history
AQUILINA were formed when Brixton bred singer/guitarist Joseph Aquilina was introduced to double bass playing Royal College graduate Paul Baker. They were joined by maverick violinist Samy Bishai, whilst drummer Lenin Alegria recently returned to the band after a stint abroad. They have gone on to perform around London and the UK for the last year picking up plaudits for their intense and unique sound.
Aquilina’s mix of styles mirrors their mix of backgrounds. Joseph was born in Malta but brought up in London with a heavy Southern Mediterranean influence. Samy was born in Alexandria, Egypt, amongst the heady mélange of sounds of the North African countries that border the Sahara. Paul is a true stiff upper-lipped Brit, with the rarified up bringing of a classical trained music prodigy. Recent addition Lenin is a true Latin American rebel. Hailing from Chile, he has an equally firey temperament. Four more diverse backgrounds would be hard to find. That they have come together in the cosmopolitan melting pot that is London Town is maybe not such a surprise.
Their music is very much song based and has been described as melodic, emotive and infectious. They have already been compared with the likes of Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Seal, Chris Cornell and the Dave Matthews Band. A diverse set of comparisons, with all these artists having their own highly individualistic sounds. But then, so does Aquilina. Joseph has featured on a BBC documentary about singer songwriter Nick Drake, whilst Samy is very much in demand for sessions, having worked with Gwen Stefani and many World musicians including Sekou Keita and Yasmin Levy. In addition he also worked on the Terry Hall and Mushtaq album "The Hour of Two Lights" and it’s subsequent tour.
For more information contact Automatic Management on +44 (0) 20 7978 7888