Raandoom Inside: Marco Castello
Sicilian roots, funk rhythms, and poetic but eclectic songwriting. Marco Castello and his band brough this to their set at Estragon Club, offering a night where tradition and modern groove fused seamlessly on stage.
Marco Castello. Photo by Cristina Moschella via Elle © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Swaying hips in white pinstriped trousers, intricate chord progressions, quick and stinging trumpets, a beautifully suited keyboard man in white navigating the black and white keys with a melting-face groove… I could go on and on listing the details that were etched in my mind after seeing Marco Castello and his band live at Estragon Club in Bologna on September 19th, because, despite the visual simplicity of the show, what struck me was the combined force of a musically tight band performing for the sake of the music, even more than for the crowd.
Individual personalities, distinct inside and out by their outfits and internal melodies, merged on stage on the tunes coming from the two albums of Castello’s discography, Contenta Tu (2021) and Pezzi della Sera (2025): A collection of songs that give space to free and loose poetry in Italian and Sicilian dialect, accompanied by either funky or soothing arrangements. The themes? Anything from absurd-related reflections mixing contemporary with classical Magna Grecia mythology from Castello’s Sicilian hometown, Siracusa, to passionate songs that open and close the album: the first an erotically charged tune, the second a love song from the perspective of a faithful dog to his female owner.
Pezzi della sera is the next chapter in Italian classical songwriting tradition that, with a 2-year-long promotional run, hasn’t stopped being relevant or gathering devotees who can’t wait to mosh over the verse “Dracme Antichissime Con Aretusa e Delfini”.
A snippet from Marco Castello’ live concert at Estragon, shot by Raandoom at the event
A tradition that is steadily solidifying, renewing and putting tender but steady roots in 2025, as other Italian acts proved this year with their style that bring together their contemporary experiences with their cultural and musical heritages, like La Niña, and Andrea Laslo de Simone.
Marco Castello and his band proved, and keep proving nothing less, just as the Cover songs section of the concert setlist did. “Palco”, a fresh funky samba song from Brazilian music institution, Gilberto Gil. Enzo Carella’s equally funky and groovey “Amara”. Lucio Battisti’s soulful “Orgoglio e Dignità”. Three songs from different corners of the same musical era, which allowed the musicians stomping the stage with Marco Castello to offer an extra glimpse into their musical habitus and have extra fun with energetic songs.
Class of 1993. Everything for Marco Castello started after graduating with a Degree in Jazz Trumpet at Milan Music Conservatory and getting acquainted with Erlend Øye, Norwegian songwriter and producer from Kings of Convenience, who published his first album under his label. The one and only, because it didn’t take long after this experience for Castello to create his independent label, Megghiu Soli (both “better alone” and “the best sun” in traditional Sicilian dialect”) take his next step as an independent musician, and enjoy the success of his next project together with his collaborators that breath energy and creativity just as much as Castello does.
Now Marco Castello is one of the isolated acts that breathes fresh independent air onto the Italian music industry like a summer storm, and with (hopefully) a third album on the way, he and his band are not here just to play music, but build a world where groove, poetry and tradition dance together, and it’s impossible not to be swept along (and mosh, occasionally).
