Hugo Race Fatalists

In 2009, after 2 decades and 12 albums with hypnotic psyche-blues Berlin-based True Spirit, Hugo Race (ex-Bad Seeds, The Wreckery) recorded his first solo album in ‘classic songwriter’ mode. Weaving together folk songs, desert blues and the band’s Italian roots, the album was called ‘Fatalists’, and the band who created it thereafter took the Fatalists name. Working with Italian guitarist/producer Antonio Gramentieri (aka Don Antonio), Fatalists also included key partner Diego Sapignoli on drums and percussion, Arizonan violinist Vicki Brown (Calexico) and bassist Erik Van Loos (Willard Grant Conspiracy). The Fatalists debut album was recorded by Italian producer Franco Naddei at his Cosabeat studio in the Romagna, Italy, and released to critical acclaim in 2010 by Interbang Records in Europe and Other Tongues Records in Australia. Based in Italy, and with the addition of bassist Francesco Giampaoli, Hugo Race Fatalists toured extensively in Europe and Australia and released the albums ‘We Never Had Control’ (Interbang/Gusstaff Records 2012), ‘Orphans’ (Gusstaff 2014), and ‘24 Hours To Nowhere’ (Glitterhouse Records 2016). Antonio Gramentieri left the group in 2017 to pursue his solo career as Don Antonio. Guitar wizard Giovanni Ferrario, with whom Hugo had worked in The True Spirit and Sepiatone, quickly replaced him and the band recorded ‘Taken By The Dream’ (Glitterhouse 2019) and now the projects’s defining work - ‘Once Upon A Time In Italy’ (Santeria Records 2022).