Album Notes

"Simon Scardanelli was just total class, his songs are masterly observations of life and his voice is startlingly powerful. A highlight for me was the epic "Why?" which evolved from a monologue about his years living in New York's "Alphabet City"(the one Prince sings about in his song of that name). Those of us who witnessed it were blown away."

Kevin Hewick, The Musician, Leicester.

"Simon Scardanelli is completely individual and utterly uncompromising. His dynamic performance takes you on musical journeys through seedy underbellies to profound ruminations. An expert guitarist with a unique voice, Simon has talent in abundance but his ability to make a stage his own is a strength unparalleled by most performers."
Oscar's Academy of Sound, 4th April 05 at Viva Viva


CD REVIEW: Simon Scardanelli - Hobohemia
By Ann Klein - 01/25/05 - 08:22 PM EST Musesmuse.com

"Simon Scardanelli says a lot with an acoustic guitar and incredibly emotive voice. He uses the guitar very well to support his message full of grit and Scardanelli means every word. You really get the feeling that Scardanelli is on a mission to make us aware of what's going on around us. He's got the angry young man thing going on and he definitely requires your attention. I'm sure he grabs your attention at a live show. I'd love to hear him with a band. I like where Scardanelli is coming from, I think he's more than capable of doing something way beyond an acoustic guitar/vocal cd. I visited his website and this guy is into some really cool and interesting stuff. Definitely check out his website: http://www.scardanelli.com


Raw, heartfelt and visceral, HOBOHEMIA is the first album from Simon Scardanelli in over 10 years. Stripped bare - just solo acoustic guitar and voice - the songs on this album are about as intimate as it gets. From the debauched and decaying city of "A Town Called Iron Strike", to the personal pain of "My Punishment" Scardanelli's voice resonates with a life lived on the edge.

Scardanelli enjoyed success in the late eighties with BIG BAM BOO (MCA) scoring a top 20 radio hit in the USA with "Shooting From My Heart" in March 1989. Appearing as the opening act on Todd Rundgren's "Nearly Human" tour, the band sold over 100,000 copies of their debut album "FUN, FAITH & FAIRPLAY". BIG BAM BOO split after recording the unreleased second album and Scardanelli disappeared into the New York underground at the end of 1990. A regular in the early days of Lach's AntiFolk nights at the Sidewalk Café in the East Village, Scardanelli released the darkly challenging "Death Row Tales - The Eye Camera" album (RedLine MusicWorks) in 1994. Robert Knight of WBAI New York described Scardanelli as having - "a voice as keenly jaded as Lou Reed's". The Eye Camera multi-media show played around the New York circuit throughout 1992-94, featuring Simon on vocals and guitar playing to a dual screened back-drop of Super 8 film montage created by Scarlet Scardanelli. Many years later it was discovered that this by now very rare album had surfaced in Australia and was one of the favourite albums in the graphic studios of computer animators for The Matrix II & III.

Scardanelli moved back to his home town of London (UK) in late 1994 where he briefly played the acoustic circuit before wandering off to Sussex University to take a degree in 20th Century Music. Disappearing again from the live circuit, Scardanelli put his energies into experimenting with sonic-composition. He is currently in the final year of a PhD in Electro-acoustic Composition, studying under Prof. Jonty Harrison at Birmingham University, England. Electroacoustic commissions have included "AQUALOGICA", a site specific work to be heard underwater in swimming pools.

HOBOHEMIA marks a welcome return for the guitarist, singer, writer & performer who has constantly bucked the trend, Scardanelli's songs combine gritty realism with soaring melody and quirky English eccentricity. An exciting and charismatic performer whose skills have been honed on some of the toughest stages in the world, Simon Scardanelli is back out on the road after a lengthy absence.

For more information and a full discography visit Simon's site at www.scardanelli.com.