[artists] fausto balbo



Releases on Afe:
Login [afe130cd]
Detrimental Dialogue [afe127cd]

On the web:
www.myspace.com/faustobalbo

Fausto Balbo starts just like so many other musicians by spending countless hours on the very cornerstone of rock music: the electric guitar.

In 1988 he founds Jesus Went To Jerusalem with three friends living nearby in the Garessio area. The band plays a powerful and heavy mixture of hardcore, funk and hard rock leaving behind them - in three years of life - some important sonic tracks like the four songs on "Giù le mani" (a compilation remembering the activity of C.S.O.A. Sobbalzo), a self produced and released tape and a very long series of live gigs in Italy.

In 1991 it's time for JWTJ to split and from their ashes a new duo is born: Der Tod (Fausto Balbo and ecletic vocalist Simone Basso) give away a sound that falls between Metal and New Wave, and Balbo starts to work and experiment around electronic music.

In about four years Der Tod release two 7'' (one split with Paul Chain) and a CD under the Last Scream Records label. A collection of songs is also ready to be printed on a second CD, but it will never see the light. All considered Der Tod have died without exploring their full potential. Der Tod R.I.P. 1991-1997.

It is now time for Fausto to think and mature: his interest in electronic muisc is growing alongside the discovery of many important movies and books.

Speaking of novels, it is J.G. Ballard and his "Concrete Island" that gives Balbo the kickstart to compose "Zero" (Snowdonia, 2000): this is the first solo album for the artist and it is also a virtual soundtrack for that Ballard novel.

His growing interest for unconventional musical ways reaches the top during the presentation show for Sara Melis' book "Acustica": there Fausto does an improvisation using common objects like glasses, pots and vases, re-cycling their sounds through electronic devices. Around this time he also develops a strong interest in many instruments, ethnic ones or completely invented by him.

"Falbo", his second work (also on Snowdonia) is a truthful proof of this intriguing mix of electronic sounds and craftsmanship, a strange collection of household psycho-dramas between irony and tragedy.

Alongside his solo projects, Fausto has a parallel activity with drummer/percussionist Mark Iacona (ex Ulcera) and they already released a CD, "Gente comune", under the name of Marfaus (where we can also find John Pearce of Family Fodder at the piano).

During his live performances Fausto often has Vito Morano (a butoh dancer) doing some coreographic works for him, always striving to describe a journey through the modern Ego crumbling.

Between 2006 and 2007 Fausto collaborated to the recordings of some tracks by Madame P. He also helped to compose three tracks for the album "Tumultuor" (by Femina FaberPaola Bianchi solo project), published by Creative Fields.

In 2008 Enomisossab used the song "Sogni" - from the album "Zero" - executed by the Architorti string quartet with the title "El Mantra" and included it in his CD "L'ombra di mezzogiorno" released by ANTS Records.


"Detrimental Dialogue", a collection of tracks created by Fausto with Andrea Marutti, was published by Afe in collaboration with Boring Machines and Fratto9 Under The Sky in October 2010.

During 2011 Fausto collaborated again with Femina Faber on her new CD entitled "Amplexum mentis", released in Spring 2012 by Calembour Rec., and with Enomisossab on the album "La merce perfetta", released in collaboration with Complus Events during summer 2012.

A new Fausto Balbo solo CD entitled "Login" was released by Afe - in collaboration with Snowdonia - in October 2012.

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