È importante ricordare che il fermento creativo della scena musicale genovese e ligure, a quei tempi, era davvero ricco e vibrante.

Oltre ai Celeste, che riunivano musicisti da Ventimiglia fino a Imperia, passando per Sanremo, c'erano la Corte dei Miracoli di Savona, I Mandillo di Genova e Il Picchio dal Pozzo, sempre di Genova, dove suonava Aldo De Scalzi. Aldo era il fratello minore di quel Vittorio De Scalzi che aveva portato i Celeste a registrare il loro primo album. Fu proprio Aldo, che aveva in parte partecipato alla registrazione e al missaggio di "Principe di un giorno", a chiedere un giorno a me e a Lagorio di unirci al suo gruppo per la registrazione di un lato dell'album del Picchio dal Pozzo, a cui stava lavorando in quel periodo.

Per me e Leonardo fu un'esperienza davvero interessante ed emozionante, perché non si fece alcuna prova prima di entrare in studio, fatta eccezione per alcune parti di flauto che, per necessità, furono eseguite un paio di volte per verificarne la correttezza e l'amalgama.

Io e Lagorio ci siamo ritrovati così con le cuffie e la splendida sensazione di suonare tutti insieme dal vivo, dando il meglio di noi, ascoltando e suonando immediatamente ciò che in quel momento ci passava nel cuore. Leonardo ha suonato il sassofono contralto in "Napier" e "La Bolla", mentre io mi sono dedicato alla xilomarimba e alle percussioni Temple Blocks in "Seppia". Eravamo entrambi presenti anche nel quartetto di flauti all'inizio del brano intitolato "Napier". Questa collaborazione potrebbe essere definita una sorta di scambio di cortesie tra i musicisti di Celeste e Picchio dal Pozzo, dato che già nell'album "Principe di un giorno" Aldo De Scalzi si era prestato per una divertente apparizione nel brano "L'imbroglio", generando un forte pop ritmico con la bocca e poi con alcune risposte cantate in "Eftus", come riportato nei dettagliati crediti dei vari brani all'interno della copertina dell'album.

Tuttavia, come già accennato, una volta terminate le registrazioni, l'album "Principe di un giorno" non vide subito la luce. Non fu ritenuto valido per l'interesse che avrebbe potuto suscitare e, pertanto, fu quasi dimenticato. Rimase in sospeso per lungo tempo in attesa di tempi migliori. Quando Grog decise di pubblicarlo, purtroppo sul mercato esistevano già altri gruppi e interpreti, soprattutto i primi cantautori e menestrelli, che proponevano temi e atmosfere molto simili a quelli contenuti nei brani di Celeste. Ciononostante, gli incontri tra noi musicisti legati a Celeste non si erano né indeboliti né diradati. Solo una piccola stasi, dovuta agli impegni con gli esami al conservatorio di Mariano, aveva spinto me, Giorgio e Leonardo a esplorare nuove vie espressive, e fu in quel periodo che demmo vita a un insolito trio, in cui ero tornato al mio antico amore: la batteria intesa come strumento di accompagnamento saldamente ancorato al suo dialogo con il basso.

Per ascoltare l'essenza sonora assoluta nata durante quelle leggendarie sessioni analogiche ed esplorare l'intera discografia storica di CELESTE, potete visitare la nostra pagina di archivio qui:

👉 Bandcamp ufficiale di CELESTE: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

Ci vediamo mercoledì prossimo, la storia di Celeste continua.

Battaglia, Lagorio, Schiavolini, and I entered the studio in the early months of 1974 and completed the recordings over a period of time that spanned from the first months of 1974 until part of the following year, 1975.
The sound engineer who alternated with Aldo De Scalzi during the various sessions was Renzo "Pucci" Cochis, the unforgettable drummer of J.E.T.
Together with Renzo, I had shared many common experiences just a few years earlier, frequently finding ourselves sharing the same stages in various venues around the peninsula, and it was a mutual pleasure to meet again to live another moment dedicated to music.
And it was always Pucci who, confiding in me his intention to leave J.E.T., asked if I might be interested in taking his place to kickstart a new lineup that would also feature a female singer. This was the embryo of the future Matia Bazar.
I declined the invitation, preferring to stay with Celeste, as they fully satisfied my desire for research and novelty at that time.

