Redska - Sounds of revolution

CD available from https://www.redstar73.com/tienda
Third act for the REDSKA, presenting their new album “LA RIVOLTA” (“The Riot”), released in 2012 by One Step Records/Venus in Italy, Mad Butcher Records in Germany and the rest of Europe, and by RedStar73 Records in Spain. RedSka have devoted a large part of their 10th year (2011) to record an album whose sound was born on the road during the 4 years of touring that followed the release of the previous CD “Le mie prigioni” (“My prisons”). The new album includes the whole range of suggestions, influences ad experiences collected during their wanderings around Europe. The lyrics, inspired by the events of these years, are characterized by social and political commitments, with strong stands against fascism, racism, sexism, capitalism and the system which is destroying our planet, against a religious apparatus (mostly catholic) parasitic on the Italian society. Subcomandante Marcos’ words introduce the first track “Sounds of Revolution”, the opening instrumental piece that provides an overview of the sound and power you will find in the CD: a perfect fit of punk, reggae, ska and raggamuffin reaches and carries away the listener into the album. Overall, “La Rivolta” comes across as a varied work both in the lyrics and the songs, but all share a strong sense of struggle and contrast and razor-sharp sentences. The album narrates of the struggles against xenophobia, racism (“Legato dalla lega”) and homophobia (“Quello che sei”), about the violent deaths by the hand of the state (“Bastardi senza gloria”, dedicated to Stefano Cucchi) and about pedophilia in the Catholic Church (with the granitic “Lettera a sua santità”). The RedSka don’t stop at that and continue with the title track “La Rivolta”, dealing with the struggles for the denied rights of those who arrive in Europe looking for a better future and are risking their lives for it. “La Rivolta” is also an album rich in collaborations, as is the tradition of RedSka records. The first one is the featuring of Valerio, lead singer of The OFFENDERS, italo-german 2-tone ska band, in “Hooligan Rudeboys”, a proper anthem dedicated to anti-racist and anti-fascist supporters and against modern football. In the ska-swing of “Studente precario rivoluzionario” dedicated to student protests violently repressed by the police, the song is enriched by the voice of Kino, leader of ARPIONI, historic Italian ska-band. The sole cover in the album, honouring the great band of THE CLASH, has been entirely sung by the powerful voice of Micky, singer of NO RELAX. The list ends with RUDE HI-FI, dj and singer of LA MAQUINA featuring in “Eroi”, song dedicated to Vittorio Arrigoni and the volunteers of Emergency and Amnesty International. The new album closes with a sound experimentation: in “Natura” the RedSka put themselves to the test of a reggae-dub-drum&bass experiment, a real cry of warning and hope for a planet on the verge of environmental disaster. For the last track, the RedSka dust off “Vivo”, a song from the first album, rearranged in a rock-steady style and renamed “Vivo-steady” for the occasion, as a tribute to the eleven-year life of the band, founded in 2001. “LA RIVOLTA” is a “true” album, born on the road, where the RedSka express their full potential and their musical, communicative, politic and social commitments. “LA RIVOLTA”, co-produced by Atomic Studio, is published in Italy by One Step Records/Venus, in Germany and the rest of Europe by Mad Butcher Records and in Spain by RedStar73 Records. It’s also available at all digital stores (iTunes, Amazon, ecc.).