BOLZANO. There is a collective of South Tyrolean musicians who have been collecting prizes throughout the region for a few months. From first place in the Trentino contest “University sounds”, to the prestigious “Uploadsounds”, passing through the Emergency competition. They are called “Supermarket” and are fifteen very young artists with different influences and backgrounds, from rap to the conservatory, united by the desire to make independent music.
For 24-year-old Thomas Traversa, founder of the group in 2021, every time on stage the emotion is stronger. From concerts in suburban youth centers, they have come to play as opening acts for their favorite artists, in front of an audience of their peers who sing their songs at the top of their lungs. «Even wearing t-shirts bought at some other live show», he smiles. In addition to being a talented guitarist, singer and songwriter, Traversa is passionate about music production. So much so that every song released by “Supermarket”, as they call them in the world, is totally self-produced. In a context like that of Bolzano where it is more difficult to make music than in a big city, due to the absence of spaces and opportunities, Traversa dreamed of giving local artists the opportunity “to play in contexts worthy of them”. A desire shared with the entire group, which began to imagine projects and initiatives to enhance the many young local talents, too often on the run in search of possibilities elsewhere.
And did you do it?
In part yes. Already in 2022 we started setting up Jam sessions, open mics (concerts in which the public can perform, ed.): all evenings in which we were not involved as musicians but as organisers. At the Pippo Stage centre, with which a collaboration was born, we brought the “indie evening” and “Sound Arena”. Other concerts and cultural initiatives were born through the collaboration with the local Waag. Around our collective, “Supermarket”, we wanted to create a community of musicians with whom we could perform locally, but we soon ran into the difficulty of organizing things of this type in Bolzano.
What obstacles did you encounter?
The fact that we were not tied to institutionalized realities sometimes penalized us. The impression is that, in Bolzano, what arises spontaneously is often hindered. It’s difficult to get permits, for example, there’s a lot of bureaucracy. In fact, looking around, non-institutional entities that organize musical evenings dedicated to musicians almost do not exist. We are here, but the most important recognitions, for now, have come beyond the provincial border. Especially in Trento. In Alto Adige I see many young people playing and taking part in the evenings, the hope is that in the future the situation will change for the better.
Let’s talk about the collective: when were Supermarkets born?
It all started during the pandemic. To pass the time, Marco Di Stasio, Davide Fusaro and I started talking about music in a podcast. We got along well, discovering that each of us produced and/or played, and we decided to form a community of musicians. Through word of mouth we became a nice little group and in March 2021 we started sending each other instrumental backing tracks and lyrics to work on together. On September 3, 2021 we had the first official concert, opening in Folcast and Cimini. Each member of the collective initially did his solo pieces, at most as a couple, until we decided to make songs all together. Our first album came out last year.
Plans for the future?
We are already working in the studio on a new album, which I hope will be released in the next few months. Songs composed all together in which we explore different genres. Then definitely play live as much as possible, touring Italy to make ourselves known.