After inaugurating a new phase of his artistic journey with the single “Last Will” published at the end of May, i Deaf Kaki Chumpy they come back Friday 26 June 2026 with “Agape” (out for Oyez), the new album which marks the return of the Milanese band eight years after their previous album “Stories”.
Behind every band there is a constellation of listenings, discoveries and inspirations that define their musical language. In the case of Deaf Kaki Chumpya group that has always been suspended between contemporary jazz, progressive rock, experimentation and sound research, the influences come from very different worlds, but united by the same attitude: that of overcoming the boundaries of genres and imagining new expressive possibilities.
In this playlist Andrea Daolio, founder and bassist of the collectivehas selected five songs that represent some of the fundamental coordinates of the band's artistic journey. Not a simple choice, as he himself admits, divided between the artists who have accompanied Deaf Kaki Chumpy since the beginning and those who have particularly influenced the writing of the new album. From Tigran Hamasyan to Frank Zappa, passing through Donny McCaslin, Hiatus Kaiyote and Area, the portrait emerges of a band that has made curiosity and contamination its distinctive trait.
1. New Maps – Tigran Hamasyan
Tigran is an Armenian pianist and composer with amazing abilities. His music is a continuous exploration and experimentation between traditional Armenian music, jazz, metal, pop, electronic and classical music. I saw him for the first time, not knowing him well, in 2015 in Monza in a church near the Arengario. He was together with an Armenian choir who sang sacred Armenian music rearranged by Tigran himself: it was a cathartic moment. The beauty of the voices and the melodies sung, the way Tigran accompanied them on the piano and improvised on top of them was wonderful.
2. Beyond Now – Donny McCaslin
Famous for playing with his quartet on David Bowie's last album “Blackstar”, his music gives what we call “fusion” new life and freshness: jazz meets rock, pop and electronic in a truly new sound; also thanks to the fantastic musicians with whom he plays (Mark Giuliana on drums, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Jason Lindner on keyboards).
3. Molasses – Hiatus Kaiyote
A bassist friend introduced them to me in 2015 and I later introduced them to the collective, becoming a great love for many of us and a great influence in our music. Their way of doing neo soul is truly outside the box and full of surprises and stands out from that of American artists (they are Australian).
4. Inca Roads – Frank Zappa
Zappa is an example of how one's personality and stylistic signature can transcend genres. Listen to a song of rock, contemporary music, funk, jazz or other, and you will immediately understand if he has a hand behind it. A prolific composer like few others and of disarming genius. He is a constant source of inspiration and a model artist to aspire to.
One of the most incredible Italian “pop” groups of the 70s there was, with nothing to envy of other English and American groups of that period. The desire to experiment and always discover unexplored lands was their strength: jazz-rock, prog rock, psychedelia, radical improvisation, Middle Eastern music intertwine seamlessly; add a magical interplay and you have a mixture that to say is explosive is an understatement.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
