Euro Music Talk

Eros Ramazzotti is back.

Armed with a new double album titled “e2,” the Italo rock singer highlights his duet with Latin singer Ricky Martin. The album, which could be a math equation, stands for Eros’ name and the number 2 meaning the double album. The singer just turned 44 yesterday. “Non siamo soli” (We Are Not Alone) also serves as the first single.

The music video might portray lots of gyrating women and Latin American singer Ricky swinging his butt but this isn’t about love and seduction. It is actually a song about global awareness and how to save what’s left of it. Apart from its original Italian version, a Spanish version is also released for the benefit of the singers’ Spanish-speaking audience. Eros has also cultivated fandom on the other side of the Atlantic.

“I thought about global problems. Things like how to make the world a better place,” he told Woman, a Viennese women’s magazine, early this month.

“And if you have a child you tend to worry about the future.” He continued.

This is not the first time he collaborated with other musicians. A year ago he and Anastacia took the European charts by storm with the song “I Belong to You (Il Ritmo Della Passione).” It was part of Anastacia’s greatest hits, “Pieces of Dream.” The two played lovers on the video but that was it.

The singer, who was born in Rome, Italy, whose fans are mostly women hasn’t hooked up with anyone after the singer’s painful marriage.

He used to be married with Swiss-born model/actress/singer Michelle Hunziker, 30, from 1998 to 2002. They have an 11-year-old daughter Aurora.

The fairy-tale union ended in 2002 and legal battles have followed.

His fans might welcome the idea of a single Eros but the singer is playing safe at this moment.

“I am not going out with anyone, because it’s difficult… There are many opportunities but these are very superficial ones. Love is so irrational and it’s not so easy (to start all over again) after you had given everything to a relationship.”

He celebrates his 20-year career in the music business.

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Eros Ramazzotti, Ricky Martin, Anastacia, Michelle Hunziker

There’s more to Abba and Roxette.

Sweden, the third largest Western European country, has contributed a series of famous musical acts for decades.

Introducing Moneybrother, the brainchild of former punker turned soul/pop crooner Anders Wendin from Stockholm, Sweden. In his album “To Die Alone,” the first single “They’re Building Walls Around Us” shows his best imitations of Elvis Presley on the video.

His latest is “Mount Pleasure.”

He used to be the singer of ska-punk rock band Monster. In 2002 they disbanded. The other members went on to join the indie pop band The Concretes. Three years later Anders went on to become solo and released “Blood Panic” that catapulted him to the top of Swedish charts.
The debut album gave him his first award, the Swedish Grammy Award for Rock Album of the Year.

Lately, he is attracting a steady following in Germany. He has reportedly sold out tour dates in the country. In 2005, he appeared at the SXSW 2005 (south by southwest festivals + conferences). German rock band Wir Sind Helden covered his song “Blow Him Back Into My Arms” from his album “To Die Alone” in one of their concerts. Judith Holofernes singing in English! It was surprising as the band doesn’t have a single written and sung in other language than their native German so it must be a challenge.

Moneybrother also collaborated with the singer of The Hives, another Swedish band. Together with Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist they did a cover of an Operation Ivy song called “Freeze Up.”

I can’t seem to point out his musical direction but it has some traces of Abba with some added portions of Housemartins. It is strange. The organ, the voice, the works. But most of all, it is pop. And it is easy to digest. If you want to search for some traces of punk, don’t. You certainly will be disappointed.

This is “Reconsider Me” from “Blood Panic” album.

Moneybrother, Abba, Roxette, Sweden, Wir Sind Helden, Judith Holofernes, The Hives, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist