STEREOTYPING

Description

Marek De Vann is the musical project of Italian composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Marco Sarracino. Active since 2002—the year he debuted as a bassist for the Piacenza-based surf-punk band Liquid Germs—he has over the years steered his artistic path increasingly toward composition and production. In doing so, he has forged a unique personal language that draws from jazz, funk, soul, library music, and cinematic soundscapes. While operating primarily within the instrumental realm, Marek De Vann blends vintage grooves with contemporary production techniques, crafting tracks that evoke vivid imagery and atmosphere through meticulous arrangements and a keen focus on timbral exploration. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with prominent figures in the Italian music scene, building a body of work defined by compositional quality, sonic precision, and the cross-pollination of genres. The project is distinguished by an elegant, versatile musical vision— one that engages with contemporary jazz, sophisticated funk, and music for film and media, all while maintaining a strong, consistent stylistic identity. Paolo Apollo Negri is an organist, composer, and producer who has been active since 1992. Widely recognized as one of Italy’s foremost Hammond organ players, he has built an international career that has seen him perform across Europe, the United States, and Japan. Over the years, he has released numerous albums—both as a solo artist and as a member of groups such as Link Quartet and Wicked Minds—while collaborating with a wide range of Italian and international musicians. His style fuses jazz, funk, soul, progressive rock, and psychedelia, characterized by a strong improvisational spirit and a deep, scholarly grasp of the Hammond organ tradition. Through his prolific work in the studio and on stage, Paolo Apollo Negri has established himself as a key reference point in the world of vintage and electronic keyboards. From the Hammond organ to the Rhodes, from the Clavinet and the Mellotron to synthesizers, his musical language combines tradition, exploration of timbre, and a constant focus on innovation. The Album: “Stereotyping” Following the positive reception of his 45-rpm single "Il Fuggiasco / A Mano Armata"—which drew interest from specialized radio stations and industry professionals—Marek De Vann has expanded the scope of his project with *Stereotyping*, his debut album in the jazz-funk synthwave genre. Conceived, composed, and produced by Marek De Vann, *Stereotyping* stems from a desire to explore the language of cinematic jazzfunk—both from Italy and abroad—without merely replicating its established tropes. The record takes the genre’s most iconic elements— tight grooves, pulsating basslines, Hammond organs, horns, Clavinets, Rhodes pianos, and the tense atmosphere typical of *poliziotteschi* (Italian crime films)—and deconstructs and reinterprets them through a contemporary lens, where synthesizers, electronics, and modern production techniques take center stage. The result is a work that engages with tradition without being bound by it: a conscious homage to the aesthetic of Italian film soundtracks and library music, which nonetheless succeeds in forging an independent, up-to-date sonic identity. Joining Marek De Vann on this journey is Paolo Apollo Negri—one of Italy’s most authoritative Hammond organ players—whose contribution adds further depth and character to the album’s sound. The project is rounded out by musicians from the Piacenza scene, including Maddalena Conni, Andrea Cravedi, Dario Cabisto, Federico Rivoli, and jazz saxophonist Gianni Azzali, each bringing a distinct touch to the record’s sonic palette. With *Stereotyping*, Marek De Vann does not look to the past with nostalgia; instead, he uses it as living material to build something entirely new. It is an album that fuses jazz-funk, library music, and electronic elements into an instrumental narrative, where every track evokes specific imagery, atmospheres, and sequences. cinematic, leaving the listener the freedom to complete the story.