Redi Hasa - My Nirvana (2022) Hi-Res

Cellist, Redi Hasa, reworks the music of the great band who inspired him. When Tirana heard Nirvana, the Country of the Eagles was suffering the consequences of the civil war. The mighty magnet of Nevermind pulled out all the good iron from the ruins of a regime that had been banning Western music for half a century. Despite their efforts, banned music was circulating underground, as secret and precious as an audio samizdat.

This secret music inspired young Albanians like Redi Hasa.In the daytime, he studied at the Tirana Conservatory of Music on a cello provided by the State. At night, he played the only electric bass in town, which had been sent to him from Italy by his older brother. There, in those night sessions between smoking bunkers and pulled out wire fences, the Nirvana tunes challenged their truth.

Many years have passed since then. Now Redi comes up playing “his” Nirvana, turning their barbed wire melodies, into a majestically human sound.

Born into a family of artists, Albanian cellist and composer Redi Hasa began to study the cello at the age of seven. He graduated at Tirana Academy of Fine Arts and got a further degree in Italy. His outstanding talent contributed to the Renaissance of the so-called Taranta. He also collaborated with Kocani Orkestar, Boban Markovic, Bobby McFerrin, Paolo Fresu, among others. In 2008, he joined the Notte della Taranta Orchestra. In 2010, he started a very successful duo with singer Maria Mazzotta, recording two albums and appearing in many international festivals. Since 2012, Redi is member of the Ludovico Einaudi band, featured in his albums and in his worldwide tours. More recently, he has been recording with Robert Plant.