Of the artists working in music today, not many are as versatile and creative as Alex Puddu. This multitalented musician, vocalist, and composer has been able to hold a special place within the music industry, teaching many how to make innovative soundscapes and deep artistry. As we look back on his versatile career, it’s clear that Alex Puddu is a name that resonates with passion, dedication, and an unyielding love for music.
Early Beginnings and Musical Journey
Born in Rome in 1967, he started playing with homemade drums at the age of 14 while listening to records by Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Police, and The Clash. A teenager, Alex used to play with small local bands, and afterwards, his high school friends united to play in an Italian funk-prog band called Cladama, with whom he began playing live. The wide musical background—classic Italian pop through American soul to jazz—that Puddu imbibed built the foundation for his eclecticism. His instinctive feel for what constitutes the mélange of different musical influences became the hallmark of his work and helped him rise above his contemporaries.
It wasn’t until 1987 that he finally relocated to Copenhagen (Denmark), after a chance encounter with a Danish girl. In 1988 Alex started playing with the Danish group The Guests inspired by the Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen and recorded a demo together. Not long after, the indie rock/electronic outfit Excess Bleeding Heart was formed, playing music rich in power pop and punk influences. Within no time at all, the group became an up-and-coming band within the underground circles of Denmark and went on to perform at such prestigious clubs as Roskilde Festival, SXSW in Austin, Texas, and New York City’s legendary Lime Light.
Nerve and the breakthrough with Puddu Varano
In 1996, Puddu formed the band Nerve and signed a deal with E.M.I. for the release of the E.P. and album Speed Freak Jive. During this period, Nerve played a lot of sold-out gigs, including a support gig for David Bowie in Valby Hallen, Copenhagen. Two years later, in 1998, Puddu teamed up with Morten Varano to create the electronic project Puddu Varano. Their music reverberated throughout Denmark, the UK, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and France, which finally led to a deal with BMG and three albums after that.
Solo Career and Cinematic Influence
The year 2000s was the start of another shift where Alex was spotted playing drums on playback for the national Danish TV with the band Mike and the Mechanics with leader Mike Rutherford from Genesis. The time finally called for his name to be put at the helm of things, and Alex Puddu did so with Alex Puddu and The Butterfly Collectors. From the period spanning 2004 to 2010, he has been able to come up with five albums: Chasing The Scorpions Tail, 2004; The Silence Of The Sun and The Rhythm of the Rain, 2005; Songs For The Sleepers, 2006; Mechanism and Technique, 2008; and Myrrh, 2010.
His first attempt solo project dark/soundtrack electro synth Bad Boys of 79 (2008 album) with Evil Leads The Dance. But his solo debut, Hell Is Other People, was released in 2010 and served as the original soundtrack for the Danish film Du ved godt at du drømmer by Nanna Kari Jensen. This work was, in reality, a milestone and underlined Puddu’s talent for arranging evocative music with lo-fi instruments, tape effects, and homemade ambient percussion.
A Dive into 70’s Library Music and Soundtracks
With his 16 albums, Alex Puddu is a musician’s musician who further explores the 70s world library music and soundtracks in his discography, notably with his three volumes on The Golden Age of Danish Pornography series for Schema Records. Puddu subsequently continued this cinematic journey with the jazz-library trilogy Registrazioni Al Buio from 2013, In The Eye of the Cat from 2016, and The Mark of the Devil from 2017, teaming up with legendary vocalist Edda Dell’Orso, the legendary vocalist of maestro Ennio Morricone. He teamed again in 2018 on the album The Gambler. In the same period the solo funk/afro project The Moonnfires, with the two albums Black Sugar in 2015 and Gotta Keep It Rolling in 2018 (Al Dente Music).
Noteworthy Collaborations
Alex Puddu has had a lot of remarkable collaborations throughout his career. In 2015, he worked with the New York Latin soul legend Joe Bataan on the album Soul Tiger. In 2017 he teamed up with the Lonnie Jordan of the 70’s band War on the album From The Beginning, and in 2020 he hooked up with Gene Robinson Jr. of Philly band Breakwater for his Discoteque.
Recent Works and Future Endeavors
Specifically, this neo-soul with synth-pop sprinkles and a thick layer of Italo disco and Soulful grooves of the late 70s and early 80s—something Puddu perfected in his formula during the past few years.
Take something like Love After Dark from 2021; then there was Night People and Private, both 2022; not forgetting his latest baby, Blue Ecstasy, 2023—everything produced under his own label, Al Dente Music. Puddu’s new album, Deliria, due for release in September 2024, will not fail to consolidate his reputation as one of the groundbreaker talents in modern music. The musical career of Alex Puddu has been a celebration of musical diversity and artistic innovation.
From a young music-loving boy in Rome to an artist known globally, the journey is certainly the epitome of talent and dedication. We look forward to new heights he’s going to reach in the years ahead of him.
Don’t miss Alex Puddu’s music on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, and follow up with his upcoming works that continue inspiring and capturing audiences worldwide.
