Mirco Magnani (born May 16, 1961, in Pistoia, Italy) is an Italian composer, producer, and video artist active since the mid-1980s. His work explores innovative sounds and experimental aesthetics across genres such as new wave music, ambient music, experimental music and neoclassical music.
After over twenty years of activity in Italy, he moved to Berlin, where he further developed his style and collaborated with artists from the underground culture. His projects often merge sound, video, and literature, featuring audiovisual performances and installations. Albums like Madame E., Cronovisione Italiana and Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag reflect his focus on philosophical and cultural themes through sound.
History Mirco Magnani is a musician, composer, author, producer and video artist and was a founding member of the bands Minox, Technophonic Chamber Orchestra and 4D Killer.
Since 1984, he has produced music and mixed-media events with the 1980s new wave band Minox,Frequenze fiorentine: Firenze anni '80 – Bruno Casini – Arcana (2003). a group that had an influence on the Italian new wave music scene 100 essential Italian new wave and post punk records - Rumore magazine - Luca Frazzi - August 2024 and was part of the independent label Industrie Discografiche Lacerba. The band's lineup included Mirco Magnani, Daniele Biagini, Marco Monfardini, Enrico Faggioli and Raffaello Banci. In 1986, Faggioli and Banci died in a car accident and a year later, Biagini left the band.New wave a Firenze. Anni in movimento – Bruno Casini – Zona (2019)
In 1996, Magnani co-founded the independent record label Suite Inc., which he managed until 2006. He worked on various releases for the label and performed with artists such as Steven Brown (producer of Minox's Lazare, 1986),Music for Vagabonds: The Tuxedomoon Chronicles – Isabelle Corbisier - Skyscraper (2008). Blaine L. Reininger and Luc Van Lieshout of Tuxedomoon, Lydia Lunch,Ondarock - (Review) Minox & Lydia Lunch U Turn (reissue) Massimo Marchini - 28/08/2008 -https://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2008_minox.htm.Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over – Nick Soulsby – Jawbone Pr (2020) Krisma. When he was a member of Minox and Technophonic Chamber Orchestra some tracks were remixed by Nobukazu Takemura, Murcof, The Gentle People and Daedelus.
Between 1997 and 2005, through Minox and his label, Magnani produced albums of various bands, a single, an EP and the first album for Dubital, the debut album of Enfantronique and MissQLee. In 1998, he co-founded the side projects Technophonic Chamber Orchestra and 4D Killer, producing albums and performing live until 2010.
Since 2003, Magnani has expanded into audiovisual work, creating visuals for live shows for his projects and some Italian artists and producing video art, video installations and music videos.
In 2006, Mirco Magnani founded his solo project T.C.O., producing Decompositio Sonata, an audiovisual reinterpretation of twentieth-century classical music. In 2009, he moved to Berlin, where he expanded his artistic activities, organizing events, performing live and DJing at various Berlin parties and festivals.
In 2012, he co-founded the Undogmatisch project with painter Valentina Bardazzi. This project evolved into an interactive platform combining music and visual art, leading to the creation of an independent record label/notlabel in 2016, with Bardazzi as the creator of the label's artwork.Old And Deluxe - An Interview With Mirco Magnani - 13 February 2019 - Mirco Salvadori - https://www.sherwood.it/articolo/6845/old-and-deluxe.
In 2017, Magnani collaborated with actor and opera singer Ernesto Tomasini on the concept album Madame E. , based on Georges Bataille’s short novel Madame Edwarda. The album explores themes of eroticism, religiosity and death through eleven compositions written and performed by Magnani and sung by Tomasini.
In 2018, Magnani produced Cronovisione Italiana,ROCKERILLA N° 450 - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum "Cronovisione italiana" - February 2018 - Mirco Salvadori.Blow Up N° 236 - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum "Cronovisione italiana" - Giuseppe Aiello - 01/2018Faze N° 73 - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum "Cronovisione italiana" - Kressmann - March 2018WESTZEIT Quicksilver V.A. - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum: Cronovisione Italiana - 2024.02.01 - Karsten Zimalla - 03/2018Il Mucchio N° 764 - (review) Carlo Domenico Valyum: Cronovisione Italiana - Chiara Colli - 03/2018Groove Magazin - (review) Carlo Domenico Valyum: Cronovisione Italiana - Frank P. Eckert -29 March 2018 - https://groove.de/2018/03/29/motherboard-april-2018/African Paper - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum: Cronovisione Italiana - 14 April 2018 - http://africanpaper.com/2018/04/14/carlo-domenico-valyum-cronovisione-italiana/Nitestylez.de - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum - Cronovisione Italiana - Baze Djunkiii - May 15, 2018 - http://www.nitestylez.de/2018/05/carlo-domenico-valyum-cronovisione.htmlNonpop - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum - Tony F. - 2018 http://www.nonpop.de/nonpop/index.php?mkey=Kurz-angespielt-RUTGER-ZUYDERVELT-&type=review&area=1&p=articles&id=3234Nieuwe Noten - (Review) Carlo Domenico Valyum – Cronovisione Italiana - Ben Taffijn - 1 June 2018 - http://www.nieuwenoten.nl/?p=5224Sefronia - (Review) Cronovisione italiana - Carlo Domenico Valyum - Cédric Antoine - 19/06/2018 - http://www.sefronia.com/album/carlo_domenico_valyum/cronovisione_italiana.htm a concept album attributed to Carlo Domenico Valyum. The album takes listeners on a space-time journey through television history, reworking Italian TV broadcasts from the 1960s to the 1980s. Magnani was the composer, producer, and curator of this project, working with Valentina Bardazzi.
Recent important releases include collaborative improvisation sessions with Polish-Berliner Lukasz Trzcinski, resulting in two releases titled Lumiraum Music Map - (Review) Mirco Magnani & Lukasz Trzcinski "Lumiraum" - Gilberto Ongaro - 07/2019 - www.musicmap.it/recdischi/ordinaperr.asp?id=7036Nitestylez.de - (Review) - Mirco Magnani & Lukasz Trzcinski - Lumiraum - July 14, 2019 - www.nitestylez.de/2019/07/mirco-magnani-lukasz-trzcinski-lumiraum.htmlGroove Magazin - (review) Lumiraum - Frank P. Eckert -23 August 2019 - https://groove.de/2019/08/23/motherboard-august-2019ROCKERILLA N° 469 - (Review) Lumiraum -Mirco Magnani & Lukasz Trzcinski - Mirco Salvadori - September 2019Bad Alchemy #103 - (review) Lumiraum (10/2019)African Paper - (Review) Mirco Magnani & Lukasz Trzcinski: Lumiraum - 8th February 2020 -http://africanpaper.com/2020/02/08/mirco-magnani-lukasz-trzcinski-lumiraum and Lumiraum Appendix. The concept recalls the spirituality and cosmogony of ancient cultures, drawing on symbolic ideas of the universe's origin.
In 2021, Magnani released Toretam Tor,ROCKERILLA N° 495 - (Review) Toretam Tor by Mirco Magnani/Andrea De Witt - Mirco Salvadori - November 2021Groove Magazin - (Review) Toretam Tor by Mirco Magnani / Andrea De Witt - 15 November 2021 - https://groove.de/2021/11/15/motherboard-november-2021/2/Audion #66 - (Review) Mirco Magnani & Andrea de Witt: Toretam Tor - November 2021Kulturni Magazin - (Review) Mirco Magnani & Andrea de Witt: Toretam Tor - 03/2022 - Pavel Zelinka -https://www.magazinuni.cz/hudba/mirco-magnani-andrea-de-witt-toretam-tor a collaboration with former Technophonic Chamber Orchestra member Andrea De Witt. The album serves as a tribute to obsolete technologies and knowledge, reimagined for a new path towards eternal spirituality. The title refers to Töretam, an ancient burial site near the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Between 2021 and 2023, Magnani released a three-volume compilation series titled Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Nigredo,African Paper - (Review) Nigredo: Erster Teil der Magnum Opus Collectio-Serie auf Undogmatisch - 3 August 2021 http://africanpaper.com/2021/08/03/nigredo-erster-teil-der-magnum-opus-collectio-serie-auf-undogmatisch/ROCKERILLA N° 494 - (Review) VV.AA. Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Nigredo - Mirco Salvadori - October 2021Blow Up #280 - (Review) Elettroalchimia - AA.VV. Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Nigredo - Vittore Baroni - September 2021 Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Albedo African Paper - (Review) Albedo: Zweiter Teil der Magnum Opus Collectio-Reihe auf Undogmatisch - 5 April 2022 - http://africanpaper.com/2022/04/05/albedo-zweiter-teil-der-magnum-opus-collectio-reihe-auf-undogmatisch/Groove Magazin - (Review) Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Albedo - Frank P. Eckert - 16 April 2022 - https://groove.de/2022/04/13/motherboard-april-2022/4/Silence and Sound - (Review) Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Albedo - Roland Torres - 9 May 2022 - https://silenceandsound.me/2022/05/09/magnum-opus-collectio-series-2/ROCKERILLA N° 502 - (Review) VV.AA. Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Albedo - Mirco Salvadori - June 2022 and Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Rubedo.ROCKERILLA N° 513 - (Review) VV.AA. Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Rubedo - Mirco Salvadori - May 2023Westzeit - (Review) V.A. Magnum Opus Collectio Series: Rubedo - 1 May 2023 - www.westzeit.de/rezensionen/?id=23442African Paper - (Review) V.A.: Magnum Opus Collectio Series – Rubedo - 13 May 2023 - http://africanpaper.com/2023/05/13/v-a-magnum-opus-collectio-series-rubedo/Inactuelles, musiques singulières - Magnum Opus Collectio Series : Nigredo / Albedo / Rubedo - 20 October 2023 - https://inactuelles.over-blog.com/2023/10/magnum-opus-collectio-series-nigredo/albedo/rubedo.html These volumes feature tracks by various international artists and are inspired by the alchemical process, representing stages in the creation of the philosopher's stone. They also draw from Carl Jung’s concept of individuation, a unique psychological process of self-realization. Magnani contributed collaborative tracks with Andrea De Witt, Andreas Yakovlev, Stamatis Dounis, Luc Van Lieshout and as member of Dinner Situation and Orquestrina Utu.
In 2024, Magnani released Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag,African Paper - (Review) Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag: Neues Album von Mirco Magnani mit zahlreichen Gästen - 16 January 2024 - http://africanpaper.com/2024/01/16/zarathustra-der-grose-mittag-neues-album-von-mirco-magnani-mit-zahlreichen-gasten/ROCKERILLA N° 522 - (Review) Mirco Magnani – Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag - Mirco Salvadori - February 2024WESTZEIT Quicksilver V.A. - (Review) Mirco Magnani – Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag - 2024.02.01 - Karsten Zimalla - https://www.westzeit.de/rezensionen/?id=23792Groove Magazin - (Review) Mirco Magnani – Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag - Frank P. Eckert - 14 February 2024 - https://groove.de/2024/02/14/motherboard-februar-2024/4/RUMORE #386 - N° 3 anno 2024 - ( Review) Mirco Magnani – Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag - Alessandro Besselva AverrameAnxious - (Review) Mirco Magnani – Zarathustra – Der Große Mittag - 19 march 2024 - https://anxiousmagazine.pl/recenzje/mirco-magnani-zarathustra-der-grose-mittag/Kallistik - (Review) Musik - Zarathustra – Der große Mittag - 11/03/2024 - https://www.kallistik.de/.../zarathustra-der-grosse-mittag/Chain D.L.K. - (Review) Mirco Magnani: Zarathustra - Der große Mittag - Vito Camarretta - Oct 09 2024 - https://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12300 a project exploring the themes in Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The album offers a multicultural perspective through four languages: German, English, Iranian, and Russian, with interpretations by Steven Brown (Tuxedomoon), Sainkho Namtchylak, Nikolas Klau, and Paganland. Following a short concert tour in Italy,.Corriere Nazionale: https://www.corrierenazionale.it/2024/03/25/zarathustra-der-grose-mittag-e-il-nuovo-album-di-mirco-magnani/intoscana: https://www.intoscana.it/it/mirco-magnani-in-concerto-con-sainkho-namtchylak-e-nikolas-klau-sulle-orme-di-zarathustra/La Nazione: https://www.lanazione.it/cultura-e-spettacoli/mirco-magnani-concerto-firenze-0df51693
Discography
Suite Maniacal - as member of Minox - single (1984)