Giulio Cantore at Tapadum: Italian Singer-Songwriter, Luthier, Soloist
On 14 December 2019, Italian singer-songwriter and luthier Giulio Cantore closed Tapadum's first concert season with a solo performance in Faenza — voice, guitar, and songs written entirely on his own terms.
We closed 2019 with a quieter evening than the ones that preceded it. No ensemble, no ensemble improvisation at the start — just one man, one guitar, and songs that he wrote, arranged, and performs entirely on his own terms.
Giulio Cantore came to our home concert space in Faenza on December 14. Seven people came. Forty-two more had been thinking about it. The room was intimate, the sound was close, and the music was exactly what a December evening in Faenza needed.
Giulio Cantore: Singer, Songwriter, Luthier
Giulio Cantore occupies an unusual space in Italian independent music. He is a cantautore — a singer-songwriter in the Italian tradition — but also a guitarist of considerable technical depth and, crucially for a Tapadum audience, a luthier. He builds instruments as well as plays them. That combination of craft and performance is something we recognise and respect.
He has released two albums, both of which he wrote entirely: Talea (2015) and Derive (2017), recorded with his trio Almadira — Stefano Fabbri on percussion and Fabio Mina on flutes. In live performance, however, he prefers to work alone. The decision is not born of convenience but of artistic conviction: solo performance forces a different kind of presence, a directness between song and listener that ensemble arrangements can soften.
An Artist Who Travels
Giulio has toured Derive extensively outside Italy, performing in England, Germany, and Belgium over two consecutive years. His collaborations span a wide range: two tours with British singer-songwriter Paul Armfield, including involvement in the production and arrangements of Armfield’s upcoming 2020 album; two joint concerts with Neapolitan cantautore Gnut; and support slots for artists including Haley Heynderickx, Stella Chiweshe, and Giacomo Toni.
In 2019, he was selected to attend “The Art of Songwriting” workshop in France, led by Piers Faccini — chosen from fifty applicants, one of eleven European artists invited. The workshop brought together writers from across the continent for an intensive exchange of ideas about composition, structure, and the relationship between language and melody.
All of this adds up to a picture of an artist who takes the work seriously, travels widely, and has built his reputation through consistency rather than spectacle.
The Evening at Tapadum
Giulio performed solo, as he prefers. His guitar playing is precise without being cold, and his voice carries the particular quality that good cantautori share: the sense that the words matter as much as the melody, and that neither is decorating the other.
After the concert, we opened the floor for a jam session — the format that had become standard at Tapadum by this point. A few musicians stayed, instruments came out, and the evening extended itself naturally. Giulio joined in.
Closing the Year
December 14 was our last concert of 2019. In less than three months since opening, Tapadum had hosted six concerts, one jam session, and one open improvisation evening. The room had held rebetiko from Naples, Indian classical music from Forlimpopoli, Anatolian folk from Ankara, and now Italian singer-songwriter from wherever Giulio happened to be between tours.
That breadth was not accidental. It reflected what Tapadum is: a workshop and a store, yes, but also a meeting point for music that travels and musicians who do the same.
We would be back in 2020 with more.
Tapadum hosts concerts from across the Mediterranean and beyond. Explore our handcrafted instrument collection or follow our upcoming events.
Özgür Yalçın is the founder of Tapadum and the founding member of Karagüneş. He has performed ethnic and world music across Europe for over twenty-five years and builds custom instruments from Tapadum’s workshop in Brisighella, Italy.