Die Art & Freunde der italienischen Oper – Tour 2025

Two legends on tour together. Two of the so-called “other bands”, born at the end of the eighties in the seething ground zero of an agonising system.

FDIO came from Dresden and its avant-garde environment. They were regarded as dangerous and provocative, their concerts were more like staged performances, and they stirred up theatre stages and vernissages.

The Art from Leipzig were post-punks and as such were as committed to darkness as they were to rebellion. They were well networked in the rebellious trade fair city, where things were gradually brewing in cellars and back houses that then exploded on the streets in October 1989. A year earlier, the dance floors on the Pleiße had already been shaking with the art hit “Wide Wide World”, the punk rock anthem of longing that everyone knew because it had been duplicated thousands of times on tape.

Both bands wrote a not insignificant part of the soundtrack to a dramatic but less heroic downfall. They had distinctly different approaches, but both were equally compelling: anarchic gloom can be excitingly colourful.

In the year of reunification, Die Art were finally allowed to release an LP, with “(I Love You) Marian” they had a real hit and set about conquering the West. They even got quite far, but thankfully they didn’t succeed in the end. Instead, a loyal community enjoys a good dozen valid albums.

Die FREUNDE DER ITALIENISCHEN OPER were the opposite of majority-friendly in every respect right from the start, even though their cult debut “Um Thron und Liebe” was recognised by connoisseurs as having a proper weird pop appeal.

In all the years that followed, Die Art mastermind Makarios and chief opera friend Ray van Zeschau never lost sight of each other. The joint concert at Dresden’s Gare de la lune in 2004 is unforgettable
Now a second tour together, because everyone enjoyed the first one in 2023 so much. The Art plays again with a stable line-up. Singer Makarios is joined by guitarist Thomas “Gumpi” Gumprecht, who has been with the band almost from the start. In addition, Conrad “Conne” Hoffmann on bass and the young drummer Apollo Muffler, who has brought a breath of fresh air and a new sound colour to the band’s younger songs, can be heard on the album Fading, which has since been released

In addition to singer Ray van Zeschau, two well-known players from Leipzig are on stage with the friends: bassist Rajko Gohlke was formerly with TAM (Think About Mutation) and is now best known as a permanent member of Knorkator. Joey A. Vaising guitarist and also ex-TAM, and THE TISHVAISINGS (who made it to John Peel after all). Today he is active with The Sonic Boom Foundation, among others. Tex Morton (Sunny Domestozs) is on second guitar and Boris Israel Fernandez (Los Twang Marvels) on drums.

The new motto of the second joint tour has not yet been finalised, but it is certain that there will be another big EP together.

More than 3 decades have passed since their beginnings. But the force of anarchy and melancholy emanating from these two bands remains unbroken to this day.