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Progetto Migala was born in 2008 from an idea of Davide Roberto during the Musicology Studies at the University in Rome. The name Migala is a tribute to Giuseppe Mighali, known as Pino Zimba, symbol of the rebirth of Salento's popular musical culture. "Migala" is also the ancient name of the tarantula, a predominant symbol in the Italian Popular Music culture of recent years in which a new folk revival has reaffirmed.
Active in the field of live music in acclaimed Roman music clubs and national festivals, the group is characterized by a work of fusion and encounter between stylistic choices that aim to represent in a World Music key some elements of the musical heritage of the oral tradition of Central Southern Italy . Original compositions or compositions taken from the traditional repertoire ranging from Afro-Mediterranean, Balkan, Latin, and traditional popular music sounds.
The original and unreleased songs by Migala had the great contribution of Pasqualino Ubaldini, composer and arranger with a fervent creativity, specialized in jazz, ethno jazz and world sounds with guitar, bouzouki, oud, mandola, mandolin and Portuguese guitar.
In 2014 the album "World 'n' Folk Music" was released: "Folk, Balkan tradition, pizzica, taranta and much more. Enthusiastic, engaging music that pervades the veins. A journey struggling with the sounds of the Mediterranean, which starts from the most popular Neapolitan music and gradually enters the sunny streets of Salento and its people of tarantolati, reaches the African Savannah and its ethnic background, up to climb the Balkans to the sound of traditional folk. […] A mixture of genres that tries to break down racial walls and differences in language and dialect and does so with instruments ranging from mandolin to tambourine, from violin to Celtic flute, all masterfully animated by the band. It is enthusiastic, engaging music that pervades the veins, the blood boils and you dance. " (2014 Rockit Review)
The album also obtained notable awards:
• 1st place "The Battle of the Bands" organized by the World Music Network label with the track "Rotta a Levante" published in the compilation "The rough guide to the best world music you've never heard"
• 3rd Place "Critics Award" for the "Musica Nelle Aie 2015" Review (Faenza)
• More than 500,000 plays and more than 2000 downloads on the "Jamendo" music portal
• First place with the track "Pizzingara" in the "East European" category of the World Music Charts of Ethnocloud (February 2015)
• Second Place with the track "Bicicletta" in the "Gipsy" category of the Ethnocloud World Music Charts (February 2021)
The current purpose of the band is to continue the musical path traced from the beginning of the project, always involving new established musicians who can contribute to the creation of a language that connects the different popular and musical cultures, continuing to seek the encounter between peoples through the traditional music in an original and participatory expression.
Collaborated and played with us: Emilio Quaglieri, Mario Peperoni, Emanuele Lituri, Francesca Palombo, Paolo Pavan, Fabio Guandalini, Stefano Todarello, Antonio Pappadà, Natalino Frijia, Gianluca Zammarelli, Massimiliano Felice, Elena Masullo, Matteo Giuliani and Andrea Marchesino.
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LIVE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES:
• Festival Musica al Castello 2009 (Castelsardo - Sardegna)
• Murata Street Sound Festival 2009 (Arce – Fr)
• 7° Posto Centro-Italia Martelive 2010 (Roma)
• Festival "Di Voci e Di Suoni" 2010 (Caprarola)
• Popoli Festival in Salento 2010 e 2011 (Corsano – Specchia “notte bianca”- Le)
• 1° Posto Boville Etno Contest 2010 (Boville Ernica - Fr)
• Roma Tarantella Festival 2010 (Roma)
(Direzione Artistica Mimmo Epifani)
• Festival Arte Cultura Eventi Milo 2010 in Sicilia
(Direzione Artistica Franco Battiato)
• Rassegna Jazz Nartraradio Roma Teatro Fara Nume 2010 (Ostia)
• Teatro Arcobaleno 2010
• Teatro Valle Occupato 2011 (Roma)
• San Lorenzo Music Fest 2012 (Roma)
• Teatro Volturno Occupato 2012 (Roma)
• Roma RiSuona - Centro Culturale Elsa Morante (Roma)
• Musei in Musica Roma Capitale 2012
• Festival Toffia "Riviviamo il Centro Storico" (2014)
• 1° posto "The Battle of the Bands" indetto dall'Etichetta World Music Network - Aprile 2014 - (Regno Unito)
• 3° Posto Classifica "Premio Critica" per la Rassegna "Musica Nelle Aie 2015" (Faenza)
• Festival Mediterraneo dell'Incontro presso l'Auditorium Santa Chiara - Dicembre 2015 (Roma)
• Festival Contaminazioni presso Scuola di Musica Popolare di Testaccio - Edizione 2016 (Roma)
• Festival Adriatico Mediterraneo 2016 (Ancona)
• Festa del Sud 2016 presso Eataly (Roma)
• Contaminazioni presso Scuola di Musica Popolare di Testaccio - Edizione 2016 (Roma)