Mondo Fine
Mondo Fine | |
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 Mondo Fine. Left to right: Simona Muscatello, Emilia Piccioni, Alida Cicciarelli, Ella Di Giulio | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Valona, Alţira, Gylias |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Members |
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Mondo Fine (Italian: "Refined World") are a Gylian jazz band, formed in 2005 in Valona. Their members are Ella Di Giulio (guitar), Alida Cicciarelli (keyboards), Emilia Piccioni (bass), and Simona Muscatello (drums).
They are famed for their versatile jazz sound, experimentation with multiple genres, and sharp-dressed image, and are currently considered one of Gylias' biggest jazz groups. Their rise to fame was aided by an association with Susan Shelley, who produced their first albums and collaborated with them on the soundtrack to Castle Bang.
History
The members of Mondo Fine originally worked as photographic models. They met during a photoshoot for The Travelling Companion, where the photographer dressed them in suits and photographed them in black and white. The images proved greatly popular upon publication, and they decided to form a band to match the resulting image, even though they had no musical experience.
They moved to Valona, chose Italian stage names as part of a general theme of italianità, and began rehearsing for 8 hours a day. They lived together in the same house and lived a lifestyle in accordance with their "retro" image. Once they felt they had sufficient skill as musicians, they began playing in local clubs, where their sharp-dressed image helped them gain a following.
Susan Shelley discovered the band after attending one of their gigs in Mişeyáke, and was impressed. She took them under her wing, and became their producer. Their debut album Signore e Signori was released in 2008, to critical acclaim. She also brought them in as the jazz combo for the soundtrack of Castle Bang. She remarked in one of her last interviews:
"I've tried to turn the lovely ladies of Mondo Fine into my idea of a perfect group. Complete songwriting discipline, complete instrumental chemistry, and complete elegance in look."
Mondo Fine's style developed over their next few albums — Dress Code (2011), Modernism (2013), and Nightlife Symphony (2015) —, and they came to be considered one of Gylias' biggest jazz groups. Their 2016 album If We Never Rocked…, their last to be produced by Susan, was a cover album of rock songs performed in a jazz style. Musical Update described it as "an act of cheeky audio alternate history", and wrote: "Mondo Fine carefully strip these songs of their rock elements and refashion them so successfully into elegant supper club music that they present a great case for their brilliance, and provide a wonderful example of musicians in solidarity across genre lines."
Beginning with 2018's Indigo, they would self-produce their albums, with Lucy Shelley as their main engineer.
Musical style
Mondo Fine are a jazz band. They have explored various subgenres, including jazz fusion, chamber jazz, trad jazz, cool jazz, third stream, and light music. Their later releases have also drawn influences from psychedelia, post-rock, and ambient.
Their trademark sound, as refined by Susan Shelley, is characterised by brushed drums, deep dub-influenced bass sounds, clean guitar with reverb, and a usual reliance on piano and Rhodes as the main keyboard instruments. Lucy Shelley, their longtime engineer, described them as focused on "sense of space and depth of sound" while recording, and concerned with maintaining an organic feel to the music.
Members
- Ella Di Giulio (Gylic transcription: Ela Diďulio) — guitar
- Alida Cicciarelli (Gylic transcription: Alida Cicareli) — keyboards
- Emilia Piccioni (Gylic transcription: Emilia Piconi) — bass
- Simona Muscatello (Gylic transcription: Simona Muskatelo) — drums
Discography
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Signore e Signori | Studio album |
| 2011 | Dress Code | Studio album |
| 2012 | Music from Castle Bang | Soundtrack album |
| 2013 | Modernism | Studio album |
| 2015 | Nightlife Symphony | Studio album |
| 2016 | If We Never Rocked… | Studio album |
| 2018 | Indigo | Studio album |
| 2019 | Music from Madame Mirage | Soundtrack album |
| 2020 | Sentimental | Studio album |
| 2022 | Ballroom | Studio album |