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Music and new Italian talents.
Davide Combusti, better known as The Niro,
is a singer and songwriter who loves movies.
He is capable of creating images with his distinct musical talent.
We'll complete our journey through The Walk of Santa Barbara.
After going through cliffs, abandoned mines and Nuraghe ruins,
we entered the era of metal exploration,
which, in this area, started in the Iron Ages
and only ended in the 21st century.
Then, we'll visit Ferrara. This splendid city in Emilia-Romagna
is known for its magnificent Castello Estense
and the stories author Giorgio Bassani wrote about Ferrari.
However, it's also home to S.P.A.L., the local soccer team with a great past
that is finally back to Serie A after almost half a century.
Now, let's go meet The Niro,
whose stage name brings to mind the Great American Cinema.
Born in 1978, his birth certificate says his name is Davide Combusti.
He was born in Rome,
but English is the language of his musical expression.
His sparking talent is now putting him in the international limelight.
I'm Davide Combusti, stage name "The Niro".
I was born in Rome in 1978.
I played in London in June 2006.
"THE NIRO: AN ENGLISHMAN IN ROME" BY GIUSEPPE SANSONNA
A scout from Universal was at my concert and got dazzled by my performance
and how the audience reacted to me.
He called the Italian branch and told them to keep an eye on me,
because I had talent.
After that, several record labels started to call, insistently.
We finally sent some demos
to the presidents of Universal both in Italy and the international offices.
Universal in Italy said, "Great! But can't he sing in Italian?"
The international offices said, "Let's sign him right away!"
So I signed with Universal International.
The first emotions
that came out of me and that I wanted to exorcise were the discomforts
caused by an existential crisis and the end of relationships,
all the things that have once hurt me.
It's a sort of self-therapy. I use music
to sublimate emotions, to cast them out in small burials
that last three or four minutes.
But I can always go back and open the casket whenever I wish to
relive those emotions after exorcising them.
I was born into the arts. My father was a drummer
and used to play with Rita Berti, Edoardo Vianello,
and the RAI Orchestra for a while.
As for his musical legacy, besides his record collection,
he left me his drums, which I remember playing when I was very little.
I was six and I was already playing it.
As far as instruments, I played mostly the drums.
Then I developed a love for guitars,
which is what led me to songwriting.
I played the drums in several bands in Rome.
I played different genres: reggae,
fusion, jazz...
Little by little, they'd call me to play mainly in Britpop bands.
But I guess I have
accumulated all these genres and,
as I started writing my own music,
things I never played before started to come out.
I wrote these songs
in which you can hear 200 influences and none of all at the same time.
In my 20s, I felt this need
to stop expressing myself through cover songs.
One day, despite playing the drums well, I left it all behind
and called some former band members
and told them I wanted to create my own band.
All of them accepted the invitation
and a few days later we got our name. That's how The Niro was born.
Back then, I was really into
"Taxi Driver" and that sort of existentialist, melancholy vein.
I thought the play of words was nice and it had a familiar ring to it,
both in Italy and abroad,
so we started to brainstorm what we could represent.
We hoped to play abroad one day.
As for having English as the chosen language
for me to spread my message
through my music,
I thought I'd be able to condense thoughts in English in three minutes
better than if I did it in Italian.
Once we started receiving some relevant feedback from abroad,
I knew we had made the right decision because, at the emotional level,
we reached an audience that was used to listening to music in English.
English is very musical, of course.
The words are very short,
and there's a certain cadence to it.
In a short amount of time, you can communicate subtle concepts.
Italian has a much wider vocabulary compared to English,
but English allows me to express my thoughts
in all the nuances I need.
Emotions are expressed through the music,
but I can add verses according to what the notes have to offer me.
I could work on music 16 hours a day,
and I'd never get tired.
I can get on the couch and take a break for half an hour,
but I'd still be thinking about what I've recorded while on the couch.
Since I play many instruments,
I play the guitar thinking about the drums and the base,
and how to weave it together, or add a violin.
Sometimes my friends get in my car
and my music is playing.
They say, "What a self-absorbed songwriter!"
No, the thing is that, while I'm driving,
there's a process.
I keep listening to my new songs
to check how catchy they are.
If I'm bored after ten times on repeat,
it's cut off.
