Earthcore, Italy's Rotom Reggae Sunsplash and Sonica and Portugals Boom festival... to name but a few.
Gaudi's album CONTINVVM (aka Gaudi:Testa1105), created in collaboration with percussionist and Sound-therapist Antonio Testa, was released worldwide in late 2005 by legendary UK label Em:t Records.. Continuum is a concept album mixing experimental electronica with natural ambient percussive elements. The album reached no.3 in the iTunes European Electronic chart and has become a bit of a collectors album due to it's rarity. Em:t sadly closed down in 2008.
Alongside his solo work Gaudi was also involved in a memorable studio collaboration with dub legend Lee Scratch Perry and highly respected producer Dennis Bovell. His role, with fellow producer Charlie Redseal, was in the programming of new drum parts for the remakes of three iconic Bob Marley tracks (written by Perry): "Kaya", "Sun is shining" and "Funky reggae party".
2006 was kicked off with a great collaborative album between Gaudi and one of the legends of ambient electronica Pete Namlook; the result of their collaboration, "Re:sonate", combined Pete's 'trademark' lengthy meandering structures and spacey pads with Gaudi's dub vibes and unique 'home-grown' sounds, producing an end result that is both very Namlook and definitely Gaudi at the same time! Recorded at Klanglabor Hodeshof, Germany, in November 2005, it was released worldwide on 23rd January 2006 by FAX Records...
This year of collaboration also saw Gaudi working with London electro-dub duo 'Sounds From The Ground' - the resulting track "Palmprint" was featured on their album "High Rising" (Waveform Records). Gaudi's first compilation "Sub Signals vol.1" - a selection of prime dub cuts from a pedigree stable of artists, was released by Interchill Records in November 2006. Work also began on the production of the debut solo album from Ashtech, "Walkin' Target", (also co-written by Gaudi) which includes 4 tracks featuring the inimitable voice of 'Cheshire Cat' from legendary production team Leftfield. Walking Target was released worldwide in May 2007 (Interchill Records) with great positive feedback.
A very special project of Gaudi's "Dub Qawwali" featuring the amazing vocals of the 'Pakistans premier ambassador of Qawwali music' Nusrat Fate Ali Khan... in dub.. was released in August 2007 by Six Degrees Records. It received massive critical acclaim worldwide reaching no.2 in iTunes USA Chart, no.4 in the UK and was the no.1 seller in Amazon's Electronic Music section for a period. It also earned him a nomination for the BBC's World Music Awards 2008.
In 2008, alongside a busy tour schedule, Gaudi returned to Italy for 4 months to take on the role of 'vocal coach' for the hit TV talent show "X Factor"; he worked with the vocal groups category and emerged victorious with his group 'Aram Quartet' winning the show. He was asked back for the second series; it was another successful one with his group 'The Bastard Sons of Dioniso' winning the "critic's award" and their track 'L'amor Carnale' (co-written and produced by Gaudi) reaching no.1 in the Italian charts; Their debut EP also earned Gaudi his 4th Gold Disc. Subsequently, Gaudi produced their successful debut album "In Stasi Perpetua" which was released by Sony Music in November 2009. Gaudi returned to Italy again in the autumn for the 3rd series of XFactor where this time his female vocal trio "Yavanna" took 3rd place.
Gaudi's album 'NO PRISONERS' (feat. Michael Franti, Dub Gabriel, Elisa, Dr. Israel) was released in March 2010 by Six Degrees Records. The tour that followed was hugely successful with practically all of the 68 performances sold-out to very enthusiastic maximum capacity crowds.
10's
The naughties ended and the teens began with a heavyweight and ongoing collaboration with UK electronica pioneer Alex Paterson of The Orb and musical maverick Chester - the result is SCREEN and their debut album "We a.r.e Screen!" will start to see the light in autumn 2011 with the release of the single JOYCZ (Just outside your comfort zone) due for release 9/10/11 by UK punk label Malicious Damage. The album is due for release in spring 2012. Another important 2011 production was Gaudi's remix work on the project Metallic Spheres, the chart-topping collaboration between The Orb and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.
While most reading this will be aware of Alex's enormous story, Gaudi packs an equally as eventful tale after cutting his musical teeth in his native Italy's new wave/punk scene during the early 80s. His reggae epiphany came soon after and he quickly sharpened his production skills while opening his soul to the infinite vistas of Jamaican music. A few years later Polygram released his first solo album Basta Poco (Italy's first home-grown raggamuffin outfit) and the follow-up Gaudium Magnum which led to several years touring with reggae artists including Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Third World, Yellowman, Shinehead and Ziggy Marley. Gaudi moved to London in 1995 and set up his Metatron Studio [where he still creates and the seeds of the Screen ejaculated into bloom]. Collaborations commenced, including Terra Terra with DJ Angelino, remixing Cool Jack's 'Jus' Come' to pole position on the UK dance charts, and further mixes over the years including Lamb, Simple Minds, Afrika Bambaataa, Mansun, Cast, Apache Indian, Zion train, Artful Dodger and Scissor Sisters to name a few. He has also written movie soundtracks and theatre plays, while his solo career continued with third album Earthbound, which brought in world music giants, and then Bass, Sweat & Tears emerged from time he spent immersed in Africa. The Orchestral World Groove collaboration with DJ Pathaan resulted in four years touring the world, while he continued working with anyone from Simple Minds' Jim Kerr to hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash to reggae legend Horace Andy. 2006 saw him teaming up with legendary ambient producer Peter Namlook on their Re:sonate album, 2008 with Lee Perry on his Bob Marley refurbishment project, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on Dub Qawwali album which gained a nomination for the BBC World Music Award. Gaudi's fertile relationship with Alex started after the former remixed 'Vuja De' off the Orb's The Dream album then Metallic Spheres feat David Gilmour, while the pair have also embarked on remixing classic tracks from Trojan Records' monumental catalog.
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