Road to Polaris

Casino Royale are one of the oldest bands still active in Italy. Born in 1987 in Milan, they animate the stage with the warm and energetic sound of their ska music. Theirs is an oddly assorted group, including youngsters and veterans, Clash lovers and ska and Jamaican reggae fans. At the beginning of the Nineties, they flip their musical reference points, opening to ragga-hip hop and Black rock contaminations. They start writing songs and singing in Italian, which generates a stronger empathy from their audience. In 1995 they start working with a Bristol-based producer, Ben Young, and together they create the album Sempre più vicini. In 1997 they go to London and come back with the album CRX, which features dark electronic sounds. They take a pause, they break up, they open a label and promote other bands. So far, they have produced around 15 albums, in studio and live. They have resumed their work during the first lockdown in 2020 with the production of the concept album Quarantine Scenario, which retells through sound and images (in a film directed by Pepsy Romanoff) the feelings and emotions of a range of artists, producers and performers. Polaris is their latest album.