In the "1969" album,
the most representative track
is the only song in the entire album that gives you some sort of hope:
"Hero".
The song represents a moment, a certain mood.
Before it came along, I was stuck.
I didn't know what path to take.
In overcoming my difficulties, I imagined
a ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel.
I wrote it in Italian because "1969" is an album
entirely recorded in Italian.
Once you know where you're headed,
you're already half-way there.
Every time I play this song,
it reassures me I'm moving, not standing still.
It's called "1969" because it was a time when mankind felt united
while witnessing a collective dream come true.
That was the moment when humankind, even the Russians,
and people all over the world were looking up at the sky thinking,
"We have taken a step towards
"a great mystery beyond life: the universe."
I can't think of anything else after that event
that was truly capable of bringing mankind together.
"Liar" came out ready.
I wrote it in one sitting:
verses, chorus, melody, lyrics...
Everything came out this way.
I didn't play it to anyone.
I was going to the studio the next day to record it.
That night,
I couldn't stop thinking about the chorus.
It was four, five in the morning and I hadn't fallen asleep.
That chorus was torturing me.
Then I decided to play it to Roberto Procaccini.
After that, at 3 a.m. that very same day,
he sent me a message saying,
"I can't get the chorus of "Liar" out of my head.
"We have to record it tomorrow." I thought, "It's ready then."
I never grew tired of playing it.
It's my favorite song.
I 2006, I was invited to go play in Arizona.
I had never played outside Italy,
and my first opportunity came from a concert organizer in Tucson.
It's in the middle of the desert,
and I started thinking about David Lynch,
and imagining everything in shades of red.
It was dreamlike.
There, I face a musical reality that was very visceral, grounded.
That desert feeling remained in me, and it may have permeated
some of my production since then.
Back from the United States, I received a proposal,
that very same day,
to open for Deep Purple with an acoustic set.
I got the invitation from Raniero Pizza,
who had been desperately looking for anyone who, he only told me that later,
could be a guinea pig to adjust the audio levels to Ian Gillan's voice.
It was a very tough experience, because I came to the stage and,
before I even started singing, everyone was booing.
I opened with "Night Waltz" in front of 10,000 people.
Half-way through the song, there's this silence,
but there was a standing ovation at the end, a complete 180.
After the concert, Deep Purple came to me and said, "You're a hero!"
You've arrived at the fourth and last part of our trip to Sardinia
to cross the old miners' path.
It's a journey through a timeless space
with archeological findings.
It's also a mystical journey depicting the devotion to Saint Barbara,
the patron saint of miners.
And it's a journey through mining history.
"THE WALK OF SAINT BARBARA: ARBUS TO GIBA" BY ANTONIO DEMMA
Political decisions in the 1980s...
PRESIDENT, ROSAS MINING SITE
resulted in mines being shut down.
In a territory where we've seen industrial production failing miserably,
we reset things with our archaeological potential
and associated it with tourism and agriculture.
The Walk provided us with this great opportunity.
It goes through what is our estate today...
VINE GROWER
and we can promote the region.
I sold my first knife when I was seven or eight.
Sardinia has the best knives in Europe, hands down.
This is what we call "the miner's knife".
CUTLER
It's shaped like a spatula,
because they also used it as a spoon inside the mines.
Once closed, it was exclusively used
to skin wires
and set up the mines to blow up tunnels.
Through my work, I've been fortunate enough
to create the first museum of Sardinian knives.
We tell the story and evolution of knives through the present day.
The work of cutlers is becoming an art,
because many collectors aren't interested in traditional knives,
those that tell the local story.
Still, people seek that feeling
that they're holding an art piece.
It makes them feel good.
This is the original Saint Barbara tunnel,
one of the first ones that were dug.
Our mine was open in 1851.
There are some old explosives inside this Saint Barbara mine.
This wagon was used to transport dynamite sticks,
so that explosives could be assembled inside this site.
This large building was used as housing for unmarried workers.
The smaller building across the way
was a school for the children.
This is where miners lived their daily lives.
Mining families lived in these houses.
TOURIST GUIDE
Today they're used for village accommodations.
They date back to the late 1800s.
Political decisions made in the 1980s
resulted in mines being shut down.
Many places were demolished.
In fact, demolition work had already started here in Rosas.
Back then, people started talking about industrial archaeology.
We had the opportunity to set restrictions
for this mining site,
which was made official by the Ministry of Industry and Monuments.
Everything in a mining village is part of a context.
We have guided tours here.
This is a good place for people to relax while on vacation.
It's a peaceful place.
It's a good example of how to...
MAYOR OF NARCAO
turn an activity that is no longer profitable, like mining,
into an environmentally sustainable tourist attraction.
In a territory that was failing miserably
with the end of an industrial activity,
we were able to leverage our archaeological potential
and associated it with tourism and agriculture.
In a context of archaeological sites, The Pani Loriga Settlement is
an example of Sardinian ruins particular to the Sulcis.
MAYOR OF SANTADI
Other examples include Monte Sinai and Sant'Antioco.
This site was occupied for thousands of years.
ARCHAEOLOGIST
These ancient ruins are prehistoric burial grounds.
These tombs are the "domus de janas", or "House of the Fairies or Witches".
They date back to the late Neolithic Age,
of the so-called "Ozieri cultures",
which starts in the fourth millennium b.C.
Then we have the Nuragic phase, which is indicated by Nuraghe Diana.
It sits at the top of the summit and is yet to be excavated.
Here we have the Punic settlement,
which lasted for a few centuries until 238, when Sardinia became a Roman province.
Besides the Pani Loriga Settlement, another site that is easily accessible
is the Tomb of the Giants in Barrancu Mannu,
a typical Nuragic tomb.
One peculiar detail, first of all, is the location,
because it sits on top of a hill with a spectacular view.
But it also has a series of walls
in harmony with all the granite rocks we see sprouting about.
Based on construction methods,
they may be dated back to the late Medium Bronze Age,
that is, around the 1400s to the 1300s b.C.
In the early 1900s,
an Englishman came to this area.
His father was an engineer building railroads in Sardinia.
VINEYARD TECHNICIAN
He was paid in land.
He then became a farmer in the Portofino area.
Three grape varieties are grown in this vineyard.
Here we have the Bovale Sardo,
the Monica, and the Carignano.
Check out this plant over here.
It has collapsed to the ground, but it keeps working.
It's like a work of art. Incredible!
This area uses an old pruning system,
the classic "Alberello".
It brings great benefits in terms of quality,
but imposes limits to automation.
We have winegrowers here who make great efforts
in growing their vineyards while using traditional methods,
making quality grape with a small environmental footprint.
These vineyards are near the ocean, growing in clay-rich sand.
This is an example of heroic, extreme winegrowing.
Our most important vine variety is known as Carignan.
It's attributed to the Phoenicians and Punics.
WINEMAKER
It was about 2,800 years ago.
Let's say technology isn't a crucial method here.
We are all about tradition and manual labor.
We gather all our barrels here in the cellar.
Our most noble and important wine
is currently maturing in these barrels.
In this area, the wine is resting inside jars made of terracotta.
Inside barrels, wine acquires the properties of vanilla,
and all the spices found in the wood.
Here, they remain neutral.
I'm 77 years old now,
but when I was a young girl I learned from...
WEAVER
the old ladies here in town.
Then we created a cooperative.
It was 37 years ago.
The weaving technique here in Sardinia
is known as "a pibiones".
WEAVER
The designs we use come from older pieces.
We always want to try new things, different designs.
We always have ideas,
because we're motivated.
I wish young people wanted to learn it, so the tradition doesn't die.
After spending years abroad,
Kyre and I decided to come live in Sardinia.
We're trying to build our new project here.
Everyone used to wear these shoes.
Well, they're boots, actually.
A year ago, Kyre and I decided to resume its production.
I respect this kind of minimalism.
Everything is truly basic in Sardinia,
and nobody is worried about making beautiful things.
I come from California
and fell in love with this place precisely because it's authentic.
It has such a rich history and heritage.
Artisans who make things with their own hands
still exist here to this day.
This is a great challenge
we have imposed on ourselves.
We want to launch a series of products that require manual labor
and old techniques.
We don't see what we're doing as
a project based on design alone,
that is in contrast with an old location.
We can freely exercise our creativity in a location like the Sulci,
which will be discussed in a city like London that very same day.
We could say that the true purpose of our project
is to create a bridge between the island and the world.
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