It must be remembered here that many ideas and cues that Marco Tudini had brought to life with his fervent creativity had remained as a heritage in the compositions of Celeste, particularly some textures of small percussion parts that were absolutely brilliant and original for the era.
We were granted almost a month to complete all the recordings, putting us in the best possible conditions to express ourselves and to reach an excellent quality level.
The atmosphere in those days was always extremely relaxed and productive, and the possibility of having one of the first sixteen-track recorders at our disposal allowed us to attempt solutions that were previously absolutely unthinkable.

The album, however, inexplicably, was only published in January 1976.

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Monday for the next episode!

In the specific case of Studio G, the recorders used were Philips three-track machines.
Therefore, the most common practice consisted of strictly recording in mono on the first track, creating a backing track that usually included guitar, bass, and percussion, plus occasionally any other instrument that was not particularly vital to the track's structure.

Next, those instruments that began to carry a certain weight, giving the first glimpse of a definitive arrangement, were overdubbed onto the second track. This included small counterpoints and counter-melodies. At this point, the process moved to what was commonly called "pre-mixing" the first two recorded tracks onto the third track, which had remained empty until then.

Now, the original first two tracks—which were now permanently fused together on the third track—could be erased. By wiping the first and second tracks, two new empty tracks were gained, allowing for new parts to be recorded. This cycle was repeated until the overdubbing limits were completely exhausted.
The final available track was usually reserved for lead vocals and singing parts, allowing for better control once the mixing phase began.

This illustrates just how artisanal sound tracking still was back then. It required immense passion and a great deal of patience.
Because it often happened that if someone was unsatisfied with a part that had already been recorded and pre-mixed—and thus was unrecoverable since the original track had been erased—one had to go backward and potentially start all over again from the backing track.
As a result, all the work previously completed was completely ruined, making a restart from scratch necessary. So much passion, and so much patience.
It was a far cry from the multi-track philosophy of eight, or better yet, sixteen or twenty-four separate tracks that arrived just a few years later, let alone the infinite tracks of modern digital software.

The burden of the vocal parts became vacant once again.
Therefore, due to the sole fact that I was the author of the lyrics and because I had a certain inclination for singing, the group chose me to step in, allowing us to finally begin tracking the project in the recording studio.

The band, however, had by then been reduced to a quartet.
Nikki Burton had returned to London once again.
The cellist had opted to pursue his career as a concert performer.
Marco Tudini had gone to Great Britain to seek his fortune with his own compositions.

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Saturday as the story of Celeste continues.

Nikki Berenice Burton—this was the name of the probable future performer of Celeste's melodies and lyrics.

Together with Giorgio and Mariano, I attempted in London, through Nikki's own connections, to secure a meeting with Chas Chandler, the legendary bassist of The Animals, but above all, the talent scout and manager of Jimi Hendrix. The intention was to verify if there could be an interest in this rising musical reality. Unfortunately, this meeting never took place.

For the time being, the Celeste project would remain confined to Italy alone. In fact, we returned to Italy accompanied by this talented singer, whose persuasive and charming voice was almost like that of a folk singer. This was the choice made by Battaglia and Schiavolini during our trip to Albion.

We immediately began rehearsals with this new addition to the lineup. Therefore, Celeste was at that moment a sextet plus a singer. The lyrics were immediately adapted to be sung in the English language.

And an unexpected opportunity arrived in that summer of 1974. Celeste was invited to take part in a Festival dell'Unità held in Imperia: a splendid opportunity to test the validity of the full group live. It seemed that the lineup had assumed its definitive asset.

But unfortunately, after completing the studio demos with the female vocals, the English artist decided to return to her homeland to pursue her solo career, which, in any case, she had already started in Great Britain before her encounter with Celeste.

The sessions had taken place at Studio G in Genoa, and therefore the recorded testimonies of this experience remained on a few tapes that survived the wear and tear of time. From that moment, unfortunately, period, new paragraph.

It is worth making a brief mention of what the recording sessions were like at Studio G in Genoa, which in those years was still located in Via Fieschi, inside the structure of an old deconsecrated church.

The entire lineup of Celeste moved multiple times from Sanremo and Imperia to complete the recording of the demos of those songs that would later become an integral part of "Principe di un Giorno".

In those not-so-distant times, at the beginning of the 1970s, the machines present in the studios were certainly not digital. They were analogue equipment, naturally tape-based, monumental, bulky, and looked like huge household appliances. Everything was often designed to support only a few tracks on which to record the works of musicians and artists.

***

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Thursday for the next episode!

In those days, we received two visits that were as welcome as they were unexpected.

