Ex-Otago revives the “trallalero”

Ex-Otago revives the “trallalero”

A great party four years after the last concert in Genoaa return “home”. The Ex-Otagoafter returning to tour last year and releasing the album in April 2024 “Congratulations” they close a sort of circle by performing a stone’s throw from the sea, at the Porto Antico, on the occasion of the Live in Genova festival, in front of 5 thousand people. The concert, being a symbolic date illuminated by the light of the Lantern, is a real dive into their history between present and past: in the lineup, among the many, rare pearls appear such as “Gli Ex-Otago e La Jaguar Gialla”, but also “Mare”, “Solo una canzone”, a song sung at the top of their lungs with which they graced the stage at the 69th Sanremo Festival, “Cinghiali incazzati”, preceded by a tribute to Franchino, “Tutto bene”, “Costa Rica”, “Gli occhi della luna” and many others. And there is no shortage of guests: on “La nostra pelle” comes Willie Peyotean important piece also in terms of awareness with a speech on identity curated by Elisa “Hellsy” Casaleggio, while on “Non credo più a niente” all the energy of Olly.

As always, an Otaghi concert, in addition to being a pop triumph, in the sense of sincere, true and popular – after all, they were fundamental in bringing indie into the mainstream – also has unforeseen, naive and unexpected sides. Through an initial gag introducing the band, the group pays homage to the “trallalero”. Everyone, right at the beginning of the live, expects the band composed of Maurizio Carucci, Simone Bertuccini, Olmo Martellacci, Rachid Bouchabla and Giorgia Sudati, and instead the group EthnoGenova directed by Paolo Besagno appears who sings, a cappella and in a “trallalero” version, “Quando sono con te”. The audience, after an initial moment of astonishment, begins to follow the melody with their voices, creating a powerful Karaoke effect. Trallalero is a traditional form of polyphonic singing typical of the Genoese hinterland. It is practiced by exclusively vocal groups and, with very few exceptions, exclusively male. Its characteristic, reflected in the onomatopoeia of the name itself, consists of the imitation of a complete range of vocal and instrumental sounds by a group that is actually limited to only male voices. So, next to the voices that interpret the main melody, there are roles of harmonic support, accompaniment, rhythmic support. The Ex-Otago, for one night, have brought it back to life, they made it pop, making a strange, magical and rich gift of feeling to their city.