A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
ABOUT
Mozait is a band made up of five professional musicians: Neco Novellas (vocals), Marco Bachi (bass and double bass), Paolo Sodini (guitar), Filippo Guerrieri (keyboards), and Piero Perelli (drums and percussion).

The name Mozait is inspired by the idea of a mosaic, whose tiles reflect the experience and the influences of each musician and, combined, they produce a unique result.

Mozait is also a nod to the countries and cultures of its members: Moza, in fact, stands for Mozambique, and It for Italy.

The project first saw light in 2013 when four members got together to experiment with the fusion of African tribal rhythms with soul, R&B, blues, and jazz.

Shortly after, the musicians began to transform their ideas and intuitions into something real, as the first instrumental parts were recorded.

In 2014, having met the Mozambique-born singer and guitarist Neco Novellas, their project turned into a proper band.

Mozait celebrates this union with their debut album Pure Water, eleven original tracks recorded on the sunny hills of Tuscany.

Neco becomes the velvety baritone voice the band was craving for, as he starts writing the lyrics and first music lines of the record, working side by side with the artistic producer, Filippo Guerrieri.

Now, after nearly two years of constant work, love, and attention, the band is ready to take its music to the stages of the world.

All members of Mozait have thriving personal careers and have proudly worked with worldwide famous artists; no better combination of personalities and talents could have come together to create this extraordinary work.

Neco Novellas, singer and guitarist, was born and raised in Mozambique, where he grew his first musical roots and is today a bona fide celebrity, but since then, life has taken him all over Europe.

He started studying classical music, guitar, and singing techniques as a teenager in Portugal, to then start traveling and eventually moving to Holland where he broadened his artistic horizons to jazz and world music. Since 1998, he's an accomplished singer, songwriter, composer, and performer, well familiar with the international live scene. (www.neconovellas.com)

Marco Bachi plays bass and double bass for Mozait.

Marco graduated in classical music and started playing with the prestigious Orchestra Regionale of Tuscany. Since moving to the rock and pop realm, he has played with many renowned artists, such as Daniele Silvestri, Paola Turci, Patty Pravo, Max Gazzè, Eddy Martin, and Peppe Voltarelli, both live and in the studio. Marco is a founding member of Bandabardò, a folk-rock ensemble which has reached great fame in Italy and all over Europe. With them, he has released 12 albums and played more than 1500 concerts around the world, still remaining one of the most popular bands of their genre.

Paolo Sodini is the guitarist. Born in Lucca, he studied guitar in Rome and jazz guitar at the Conservatoire of La Spezia, where he graduated.

He has always played with many different bands, where he has proved himself with a range of different styles, from funk to R&B, from blues to jazz.

More recently, Paolo has turned his attention towards African music and started to play with Nour Eddine, a famous Moroccan musician, with whom he's working on several projects.

Paolo is also very active in his role as a music educator.

Filippo Guerrieri is Mozait's keyboard player. Born in Lucca in 1979, he began to study classical music as a child but was soon driven towards contemporary music.

From a very young age, he found himself in the company of older musicians who introduced him to soul, blues, and rock and to his very first gigs.

Over the years, he has worked with many Italian and foreign artists, both on stage and in the studio; not only has he worked as a performer but also as an arranger and composer for soundtracks and sound production projects.

Filippo has his own recording studio on the hills of Tuscany, where he works and where most of the Mozait album was recorded.

Last but not least, Piero Perelli is the drummer of Mozait.

Born in Lucca in 1988, he has been spellbound by his great love of music since he was a child: from the moment he got his first drum kit at the age of five, he has never stopped playing.

Piero is an eclectic drummer, who has never been afraid of experimenting with different styles and surroundings, always playing with as many bands as he could.

For the last four years, he has been touring the world as a drummer and percussionist for the famous American rock singer Dana Fuchs. (www.pieroperelli.com)

The distinctive sound of Mozait comes from the winning idea of using just analog equipment for the record: no plugins, no samples, and no loops were used in the making of Pure Water.

The band is ready to take you on a journey through time and space, to their own musical universe, shaped by faraway harmonies and exotic flavors as well as the heritage of those who have made, and are still making, the history of music: Joe Zawinul, Richard Bona, Bob Marley, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, and many others.