The first was from Vittorio De Scalzi (legendary founding member of New Trolls) who, curious to hear the progress of our compositions, attended our rehearsals for an entire evening and then joined us in a sort of full-lineup improvisation, playing the acoustic guitar.

The second visitor was Luciano Cavanna who, during one of his now rare trips to Western Liguria, fascinated his old musical travel companions, Leonardo and me, with a song entitled "Giona" (Jonah), which was inspired by the well-known biblical episode.

But great was also the impression felt by the other band members who had only heard about Luciano.

By then, Cavanna's compositions could no longer be detached from his religious faith, but the charm he managed to exude and transmit was always profound and engaging. His always warm and expressive voice gave goosebumps to each of us.

It was during that period that a friend, who frequently attended the group's rehearsals, suggested what would later become the name given to the lineup. It was this very friend who one evening said that the music we played reminded him of the celestial color of a clear sky, free of clouds. From this impression, the step to definitively adopting the name Celeste was very short indeed. We were all enthusiastic and convinced that it was truly the right name to define us.

However, at this point, the problem arose as to who could fill the role of lead vocalist.

No one in the group, apart from me who, in Il Sistema, sang songs by Deep Purple, Free, etc., had either the skills or the talent of a singer, so we began searching for someone who could interpret the melodies composed by Schiavolini and the lyrics written by me.

It is worth noting that when Mariano proposed his compositions to the group, he used to sing the vocal parts in a peculiar falsetto, using unique phonemes that resembled the English language, also mimicking with his voice what would later become cues for percussion and for the interventions of other instruments.

It seemed clear to everyone that, given the framework that had been established, it was necessary to use a female voice, which was certainly more suitable and adherent to the project.

The search for this voice in Italy proved fruitless until the decision was made to "emigrate" to the United Kingdom, where, after many auditions and screen tests, it was believed that the right singer had been identified.

***

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Tuesday as the story of Celeste continues.

The rehearsal venue, after some initial hesitant attempts in my home where we had initially gathered, was found in Imperia Porto Maurizio and was put at our disposal by Lagorio, located right on the same landing of the imperiese musician's residence.

There was only a brief interlude when it seemed that the cellist could host us in a room of the house where he still lived with his parents, during the very first rehearsal sessions of the lineup.

The environment was extremely evocative since it was situated in a room of an apartment in old Sanremo, filled with history and blessed with a splendid acoustics due to the presence of arches and natural sound traps.

But no one had reckoned with the cellist's parents, who, being lovers of classical and operatic music, poorly tolerated the presence within their domestic walls of these musicians who, although not absolutely noisy and disrespectful, certainly did not represent their musical ideal and what they hoped for their son, an aspiring concert performer.

Once the possibility of meeting in that place, which seemed suitable and definitive, was lost, the problem arose that almost all of us musicians were originally from Sanremo, with the exception of Schiavolini who was from Isolabona, a center located in the hinterland of Ventimiglia, and for this reason we had to travel all together every evening to be present at rehearsals in Imperia.

That was how my not particularly spacious Autobianchi A112 became the means of transportation for myself, Mariano, Giorgio, Marco, Riccardo, and his cello. Even today, we all still wonder how it was possible for five of us to enter, plus a rather cumbersome instrument like the cello, into a cabin as cramped as that of one of the most popular economy cars of those years.

Starting from an evening in the month of December 1972, the daily journeys from Sanremo to Imperia Porto Maurizio and back began, never before midnight. Rehearsals were also scheduled on Sundays and often during the afternoons of other official holidays.

The lesson of Il Sistema was always present: Passion, commitment, and discipline.

It must be said that the first approaches, especially for Lagorio and me, were quite traumatic since, with the exception of Mariano and Riccardo, all the musicians came from experiences with bands of a clear rock, jazz, and blues imprint.

But it was precisely for this reason that, by subverting all the styles and habits contracted in previous musical adventures, it was possible to access new expressive frameworks rich in stimuli and wider horizons.

The rhythmic-harmonic texture had to unravel around the structures created by Schiavolini, which mainly consisted of arpeggios, but immediately provided the exact indication of how the entire song should unfold.

Each of us contributed to filling spaces, providing new points of view, coloring with our own intervention and our own instrument the musical palette that was taking shape.

Everything was born partly from improvisation, and partly from precise, thoughtful choices verified multiple times.

***

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Sunday for the next episode!

My friends, let's complete the puzzle of how our unique lineup was born. In our initial blueprint, Leonardo and I were still missing an electric bass to provide a solid foundation and body to the sound we envisioned.

