17 October 2008

DFA Announced for FMPM 2009

The best things in life come to those who wait, a saying well known to fans of Italian four-piece DFA. Before 2008's #4, their last studio album was 1999's Duty Free Area. Simply put, they are one of the best groups in the world in the style of symphonic fusion, combining incredible technical virtuosity with a gift for memorable, dynamic melodies. With the #1 album on the Gagliarchives for eleven straight weeks following its release, DFA is "one of the best of the new breed" (All About Jazz), and #4 is "a worthy successor to The Rotter's Club" (Billboard.com) and "an unmitigated success" (Aymeric Leroy). And while fans of Canterbury music might see DFA as the reincarnation of National Health, they are undeniably an Italian prog group and reminiscent of some of the great jazz rock groups from that country such as Arti e Mestieri and middle-period PFM.

DFA's first two releases, Lavori in Corsa and Duty Free Area, make quite a splash when they were first released, and are now available on the 2-CD compilation Kaleidoscope. Their live performance at NEARFest 2000 brought down the house and is still talked about today. Over the years people increasingly wondered whether DFA were still together, whether they would ever release a new album, and if so whether it could possibly live up to the standards set by their early work. The answer to all these questions is an emphatic "YES", and at FMPM 2009 we expect DFA will once again bring people to their feet in their first ever Canadian appearance.

The fourth edition of the FMPM will be taking place once again at the Salle Pierre Mercure (Pierre Peladeau Center), September 12th and 13th, 2009. We will be updating the web-site over the next few days. DFA is the first band announced for next year's event. We are hoping to have two more announcements out this month.

http://www.fmpm.net/
http://www.dutyfreearea.it/
http://www.myspace.com/dutyfreearea

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