Andrea Terrano

Let Andrea Terrano take you on a musical journey to his hometown of Trieste. Nestled in Northern Italy, Trieste in Northern Italy is the last stop on the journey to the east. A cosmopolitan port, the town fuses Slovakian and Italian cultures, and it is from these disparate musical influences that Andrea creates his own distinctive style of playing. Andrea picked up his first guitar at the age of 6. Initially classically trained, he later moved on to modern styles, employing electric guitars and performing original music with bands. Part Sicilian, part Ukrainian, he grew up on a diet of Russian folk, Klesmer and the Italian harmony tradition. In addition to the guitar, Andreas also plays bass and keyboards. At 14 he brought his first 4 track recorder, and thus began his experimentation with sound, as he recalls: "I remember lying on my bed with headphones at night, listening to the raindrops through a microphone hanging down the window." After a brief spell in the compulsory Italian military service, Andrea left the shores of his homeland for London, and to study his beloved music further. The next two years were essential in terms of both experience and influences. Gaining his first job as sound engineer/producer, Andrea soaked up a wealth of recording knowledge, all the time concentrating on his own music while he worked as an engineer, programmer and producer. As a session guitarist, Andrea's style has been influenced by world music, resulting in a colourful pot pourri of Russian, Gypsy, Klezmer, hip hop, dub, soul, Latin, Cuban and African sounds. He has performed with some of the best exponents of these styles throughout the UK and Europe, and has also released a number of records, with styles ranging from dub and ambient. In spite these influences, and his love of Ennio Morricone, Vangelis, Arvo Part, Gavin Bryars, Bach, Vivaldi and Brian Eno, his heart still remains firmly planted in the Italian harmonic tradition. "Latin Soul" was recorded both in Andrea's own Iguana Studio in Brixton and in Trieste, where he recently purchased an original acoustic guitar from the town's leading guitar maker, Banchi. As he says, "it was a labour of love for Banchi, and that is what my music is".