It’s a shame I’ve forgotten how to speak Italian. I can do a rough translation of the generic biography of Chimenti that has been circulating around the blogosphere for a few years, but it’s not going to be great…
Silvano was the son of (is “operai” workers or opera singers?). He studied piano but eventually switched to guitar. He was schooled in piano but he taught himself guitar. He played music (it doesn’t say professionally or as a band or anything) with friends. His professional music career began with the formation of a band called The Planets, at the same time he moved to Rome. Some of the music recorded with the Planets (I think?) appeared in films.
“Drugs” or “Journey Through The Problems Of Man” was recorded for a record company based in Rome that might have been called RRC (Roman Recording Company). The bio I saw mentioned Gaetano Pulvirenti, who might have owned the label along with someone who simply went by the name Karim. I don’t know if those are names or if they translate in some other way to English. It’s an instrumental album (no vocals) and features elements of jazz and psychedelic music. “Droga” is believed by some to be the first example of Italian progressive music. It was released in 1970.
Later in his career Chimenti collaborated with Ennio Morricone, playing on the soundtracks for Sacco and Vanzetti and Four Flies On Grey Velvet. He moved on to playing guitar in Italian orchestras and in 1992 he recorded a jazz CD called “Soft Impressions.”
There you have it, a loose translation of the only bio of Chimenti that appears anywhere on the Internet, translated roughly from Italian to English by someone who last tried to read/comprehend Italian in 2005. Not bad. Maybe I am as smart as my mother always told me I was.
The good news is, the song titles are all easy enough to translate: Exotic Aromas, Evanescence, Visions, The Life Of The Drug(s)…
S. Chimenti
Droga
RRC, 1970
MediaFire DL Link
01. Aromi Esotici
02. Essenze e Vapori
03. Contrazioni
04. Colori, Illusioni
05. Conflitti
06. Proposte
07. La Via Della Droga
08. Evanescenze
09. Visioni
