Stefano Saletti is the founder and band leader of “Novalia” and “Banda Ikona”, as well as the musical director of two international ensembles: “7 Sóis Orkestra” and “Les Voix du 7 Sóis”.

In April 2016 he released the new CD with Banda Ikona called “Soundcity – Sounds from Border Towns” (Finisterre). The CD begins with recordings that Saletti composed around many Mediterranean border cities: Lampedusa, Istanbul, Tangier, Lisbon, Jaffa, Sarajevo, Ventotene… Sounds, noises, radios, voices, sound spaces, buskers have all inspired his melodies, lyrics and rhythms. As always, Saletti uses the Sabir in his musical compositions, as it is the language of the sea; together with Turkish, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Neapolitan, Swahili, Romanian and Macedonian to describe the richness, the hopes and the pain that inhabits the “streets” of the Mediterranean.

The Sabir was an “ancient language” used by sailors, pirates, fishermen, merchants and ship-owners in Mediterranean ports to communicate with one another: from Genoa to Tangiers, from Salonika to Istanbul, from Marseilles to Algiers, from Valencia to Palermo, until the early decades of the twentieth century this form of sea-faring “Esperanto” developed, little by little, availing terms for the languages of Spanish, Italian, French and Arabic.

In 2015 for Materiali Sonori he released the CD “Caracas” with Valerio Corzani, the soundtrack CD “In Search of Homerus and the CD “Cafè Loti” with Nando Citarella and Pejman Tadayon.

In May 2012 he released an album with Piccola Banda Ikona called “Folkpolitik” (Top ten on the World Music Charts Europe). The CD is rich of original compositions and songs rearranged by Mediterranean authors, who speak through their music about the struggle against power, suffering persecution, arrests and violence. “Folkpolitik” is a journey back in time to rediscover different types of music that tell the stories of the suffering and passionate people of the Mediterranean. From the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Spain to the Palestinian Diaspora, from the Sardinian anthem (fruit of the French Revolution against the excessive power of the barons) to the authors of often very sweet music and ballads, subjected to persecution, arrest and violence by the political powers that be.

In February 2010 Stefano Saletti released “Oriental Night Fever”, his new record composed with the collaboration of French-Algerian musician/producer Hector Zazou and the italian singer Barbara Eramo. The project is a reinterpretation of some of the classics 70s’ Disco songs, combining electronic instruments with traditional Mediterranean and Eastern Europe in a truly fascinating mix, able to reinvent and rediscover the strength of Disco music. For example, these songs are included in the album: “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, “Y.M.C.A.” Village People, “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “You Make Me Feel” by Sylvester, the Trammps “Disco Inferno”, “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, Blondie “Heart of Glass”, Chic “I Want Your Love”, “Ring My Bell” by Anita Ward.
The project became exclusive worldwide on iTunes February 2^nd 2010, and released in stores in 14^th February 2010.

In January 2008 he released another CD with Piccola Banda Ikona called “Marea cu sarea” written in Sabir an old language of Mediterranean sea.

He is also the director of 7 Sóis Orkestra, a Mediterranean orchestra that brings together all kinds of musicians from different countries: the fado singer Margarida Guerreiro (Portugal), the violinist Jamal Ouassini (Maroc), the windinstruments player Eyal Sela (Israel), the flamengo guitarist Miguel Angel Ramos (Andalusia), the bass player Mario Rivera (Sicily), the percussionist Massimo Cusato (Calabria).
The band recently recorded the live CD “A night in Sicily”.

In 2003 he made his first recording as soloist called “Le Vespe”, soundtrack to the homonymous film written by Aristophanes.

In 2005 he composed and recorded “Stari Most” with the Piccola Banda Ikona for the italian label CNI, Compagnia Nuove Indye.

As a composer, he has also worked on other numerous film soundtracks, television, dance shows, theatre, and poetry. He composed the whole soundtrack for the film “Sotto la Luna” by Franco Bernini (Rai 2), and the song “Ebla” as the main theme song for the international tv program “Mediterraneo”.

As for theatre, he works along with: Giancarlo Giannini, Pamela Villoresi, Omero Antonutti, Massimo Popolizio, Manuela Mandracchia, Maurizio Panici, Piero Maccarinelli, Predrag Matvejevic, Marco Delogu, Renato Giordano.

Saletti composed a suite in five movements based on “Le bateau Ivre” by Arthur Rimbaud, read by Jean-Louis Trintignant, and worked on the making of “Coppi Arrive”, a ballet represented at “Museum of Contemporary Art of Prato, Florence.

He also wrote music and performed on stage with the Tunisian poet Monchef Ghachem.

During the ’80 & ’90, he played with Alexander Balanescu, Kahwa, Ganoub, Badu N’Dyaie, Rashmi V. Bhatt,Nour-Eddine, Giampiero e Arlo Bigazzi, Materiali Sonori University, Antonello Ricci, Arnaldo Vacca, Arturo Stalteri, Gabriele Russo, Marcello Vento, Abraham Afewerki, Saleh Tawil, Cudù, Paolo Lotti, Engel Der Vernichtung e Federico Festuccia, Brothers, Paolo Modugno, Alessandro Cercato, Marco Rosano.

He has toured in multiple countries like: Spain, Portugal, France, Hungary, Sweden, Greece, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Erzegovina, Germany.

In conjunction with the “Associazione Griot” and Materiali Sonori he organized many ethnic and avant-garde music events, with Jan Garbarek, Michael Nyman band, Wim Mertens, Third Ear Band, Tuxedomoon, The Residens, Steven Brown e Blaine Reininger, Daniel Schell, Micrologus, Klezroym, Saleh Tawil, Nour-Eddine, Archedora, Paramashivam Pilai.

Stefano Saletti studied and researched traditional Italian music, and twentieth century avant-garde music.

Between 1990 and 2001 he directed the magazine of Art, music, sound & words called “Sonora”, edited by Materiali Sonori, and “Cous Cous”, edited by CNI.