Chronology
2018
April 11th: Relase of "The Bones of Quietness", 10 years after the release of "A Quiet Place", their first album.
2016
March 31st: Relase of "Brahim Izdag".
2015
December 31st: Relase of the live album celebrating 10 years of activities "Es Prohibido Cantar".
June: Relase of the split with Controlled Bleeding "Perversions of the Aging Savant".
2014
June: Relase of the acoustic album "The Calendar".
2013
June: following the recent awkward national and global political and economical situation, Sparkle in Grey released "Thursday Evening", recorded at Andrea Serrapiglio's BADinstruments sudios at zero impact. The first tracks were also pre-recorded by Mario Bossi, at Arci Blob, Arcore. the album is the harshest in the band's career, thanks also to the powerful mastering done by Riccardo "Rico" Gamondi (Uoki Toki, La Morte).
March: the band plays at Macao, in Milan, an occupied space that for several reasons means a lot to the city and to the 'alternative scene' in Italy.
2012
June: almost one year after the first recording sessions of "Thursday Evening" in Arcore, the band comes back into the studio, this time with Andrea Serrapiglio. in three hot days they'll record the whole album (except for one track) plus two of the songs of the next one, named "Brahim Izdag". Among these, the Ukrain 'anthem' Minka Minka, one of the most appreciated moments in any SiG concert.
2011
Nov: during the night of the 11.11.11 Sparkle in Grey play 11 versions of theis song Goose Game and present the video of this track, realized with the drawings of Matteo Uggeri and his mother Roberta Casini. The concert, at Arci Blob in Arcore, it's part of a wider event spread all over Italy and Europe about the date of the 11.11.11.
Nov: "Mexico" (CD, Lizard/Grey Sparkle/MCL/Old Bycicle/Afe). The CD is released after three years of its birth. 'Created' in 2007, recorded in 2008 by Cristiano Santini (Disciplinatha, Luminal), mixed again by Giuseppe Ielasi and Matteo Uggeri and finalized with the mastering of Andrea Serrapiglio (Evangelista), it's a strange mixture of new wave, post-rock, electronic and strange music.
July: The band begins the recordings of "Thursday Evening" at the Arci Blob club in Arcore, under the supervision of Mario Bossi.
Jan: "The Calendar" it's the first acoustic album recorded by the band. It'll take yars to be completed.
2010
Sep: "Whale Heart, Whale Heart" (vinyl LP, Black Fading), in collaboration with the british artist Tex La Homa. The album presents two long acoustic tracks by Sparkle in Grey and four others by the Dorchester singer and guitar player (who released records for Acuarela, Talitres and Superglider).
2009
Aug: live at Ypsigrock, in Palermo (with A. Carlini and Con_Cetta in substitution of Uggeri and Lupo, actually on holiday). They have the biggest audience (3000 people) since their beginning.
Dec: "La Vergine e La Rivoluzione", (CD, Snowdonia) third record by Pulp-Ito, is out.
July: live at De Monde Autour, in Dijon (France). For the first time they're joined on stage by a sort of singer, the British/French Deborah Arnold, who gave her voice for the speeches of Goose Game and From the Air (a cover from the Laurie's Anderson song...).
2008
July: live at TagoFest, Marina di Massa (report): Sparkle in Grey perform live on Saturday night at this festival that is one of the best in the whole Italian scene.
May: Blow Up, interview by Paolo Bertoni
May: Rockerilla, first interview ever to SiG by Roberto Mandolini
April: "A Quiet Place" (CD, Disasters by Choice, distribution Goodfellas); it's the first official solo CD, issued by the electronic cult label of Salvo Pinzone, located in Rome, that published artists like Rothko, Comaneci, Melodium and Populous.
March: the firsts two official SiG CDs are reviewd by Paolo Bertoni on Blow Up magazine: one in the 'wave' section, the other in the 'experimental' one: it's the first time a band is reviewed on the same issue of the mag in two different sections.
Jan: "Nefelodhis", with Maurizio Bianchi/M.B. (CD, Musica di un Certo Livello/Cold Current); in spite of the hundreds collaborations between M.B. and other artists, is and will remain (as he'll stop to make music in 2009) the only one with a band that plays 'normal' rock instruments.
2007 - first concert abroad
Sept 10th: Sparkle in Grey, Yakudoshi and Papìr Katastrof play live at Alberto Carozzi's wedding party. The Papir Katastrof's drummer, Simone Riva (who played in several pop and liscio bands incuding the Alex Baroni's one) will later feature in "Mexico" and other SiG records. As we said, he's also the owner of Silos, the rehearsal room where all these bands started to play.
Sept: recording and mixing sessions at Giuseppe Ielasi studio in Milan for "A Quiet Place": it's the beginning of a long time collaboration between the experimental sound artist and the band.
June. 10th: live at post-Garage for Sonntagg Abstract in Graz (Austria).
April: recording session at Silos for "Nefelodhis", a collaboration with Maurizio Bianchi/M.B.
2006
June: first rehearsal in Alberto Carozzi's house with Francesco Brambilla of Pulp-Ito: he tried to bring Carozzi to Pulp-Ito, but something didn't work as expected, so Francesco became to play with Sparkle in Grey with the nickname Franz Krostopovic, born for a misunderstanding.
May: "Un'estate senza pioggia" (CD, Trazeroeuno/Grey Sparkle) is the first CD of Uggeri under the moniker of Hue. Based on his field recordings coming from the hottest summer in Europe (in 2003), it's also the first Grey Sparkle CD issued.
Feb. 24th: live in a kindergarden with fifty kids between the age of 1 and 3 years. And their teachers. In that occasion SiG play for the first time Teacher Song, later on one of the most appreciated tracks of "A Quiet Place", and Gridahohaho, that in a completely different version will take place on "The Heart of Thuesday Night" (temporary title).
2005 - first CD-R release as Uggeri solo + birth of Sparkle in Grey as a band
Nov 19th: Afe Party at CSOA Baraonda, live in Segrate with Stefano de Ponti playing guitar: he will later on collaborate with SiG with his band Passo Uno and as a videomaker for the Goose Game video.
Sept 16th: FOA Boccaccio, first live act ever with Carozzi, Uggeri and Lupo. On the same night: La Camera dell'Amore Sonico, Melloncheck and Fog in the Shell.
April: "The Echoes of Thiiings/Fadiiing Echoes" (double CD-R, Afe Records), feat. Nicola Ratti, Luca Sigurtà, Telepherique, Pierpaolo Leo/Pleo and others.
Feb: "Gagliardo", (CD EP, selfproduced) second record by Pulp-Ito, now with Francesco Brambilla (later aka Franz Krostopovic) at violin. Soon their bass player will leave the band, and they'll ask Alberto Carozzi to join.
2004 - first official release (mp3 with Crìa Cuervos)
Sept: "The Coldest January", split with Crìa Cuervos (mp3, ctrl+alt+canc/Sine3pm): it's the very first 'official' release by Sparkle in Grey.
June: "Quatro-Erogenic-Occupy Theme's Part II", by DE FABRIEK (lim. ed. CD-R, Afe Records), featuring Matteo Uggeri as Sparkle in Grey as a member of the Dutch band.
2003
Feb: "Kiosa", (CD, selfproduced) first record from the pop rock band Pulp-Ito, with Francesco Brambilla (later aka Franz Krostopovic) at violin and the brothers Giordani at drums (Simone), vocals/guitar (Luca) and guitar (Francesco), plus Valentina 'Birò' Venerio at backing vocals.
Aug: "Al diavolo che ha allietato i nostri giovani giorni" (selfproduced CD-R), by the band Yakudoshi ("the difficult days in the life of a man"), with Alberto Carozzi playing bass and guitar, Lorenzo Stanzani (guitar), Fulvio Montalbano (vocals) and Rose Uricchio (drums). The album is recorded and produced by Amaury Cambuzat of Ulan Bator (later also with Faust).
June: First Matteo Uggeri concert (as Der Einzige) at Superfici Sonore festival in Florence.
April: "Onomatopeic Cigarettes", by Urkuma (lim. ed. CD-R, Chmafu Nocords Records): this album from the Apulian musicians features the very first track published by Matteo Uggeri as Sparkle in Grey. It's a glithc remix of one of the Urkuma's songs. The Austrian label that releases the CD-R is owned by Maru Fufunjira, that will later on help Sparkle in Grey (as a band) to play in Graz in 2007.
2002
Nothing seems to happen in 2002.
2001
Jan?: First studio rehearsal at Silos of Norm, now with C. Lupo (drums, guitar), M. Uggeri (laptop, vocals), Emanuele Nardini (keyboards), A. Zoia (drums, vocals) and A. Brambilla, and devoted to a sort of post punk industrial lo-fi stuff. The Silos owner, Simone Riva, will later collaborate with SiG.
Yakudoshi also does rehearsal in Silos and sometimes meet Norm. They don't like each others very much.
2000
July: "The Last Summer: Songs for a Fading Youth" (ureleased CD-R, Moriremo Tutti Records) by Norm, with the former member Agostino Brambilla (bass, guitars and any kind of sounds) and Cristiano Lupo (acoustic, guitar, keyboards, sounds). It's the first collaboration between Lupo and Uggeri, and the last 'official' album of Norm first phase.
July: "Amygdala" by Yakudoshi, first demo EP, still unreleased. It was recorded at Fabio Magistrali's studio during Summer.
1999 - birth of the Sparkle in Grey name
Jan: First home recordings of "The Echoes of Thiiings" by M. Uggeri in solo, as Sparkle in Grey. This can be considered the birth of the band's name.
1998
Christmas night: first concert of Yakudoshi in Oreno.
1997
July: "A Bear Reunion" (unrealised CD-R, Moriremo Tutti Records) by the Residents/Throbbing Gristle combo Norm, in this case with M. Uggeri, Agostino Brambilla, Andrea Zoia, Marco Luraghi, Luca Vignali, Emanuele Nardini, Gianluigi Colombo and Paolo Fumagalli. The band recorded five homemade albums, all labeled on Uggeri's Moriremo Tutti Record labl, but all yet unreleased.
1995
March?: First concert of Sortie Nation, first Alberto Carozzi's band. The other members are: Elena Moreo (vocals), Lorenzo Stanzani (guitar, bass), Fabio Presti (guitar), Alberto Carozzi (bass, some guitar, vocals), Rosaria Uricchio (drums). They'll split in 1998, after the recordings of "Il valzer" (see here for more info)
1994
Nov: "Cheap Material Music" (CD-R released later in 2008 by Moriremo Tutti Records): it's the very first record, originally recorded on tape, by Matteo Uggeri, with his university buddy Daniele Albericci (Icci).
