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Janara

The story begins in 2005 in Bologna: Davide Grimaldi the guitarist of 'Diathriba', 'Thelema' and 'Votiva Lux' meets Francesca De Filippis: a passionate singer searching for a band. The two of them immediately become great friends and begin to compose and exchange ideas; searching to unite the atmosphere of new wave with the steadiness of rock. Davide experiments with new guitar sounds to which Francesca adds her intense and powerful yet delicate voice. The name they choose for this new project is inspired by the ancient 'Janare del Sannio' (Benevento) who were persecuted as witches for their practice of dancing in the woods at night, while in reality they were followers of Diana, the goddess of the Moon. The intent of the two musicians is to create a new gothic rock sound, and to gather new members to form a real band. In the meantime, they gather their first ideas in a 6 track demo recorded in 2006. One year later Damiano Pecile notices an advert posted by Janara outside a pub, and offers his services on bass. Inexpert, but passionate and enthusiastic he becames a part of the band. Soon after they are joined by Davide Borghi who has already played with Davide "Grimma" Grimaldi in Diathriba throughout the 90s. Janara are now complete. The new members hone their skills on the old tracks, bringing fresh ideas and sharpening the sound of the band. They first appear live before an audience in May 2007 at "Traffic club” (Rome) while the band are in the Italian capital to cut their first tracks featuring all four musicians. In the following years the band perform at various concerts in and around Modena and Bologna and after a few changes comes the first official release: the self-produced EP "Crocus, Mint & Fennel" (Friction, 2009). Containing 7 tracks it marks the end of the first intense chapter in the story of Janara. The next chapter is currently well underway with the composition of new tracks which feature Italian lyrics for the first time in the band's history.

By Kyle Larson