It’s a musical project dedicated to the mountains, to the North (Luisa was born in the Italian Alps in Trentino and now she lives in Appennini mountains in Emilia-Romagna). Man has always been connected with tree, with its crown spreading in the sky and its roots descending in the earth. An eternal dialogue between hell and paradise, between life and death: in the case of winter it’s a suspended animation, a vegetative rest followed by a spring rebirth every year.

Human life in the winter, on the mountain or in the North, is a struggle for survival. Thus the cold season often symbolizes war, disease and death. But snow and mountains mean enchantment too, silence, meditation and inner strength . That’s why in this project you go from an Alpine tune of the Great War to a sailing-through-the-air soundtrack, then you go from a snowy lullaby to an a cappella fantasy about permafrost, and then from a yodel to "roof of the world” vocalities.

Luisa Cottifogli – voice
Gabriele Bombardini – guitars, live electronics
Oskar Boldre – voice, overtones, beat box
Gianni Pirollo – clarinet, piano

LUISA COTTIFOGLI is an artist of the voice, or rather an alchemist of the voice …

Voice to her means singing, collecting sounds to transform, improvising, acting and traveling in different cultures. She obtained a diploma in both singing (Conservatorio G.B. Martini) and acting (Accademia Antoniana) at Bologna. She performed in the same city as a soprano at Teatro Comunale dell’Opera, as an actress at Teatro delle Moline (member of its company) and as a radio-broadcaster for her national radio-tv (RAI). She has been singing early music and a cappella music in Italy and Europe, then experimented new vocal styles, contemporary opera, jazz.

She was awarded, together with San Petronius Trio (Enrico Guerzoni and Aurelio Zarrelli) with the Ispra Prize in 1992 and Filarmonica Romana Prize in 1994.

She created the female vocal sextet Vocinblue, arranging a cappella music and collaborating with such Italian artists as Ivano Fossati (Macramè), Lucio Dalla (Milingo), Glauco Mauri (The Tempest by Shakespeare), Nicola Campogrande (Capelas Imperfeitas).

She sang in Arabic and Italian with the band Metissage, releasing a cd of the same name. (Il Manifesto 1997, featuring Teresa De Sio and Rita Marcotulli). Together with Marlevar, singing in Provencale language, she appeared in the Chieftains’ Italian tour ’02 and released the cd also entitled “Marlevar” (Forrest Hill Records 1997).

Thanks to the journalist Niranjan Jhaveri (Mumbai-New York) she obtained a scholarship from Jazz Yatra and moved to India, studying and performing there. After this experience she starts composing and working on original projects and multimedia performances: in solo voice or together with other musicians and visual artists (Gabriele Bombardini, Enrico Guerzoni, Leo Z, Gabriele Mirabassi, Simone Zanchini, Gianni Pirollo, Andrea Bernabini, Gian Luca Beccari, Antonia Ciampi, Enrico Benetta…).

Live projects and recordings came to life such as Aiò Nenè (commissioned to her by the National Austrian Radio ORF) and Rumì (Forrest Hill Records, awarded with “Imola in Musica Prize” and nomination at “Tenco Prize”, produced and arranged by Leo Z, with orchestra conduction by Mauro Malavasi and mastering by Serse Mai).

Furthermore, she performs as an actress-singer : Anita dei due mondi dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi’s wife Anita, a Ravenna Festival production (directed by Vetrano and Randisi with script by Federica Iacobelli and musicians such as Gabriele Bombardini, Enrico Guerzoni, Gabriele Mirabassi, Gianni Pirollo, Chicco Capiozzo): several pieces from the show are collected in the concept album Anita (Nuccia-Egea 2010).

From 2005 to 2009 Luisa has been the vocalist of Quintorigo: the band with which she released several CDs and is awarded in 2008 with the Top Jazz Award (the best Italian jazz magazine “Musica Jazz” award).

In 2013 together with the bassist Aldo Mella and the percussionist Gigi Biolcati she creates the YOULOOK trio and releases the album Desert Island (Art Up 2014).

In 2016 she makes her debut in Pupattole, a tribute to the singer-actress Laura Betti directed by Francesca Ballico (with Camilla Missio on bass) and in a multimedia tribute to the priest philosopher David Maria Turoldo: Turoldo Vivo (music by Valter Sivilotti and Riccardo Miani, staging by Giuliano Bonanni, directed by Giuseppe Tirelli). Then, thanks to Riccardo Tesi she takes part in the renewal of the historical show of traditional Italian music Bella Ciao, (with Lucilla Galeazzi, Elena Ledda, Ginevra Di Marco, Alessio Lega).

She recently released her latest album Come un albero d’inverno (Like a tree in winter), in which voices play a major role: produced together with Gabriele Bombardini it is dedicated to the North, mountains and metaphorically to the hard life of mankind.

Luisa performed at the most important festivals in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania, Slovenia, Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom, Hungary, China and India.

Among her collaborations also are Andrea Parodi (Tazenda), Guo Hue, Giovanna Marini (composer and ethnomusicologist), David Riondino, Flavio Premoli (PFM), Andrea Centazzo, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Tomaso Lama.