Salis -

I Salis was an Italian pop band fronted by brothers Antonio and Francesco Salis. After two late-Sixties singles as Salis ‘n Salis, they made the 1971–74 albums Sa Vida Ita Est and Seduto Sull’alba a Guardare. In 1979, they returned with the symphonic album Dopo il Buio la Luce.

Members: Antonio Salis (bass, vocals), Francesco Salis (guitar, vocals), Pier Paderni (keyboards), Paolo Gerardini (drums), Antonio Lotta (keyboards, 1978-79), Antonio Sardu (drums, 1978-79)

Background

I Salis was a Sardinian combo fronted by the singing Salis brothers: bassist Antonio and guitarist Francesco Salis. Both hailed from I Barrittas, a musica beat group that gained national attention for their participation in the 1966 Messa Beat project.

In 1968, they launched their own project as Salis ‘n’ Salis with organist Mariano Tunerani and drummer Mario Paliano, soon replaced by Nino Scalas. Their sound, self-styled as “Santa Giusta Sound”, blended Italian pop, beat, and Anglo-American influences with increasingly elaborate compositions.

Early Singles (1968–1970)

In 1968, Salis ’n’ Salis released “Maribel” (b/w “Nell’oscurità”) on Belldisc Italiana. In 1969, they followed with “Le bambole” (b/w “I giorni vanno via”).

In 1970, they issued “Mi ricordo di te” (b/w “Ci vuol coraggio”), completing their Belldisc single run. In the same year, they released “Chissà Se La Luna Ha Una Mamma” (b/w “Cronaca Di Una Cosa”) on Liberty with a revised lineup featuring Antonio (bass) and Francesco Salis (guitar) with organist Mariano Tunerani and drummer Nino Scalas. The Liberty single previewed the conceptual and tonal direction later explored on their debut album.

Sa Vida Ita Est

Salis released their debut album, Sa Vida Ita Est, in 1971 on Produttori Associati.

The lineup featured Antonio and Francesco Salis with keyboardist Pier Paderni and drummer Paolo Gerardini.

All songs are group-credited, though Francesco functioned as the main composer and arranger. On this album, he gained renown for his advanced guitar technique, inspired by Wes Montgomery with use of double stops. The track “Matrimonio” displays his fluid soloing. Antonio handles bass and lead vocals simultaneously with a gravel-toned voice compared in phrasing to Paul McCartney.

A1. “La Vita” [Life] (2:45)
A2. “La Ragazza Del Cortile Accanto” [The Girl in the Next Courtyard] (2:33)
A3. “Il Nuovo Gioco” [The New Game] (3:10)
A4. “Lavorare (E Sognare)” [To Work (And Dream)] (3:50)
A5. “La Prima Volta” [The First Time] (3:54)
A6. “Naja” [Military Service] (3:02)
A7. “Superman” (2:19)

B1. “Auguri” [Best Wishes] (5:21)
B2. “Cambia Il Suo Nome” [She Changes Her Name] (4:28)
B3. “Matrimonio” [Marriage] (3:36)
B4. “Come Allora (Com’è Strano)” [Like Then (How Strange It Is)] (3:50)
B5. “Il Vecchio” [The Old Man] (2:18)
B6. “Sorella Morte” [Sister Death] (4:02)

Sa Vida Ita Est was never mixed properly, due to minimal investment from Produttori Associati. The label rushed the final product once the small budget was exhausted. Despite technical shortcomings, the album featured conceptual unity and an early “concept album” approach. Several insiders mistook the album’s title as Latin; it was actually Sardinian (“Sa vida ita est” = What is life?).

The cover features a detailed black-ink illustration depicting two reclining nude figures whose intertwined hair and limbs form the outline of a horned skull. A third female form, rendered in profile, emerges from the lower left, echoing the baroque surrealism of underground Italian graphics. The album title appears in lowercase red typewriter font along the bottom edge, paired with the subtitle santagiusta sound.

Gerardini left during the subsequent tour and was replaced first by Nino Scalas, then by Mario Paliano. In February 1972, keyboardist Pier Paderni left the group and was replaced by Antonello Salis, who had previously played in I Barrittas and briefly joined Salis ’n’ Salis for concerts in Switzerland and at the Villa Pamphili Festival in Rome.

