Leatherette

About

" The Italian indie band Iggy Pop fell in love with "

Known for its delicious food and splendid medieval sights, the city of Bologna, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, now also has another thing to boast about. Their new musical stars are Leatherette, a quintet formed by youngsters between 25 and 29 years old whose explosive sound blends post punk and no wave, and has even managed to attract the attention of punk icon Iggy Pop, who has played their tracks several times on his ‘Iggy Confidential’ program on BBC Radio 6.

After an initial EP, ‘Mixed Waste’, was realized remotely in 2021 because of Covid related restrictions, Michele Battaglioli (guitar and vocals), Marco Jespersen (bass), Jacopo Finelli (tenor sax and synth), Andrea Gerardi (second guitar) and Francesco Bonora (drums) – who like to self-deprecatingly define themselves as ‘five shy guys who sometimes get off the stage and punch people’ – released their first album ‘Fiesta’ (a title taken from the eponymous Ernest Hemingway’s novel) on October 2022. It gathered an enthusiastic response from their audience not only for their fresh music, but also thanks to ironic videos such as ‘So Long’, mocking the famous music game Guitar Hero, and ‘Thin Ice’, featuring an evil version of Sesame Street character Cookie Monster.

Embarking on a successful European and English tour they then made a name for themselves in the European post punk scene. But the five definitely don’t like the idea of being caged in a musical genre: they came back in 2023 with a new album, ‘Small Talk’, featuring elements of noise, free jazz and distorted pop, thus demonstrating they have courage as well as talent. This bravery has been rewarded, as they are now one of the most praised indie bands on mainstream music magazines such as Rolling Stone Italia and Billboard Italia, and are soon going to showcase their new album at festivals such as Groningen’s Eurosonic and Ljubljana’s Ment. Bravo!