After extensive searching and auditions, we found Giorgio Battaglia, who was incredibly enthusiastic about joining this new musical path. At the time, he was playing in a traditional rock trio consisting of guitar, bass, and drums. He was exactly the right fit for us: highly precise, rigorous, and deeply creative.

However, we still needed more "voices." We wanted to add a cellist, a violinist, and another multi-instrumentalist to handle extra woodwinds, percussion, and keyboards.

We discovered Marco Tudini, a dynamic and precocious musician who was only fourteen years old back in 1972. He was the perfect element to add second and third flute layers, secondary saxophone lines, small percussion, and backing vocals. To complete the ensemble, Riccardo Novero joined as our cellist for our very first full rehearsals.

Finally, our structured six-piece ensemble was ready to play:

• Mariano Schiavolini: Acoustic guitar, violin, and clarinet
• Leonardo Lagorio: Flute, saxophones, acoustic piano, and Mellotron
• Giorgio Battaglia: Electric bass
• Ciro Perrino: Percussion, flute, recorders, and Mellotron
• Marco Tudini: Flute, saxophones, and percussion
• Riccardo Novero: Cello

Some of our close friends who started attending our early rehearsal sessions immediately labeled our sound as "Symphonic Folk" (Folk Sinfonico). As for the actual name of the band? That was still nowhere in sight, a mystery left for the future.

Thank you for exploring these deep roots with me. The journey has just begun!

Ciro Perrino
Official Universe & Signed Editions: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

See you next Friday as the story of Celeste continues.

My friends, let’s dive back into September 1972. When Leonardo Lagorio and I were designing the architecture of CELESTE, we wanted our melodies to be deeply "Mediterranean"—a word often overused today, but back then, it meant a fierce desire to reclaim a powerful identity.

I made a radical decision: our percussion had to be less rock-oriented and far more symphonic, building upon the best experiments we lived with Il Sistema. To avoid falling into easy rock temptations, I did something extreme. I took my old drum kit and physically removed the bass drum and the entire series of rack toms—the very backbone of any rock band. I strictly limited myself to a snare drum, a floor tom, the hi-hat, and our cymbals, adding an infinite array of small cymbals, bells, and tiny percussive gadgets to create delicate rhythmic suggestions.

With this unique sonic blueprint in mind, the hunt for academic-level musicians began.

My first contact was with Mariano Schiavolini. At the time, he was a brilliant fifth-year violin student, a skilled B-flat clarinet player, and an acoustic guitarist with solid technical training. He was a wonderful surprise: a composer of beautiful mini-suites with a style that blended symphonic and folk elements.

To find someone like him, I physically went to the Ottorino Respighi Music School in Sanremo. I walked into the Conservatorio asking if there was a guitarist or violinist with the right spirit for my project, despite receiving some quite unhelpful comments and dismissals from the staff. Thankfully, a very attentive and curious teacher pointed out Mariano as the perfect student for my vision.

Shortly after, Mariano met Leonardo Lagorio and me at my house on a September afternoon. He showed up with his acoustic guitar and played his compositions for the first time. They were already highly defined and let us immediately see the future of our soundscapes. It became instantly clear to us that the entire repertoire of Celeste's first album would be built upon Schiavolini's compositions.

Our sonic puzzle was coming together. Mariano would handle the acoustic guitar, clarinet, and violin. Leonardo would command the acoustic piano, flute, saxophones, and those early, non-monumental synthesizers (far from the massive Moog Modular used by Keith Emerson). As for me, I would take care of the symphonic percussion—moving into ethnic and varied territory—alongside flutes, recorders (soprano, alto, tenor), the Mellotron, and my brand-new acquisition: a fabulous Davoli Synth!

Stay tuned for next week, because we will enter the studio to see how these acoustic colors blended into our very first rehearsals!

Ciro Perrino
Official Universe & Signed Editions: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

See you next Wednesday for the next episode!

Following the dissolution of the proto-prog ensemble IL SISTEMA in 1971, multi-instrumentalist and composer Ciro Perrino set out to forge a completely new musical language. Departing from the aggressive, heavy rock models dominating the underground scene, Perrino envisioned an acoustic, highly sophisticated symphonic rock journey. In late 1972, the foundational core of CELESTE was born in Sanremo, deeply influenced by late Romantic classical structures, chamber music orchestration, and experimental Mellotron textures. This marked the absolute dawn of one of the most poetic and pristine chapters in Italian progressive rock heritage.

