Formed 1983, disbanded 1988, reformed 2014.

Viridanse was formed in 1983 by Flavio Gemma together with Paolo Boveri, both from Blaue Reiter, a group active in the early 80s, and known for having published a song in the compilation “Gathered”, by Rockerilla in 1982. Roberto Modellato joined the initial lineup on percussion and later Enrico Ferraris on guitars.

In 1983 they produced a demo tape entitled “Gallipoli 1915”, with four songs strongly influenced and rooted in post-punk but with a strong psychedelic imprint. The group thus began to tour the first clubs where the new trends of new wave were making their way, gathering the first consensus.

The group began to work and write other songs with the intent of publishing a real record, while Antonello DeBellis replaced Roberto Modellato on drums. Thus began the meeting with Contempo Records of Florence, a historic label of the Italian new wave, producer of the first works of Diaframma, Litfiba, Soul Hunter, Pankow etc. In September 1984, the EP, “Benvenuto Cellini” was released under Contempo Records and soon received excellent feedback from the public and music critics, later becoming one of the symbolic records of the Italian dark-wave of the early eighties.

After having toured in concerts in various parts of Italy to promote the work, between 1984 and 1985 the group began to write the pieces intended for a larger record work. The turning point was represented by songs such as Mediterranea and Dolce Vita which marked a significant departure from the dark and tense atmospheres of Benvenuto Cellini, in favor of a sound closer to the character of the Italian new wave, with more sunny sounds.

Towards the end of 1985 the LP “Mediterranea” was released by Contempo Records, and immediately jumped to number one in the Rockerilla and Mucchio Selvaggio readers’ poll, and Viridanse became the most voted group of 1985.

Between 1985 and 1986 the group toured to promote the new album, receiving excellent acclaim. In 1986, they were remembered for their participation in the great concert event “Rock contro la mafia” in Palermo on September 3, the television appearances on RAI3, Discoring Sanremo Rock, and the radio appearance on RAI Stereodrome.

Towards the end of 1986 Enrico Ferraris left the group and was replaced by Maurizio Barberis. After having written a series of new songs, the relationship with Contempo Records deteriorated and in 1987, after having recorded the demos of twelve tracks for a new album, the group abruptly interrupted its journey. The songs, recorded at Psycho Studio in Milan, were never released until 2012. In 1988 the band went their separate ways.

In 2012, a double CD anthology entitled “Gallipoli 1915 e le altre storie” was released, published by Silentes/Oltrelanebbiailmare, which collects the two official works of the band plus a significant number of unreleased and live songs. Among the unreleased songs, the band released four tracks belonging to the work recorded at Psycho Studio in 1987.

In May 2014, exactly thirty years after the release of the first album “Benvenuto Cellini”, VIRIDANSE was reborn and took shape. Flavio Gemma and Enrico Ferraris, the only original members of the band, relaunch the new face of Viridanse with a new lineup, with a new repertoire, new music, for new live shows and a new album scheduled for 2015.

In March 2015, Viridanse, with the new lineup, began recording the new album of unreleased material, the first in thirty years. “Mediterranea” at the 4/4 Sonic Factory studio in Alessandria. The new work was then mixed in August at the Music-Ink Studios in Paruzzaro (NO). The new songs composed between 2014 and March 2015, mark a notable change of pace, moving away from the typical sound of the wave of the eighties, in favor of a harder and more psychedelic sound, but with the constant of singing in Italian. The album is simply titled Viridanse and was released on November 16, 2015 by the Fonoarte – Danze Moderne (Audioglobe distribution). The album receives very good reviews from all main music magazines and web sites.

In March 2016 Viridanse released the new video for " Disordine " , the album's opening track , directed by Andrea DiBartolo. Meanwhile, the band began working on new songs for a new musical project and an album planned for early 2017. The album titled "Hansel & Gretel e la Strega Cannibale", is a concept inspired to the fairy tale, telling about the decline of the present civilization and the devastating aspects of the society in which we live. During June 2016 Fabrizio Calabrese leaves the band and Erik Nalin replaces him as drummer. With the partially renovated line up, Viridanse begin recording the new album in October and November 2016, in evocative settings of the Teatro Comunale di Alessandria (still closed to the public for renovations). The production is entrusted to the hands of Lorenzo Stecconi, already known for collaborations and productions of Zu, Ufomammut and many others. The musical project also involves a group of graphic artists, actors, photographers, painters for the creation of a short film inspired by the concept of the album. In November 2016 Rave Up Records publishes the whole Blaue Reiter production in vinyl. The LP, produced by Rave Up Records and inspired by the musical journalist Federico Guglielmi, titled “My Inner Thoughts” is a nine songs album with the original recordings of the band from 1981-1982. Blaue Reiter a seminal group of Italian new wave of the early eighties and since their breakup were born Viridanse. In 2017 the Viridanse played some songs of the Blaue Reiter live, together with the new repertoire.

Line up 1983:
Flavio Gemma - Bass, Vocals
Paolo Boveri - Vocals, Guitar
Roberto Modellato - Drums
Enrico Ferraris - Guitar (previously Max Pozzi)

Line up 1984-1986:
Flavio Gemma- Bass, BG Vocals
Paolo Boveri - Vocals, Guitar
Enrico Ferraris - Guitars
Antonello Debellis - Drums Percussion

Line up 1987
Flavio Gemma- Bass
Paolo Boveri - Vocals, Guitar
Maurizio Barberis - Guitars
Antonello Debellis - Drums Percussion
Alberto Ferraris - Keyboards

Line up 2014:
Fabrizio Calabrese: Drums, Percussion
Enrico Ferraris: guitars
Flavio Gemma: Bass
Gianluca Piscitello: Vocals
Giancarlo Sansone: Synths and Keyboards

Line up 2016:
Erik Nalin - Drums
Enrico Ferraris - guitars
Flavio Gemma - Bass
Gianluca Piscitello - Vocals
Giancarlo Sansone - Synths and Keyboards