Seduto Sull’alba a Guardare

Salis released their second album, Seduto Sull’alba a Guardare, in 1974 on Cipiti Record. The title translates as Sitting at Dawn and Watching.

Seduto features multi-instrumentation by Francesco Salis (guitar, twelve-string guitar, vocals, choir), Antonio Salis (bass, vocals, acoustic guitar, recorder flute), and Dario Baldan (piano, harpsichord, Hammond organ, celeste, flute, choir).

Drummer Andy Surdy appears throughout apart from “Salis Addio,” “Non Cercatemi Dove Non Sono,” and “Viva Lei,” which feature drummer Furio Bozzetti. Guitarist Gianni Serra guests on “Tentazione.”

A1. “Salis Addio” [Farewell Salis] (3:59)
A2. “Non Cercatemi Dove Non Sono” [Don’t Look for Me Where I’m Not] (4:02)
A3. “Viva Lei” [Long Live Her] (3:35)
A4. “Progresso” [Progress] (3:48)
A5. “Un Uomo” [A Man] (3:10)

B1. “Festa Mancata” [Missed Party] (4:17)
B2. “Gioia” [Joy] (4:14)
B3. “Tentazione” [Temptation] (3:17)
B4. “Il Mio Dramma È L’Età” [My Drama Is Age] (2:39)
B5. “Brio” [Vivacity] (4:32)
B6. “Finale” [Finale] (1:29)

The Salis brothers produced and arranged the album with Dario Baldan.

The cover juxtaposes a photographic portrait of a pensive Francesco Salis with stylized paper-cut cliffs and a simplified sea-horizon gradient. A minimal orange sun sets between the cliffs above a descending sequence of blues.

Also in 1974, Francesco masqueraded as L’Apostolo for the single “Dimensione” (b/w “Io Ti Ringrazierò”) on Bambara Records. Between albums, Antonio joined I Cadmo, a jazz-rock band behind the 1977 album Boomerang, released on Vendetta Records as part of their New Jazz Collection series.

Dopo il Buio la Luce

Salis released their third album, Dopo il Buio la Luce, in 1979 on International Audio Film.

The group at this stage comprised Antonio and Francesco Salis, surrounded by keyboardist Antonio Lotta and drummer Antonio Sardu. Antonio juggles bass, xylophone, and flute on Dopo, which features Lotta on piano, electric piano, organ, and Minimoog.

The album opens with “Novembre,” which sets a slow-mounting pace with phased transitions between flowing keyboard voicings and shifting guitar textures. “Rapsodia per Emigrazione” builds on tandem phrasing between electric piano and flute, extending into a mid-tempo march with tightly patterned interplay. The nearly eight-minute title track pivots through multiple sections, balancing airy electric piano motifs, abrupt time changes, and virtuosic piano figures across abrupt stops and re-entries. “Peccato Che…!” focuses on sharp alternation between guitar-led phrases and syncopated electric piano lines.

“Diablo” brings the album’s vocal peak, blending layered chorus passages with angular guitar refrains and orchestral keyboard pads. “A Walter” maintains a restrained pacing, centering on arpeggiated keys and subdued guitar lines. “Inquinamento” injects a jazz-leaning momentum with rapid electric piano clusters and a spiraling guitar lead. The closer, “Yankee Go Home,” revisits vocal interplay over a contoured rhythmic pulse, resolving the album’s arc with dense keyboard overlays and final ensemble swells.

A1. “Novembre” [November] (4:44)
A2. “Rapsodia Per Emigrazione” [Rhapsody for Emigration] (5:02)
A3. “Dopo Il Buio… La Luce” [After the Darkness… the Light] (7:40)
A4. “Peccato Che….!” [What a Pity…!] (3:58)

B1. “Diablo” (6:29)
B2. “A Walter” (5:13)
B3. “Inquinamento” [Pollution] (4:37)
B4. “Yankee Go Home” (3:54)

Sessions occurred in June 1978 at Studio I.A.F. in Brescia.

The cover depicts a stylized cosmic scene: five moons or planetary bodies orbit a central white sphere on a deep-space black field. Blue and violet shading outlines the orbs, with faint halo effects around the brightest forms.

Discography: