Jovine

The brainchild of singer and songwriter Valerio Jovine — though he received a lot of help from his brother, Massimo (best known as the bass-playing JPM in the band 99 Posse) — Jovine formed in Naples, Italy, in 1998. A single of theirs, "Cambia la Storia," was included on a compilation put out by BMG shortly after their inception, and soon the band, with help from bassist Cico Quintavalle and DJ Danilo Vigorito, got to work on its debut full-length, issuing Contagiato in 2000. Two years later they entered the studio again to start preparing their next effort. Inspired by the sounds of reggae, Jovine tapped into the talents of guitarist Francesco Spadafora, trumpeter Michele Acanforo, bassist Alessandro Aspide, and drummer Guido Amalfitano, spending over a year on the road, touring around Italy and Switzerland, before releasing Ora in 2005. In 2007 Senza Limiti, another reggae-inspired album, though dub, electronica, and jazz influences were also heard, came out.