Almendra Music: A Creative Factory in Palermo
Almendra Music, a Palermo-based record label founded in 2012 by Gianluca Cangemi, Luca Rinaudo (Naiupoche), Danilo Romancino, and Antonio Cusimano (3112htm), operates as an integrated artistic ecosystem rather than a traditional label. The founders bring diverse backgrounds: a classical composer turned sound installation artist, an electronic music producer who debuted with an audiovisual work, a sound engineer pivotal to Sicilian documentary cinema, and an art director from the early glitch-art and digital art scene. The label integrates visual design—covers, videos, live visuals—as organic to music creation, spanning classical, electronic, new jazz, improvisation, and rock. All production occurs at their Zeit Studio in Palermo, near Palazzo dei Normanni. The team claims no similar integrated musical-artistic project has existed in Italy since Gianni Sassi's Cramps Records. Palermo is poised for international attention with Manifesta and its 2018 role as Italian Capital of Culture.
Key facts
- Almendra Music was founded in 2012 in Palermo.
- Founders: Gianluca Cangemi, Luca Rinaudo (Naiupoche), Danilo Romancino, Antonio Cusimano (3112htm).
- The label integrates visual design with music production.
- Studio location: Zeit Studio, near Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo.
- Music genres include classical, electronic, new jazz, improvisation, and rock.
- The team compares their approach to Gianni Sassi's Cramps Records.
- Palermo will host Manifesta and was Italian Capital of Culture in 2018.
- The label's name derives from the Spanish word for almond, symbolizing cultural exchange.
Entities
Artists
- Gianluca Cangemi
- Luca Rinaudo
- Danilo Romancino
- Antonio Cusimano
- Joseph Beuys
- Gianni Sassi
Institutions
- Almendra Music
- Zeit Studio
- Cramps Records
- Manifesta
- Artribune
Locations
- Palermo
- Italy
- Palazzo dei Normanni