History Madrugada

There are multiple artists named Madrugada (meaning "early hours of the morning" in Spanish and Portuguese): 1) A Norwegian rock band. 2) An Italian 1970s band.

1) Madrugada was a Norwegian rock band formed in 1995 in a little place called Stokmarknes in Vesterålen. The band's members include Frode Jacobsen (bass), Sivert Høyem (vocals) and Robert Burås (guitar, 12-8-1975 / 12-7-2007 R.I.P.) The band laid the band to rest the year after.

Simen Vangen replaced Jon Lauvland Pettersen, a founding member of Madrugada. Lauvland Pettersen left the band in 2002 after their second album (The Nightly Disease) and is currently playing in the band Milestone Refinery. In 2005, Vangen announced that he was leaving and stated he wanted to focus on various jazz projects, things that did not fit together with being a member of Madrugada. However, he will continue to collaborate with Sivert Høyem in The Opposition. On the final tour, and the two last albums, Erland Dalen played drums.

Madrugada finished recording their fourth album - The Deep End - late in 2004 and it was released on 28 February 2005 in Norway, on 31 March in the rest of Europe and finally in the US on 11 April. A radio single entitled "The Kids Are on High Street" was released for domestic radio play on January 14. A music video for the single was also filmed in London.

On 14th December 2005, Madrugada released their first live album - Live at Tralfamadore. Tralfamadore is the fictional home planet of aliens from several novels by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. By the end of 2005 - less than a month after its release - it became 2005's best selling album in Norway with The Deep End as the runner-up. The year was capped off with Madrugada winning three awards at the annual Spellemannprisen - the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammys. They won for Best Rock Album, Best Song and Spellemann of the Year.

On July 12th 2007 Madrugadas guitarist Robert Burås was found dead in his apartment in Oslo. The reason of his early passing is still unknown, but the police do not suspect any criminal acts to be involved. Burås was known for his hard lifestyle, but his death still came as a shock. Burås' record-company EMI released a press statement translated from Norwegian as follows:

"Our dear friend, Robert Burås, passed away 12.07.07. He was 31 years old."

Robert dedicated his life to music. He was a guitarist and songwriter for Madrugada for 12 years. He spent the last year with his own band My Midnight Creeps, as well as songwriting and recording a new Madrugada album.

Robert passed away at a time when he was at his most creative. Through what he's done on albums, and on stage, both domestic and foreign, he has left his very own touch on Norwegian rock history. Everyone who worked together with Robert will remember him as a warm and loving person who had music in his veins.

There are alot of us who love Robert, and has taken this day with extreme sadness. Robert will always be a part of us, and he will be deeply missed. Our thoughts go to his closest family. We offer our deepest condolances to Roberts friends and family, and wish to support them through this tough time."

Madrugada went out on one last tour, which started on May 1st in Holland, and ended November 15th in Oslo Spektrum. This last gig was called "The Last Supper". The last concerts were canceled, without any clear reason.

In 2010, Madrugada's best-selling debut album "Industrial Silence" was re-released as a remastered deluxe edition including a bonus CD featuring assorted B-sides and previously unreleased songs.

Discography

Albums

Industrial Silence (1999)

The Nightly Disease (2001)

Grit (2002)

The Deep End (2005)

Live at Tralfamadore (2005)

Madrugada (2008)

EPs

Madrugada EP (1998)

New Depression EP (1999)

Electric (2000)

Higher EP (2000)

Hands Up - I Love You (2001)

A Deadend Mind (2001)

Ready (2002)

Singles

Beautyproof (2000)

Majesty (2003)

The Kids are on High Street (2005)

Lift Me [Feat. Ane Brun] (2005)

Look Away Lucifer (2008)

"What's On Your Mind?" (2008)

2) Madrugada was a band from Bergamo, Italy, formed around 1970, and had a long life that lasted until 1978. The group derived from some 60's beat bands like I Condor, that included bass player Alessandro Zanelli and keyboardist Franco Orlandini (from Mat 65 and who later worked with Equipe 84 and Claudio Rocchi), and later changed name to Le Lunghe Storie, and along them from Le Bugie and Gruppo 3. But the basic nucleus came from Terza Classe, which also gave birth to Perdio.

Though not properly a progressive rock album, their first one, only released in 1974 by Philips, contains some interesting parts.

It contains seven tracks, some of which were arranged and signed by Roberto Vecchioni (a singer-songwriter that's still very popular nowadays), while three songs were composed by Mauro Paoluzzi.

The first side shows some influences by a West Coast styled sound, with multivocal parts very well executed but not particularly original. Second side contains the long Mandrax, led by Gianfranco Pinto's keyboards, that's probably the best album track.

Except for a limited use of acoustic guitar on Uomo blu the band didn't use guitars and their sound was strongly based on keyboards and richly arranged vocal parts.

Second album came three years later, this time the trio was helped by some guest musicians like Lucio Fabbri on violin (Piazza delle Erbe and later PFM), the jazz saxophonist Gianluigi Trovesi, and Luciano Ninzatti (from Eugenio Finardi's band Crisalide) on guitar.

With a much better production and sound, this can be considered the best of their two albums, with long tracks like the opening Romanzen or Aragon showing a very good composition quality. Another nice song was È triste il vento, that had previously been played by another group from Bergamo that had a close connection with Madrugada, Perdio.

Like in the first album there are some odd different-styled tracks, like the folky Noter de Berghem and the silly Katmandu (that was also released on single with È triste il vento, but with no success), but Incastro can be surely appreciated by progressive music fans. Unfortunately it didn't have a good promotion by the record company.

In concert, Madrugada played on tour with Area, Claudio Rocchi and Biglietto per l'Inferno, and in Lugano (Switzerland) with Kevin Ayers. Moreover they played in many concerts for political movements like Avanguardia Operaia and the Radical Party and the Re Nudo magazine. The band split at the end of the 1970s.

Pinto and Zanelli collaborated with Mauro Paoluzzi in his shortlived Pangea project, which produced only a promotional album in 1976.

Keyboardist Pinto has collaborated with many Italian and international artists (Patty Pravo, Roberto Vecchioni, Adriano Pappalardo, Riccardo Fogli, Gianna Nannini, Brian Auger), and in the late 90's with the reformed progressive group Perdio.

He works in a music school in the Parma area and still plays now in studio, with live bands and in the piano bar circuit.

Bass player Billy Zanelli formed the semi-punk group Judas, with an album on Spaghetti label in 1978, and later played with Roberto Vecchioni.

Discography

LPs

Madrugada (Philips, 1974)

Incastro (Philips, 1977)

CDs

Madrugada (AMS/BTF, 2006 / Universal, 2010)

Incastro (AMS/BTF, 2006 / Universal, 2010)

Singles

Katmandu / È triste il vento (Philips, 1977)

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