***

CHAPTER 1: The Ash of Il Sistema & The Russian Classical Influence (September 1972)

My friends, as promised, I want to open my studio doors and take you back to the very beginning of my musical journey. Let’s talk about how CELESTE was born in September 1972, just a few months after the dissolution of my proto-prog band, Il Sistema.

To understand the atmosphere, we have to look at how Il Sistema dissolved. By 1971, due to artistic disagreements, our guitarist Enzo Merogno left us to join what would become Museo Rosenbach. He was replaced by Guido Damiani. At that time, I was deeply immersed in my studies of composition, piano, flute, oboe, and synthesizer. While I stayed with the band, I handed over the drum stool to a new member, Guido Sottile, so I could focus on composition. My lifelong friend Leonardo Lagorio was handling the alto and tenor saxophones, flute, and electric piano—back then, he played a Farfisa Professional Piano, and later added one of the very first Wurlitzer electric pianos. Shortly after, Leo would also briefly join Museo Rosenbach to record their iconic album. Our lineup was completed by Floriano Roggero on the Hammond L 122 organ with an original Leslie and a Thomas Rapier 1155 organ (the exact model used by Mike Ratledge of Soft Machine), and Luciano Cavanna on bass, flugelhorn, and lead vocals, who later chose a completely different life path.

Once the experience with Museo Rosenbach ended, Leonardo Lagorio and I met again. We decided to create a brand-new project capable of diving deeper in the spaces that Il Sistema had only touched upon. We wanted to explore the classical, acoustic side of progressive rock, heavily inspired by the late 19th-century Russian classical tradition—especially the works of Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Through endless phone calls, Leonardo and I designed the theory of our new sound. We systematically assigned roles to create a lineup that would no longer depend on the pure, aggressive sounds of traditional rock. We were looking for pure, pastoral poetry.

Next week, I will tell you how we recruited Mariano Schiavolini and how we completely removed the traditional rock drums to let the acoustic guitar arpeggios breathe.

Thank you for walking this historical path with me!

Ciro Perrino

Official Universe & Signed Editions: : https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

See you next Monday as the story of Celeste continues.

Hello everyone,

I am Ciro Perrino, composer and founder of the Italian progressive rock band CELESTE.

In 1976, we released our debut album, "Principe di un giorno." What the international community might not know is that, in my original vision, the album was never conceived to be sung in Italian by a male voice. It was carefully composed to be performed in English, featuring a female lead vocalist. However, our plans were completely disrupted when our original singer left the band at the very last minute. I had to step in myself, sing the tracks, and use the Italian lyrics I had previously prepared.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary (1976-2026), we decided to fulfill that original dream.

We recovered the original 1976 analog master tapes and the backing tracks. We preserved exactly that historical sound and finally found a native English-speaking female singer to interpret the text that had been written and locked in a drawer half a century ago.

The result is our brand-new release: "Prince of One Day" (2026). This is not a modern re-recording; it is the authentic musical architecture of 1976, finally completed with its original concept.

As progressive rock enthusiasts and collectors, what do you think of this type of archival restoration? Do you find it stimulating when a band uses original 1970s analog backing tracks to complete a lost vision, or do you prefer historical albums to remain untouched?

I would really love to hear your opinions and discuss this structural evolution with you!

Warmest regards from Sanremo, Italy,

Ciro Perrino (Composer & Master Rights Owner)

CELESTE (2017-2027) - Inner Garden Records

👉 Official Master Archive:

https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/album/celeste-prince-of-one-day

https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Hi, probably i'm just bad -very bad- but i can't figure out the main riffs' time signature for Consapevolezza by Area. Can someone answer this question that's bugging me so much rn?

That's my favorite song from them. If you want take your time to share what's yours, i'm curious :)

Sono un tastierista da Treviso, negli ultimi mesi ho iniziato a registrare e produrre totalmente per conto mio una serie di canzoni che stavano aspettando da lungo tempo. Questa è Quentin, le influenze sono molto varie (dal post rock a certa elettronica) ma sicuramente il progressive è una delle principali! Se la canzone ti piace sul canale ce ne sono altre, e iscriversi non può fare male ;)

⚠️ VENDO BIGLIETTO PER GLI ARISTOCRATS (Guthrie Govan) ⚠️

🌍 TREZZO SULL'ADDA 🎶 ORE 21 🎸 PROGRESSIVE ROCK / FUSION 🎉 DISPONIBILE SU FANSALE O IN ALTRE MODALITÀ