Marco Machera is an Italian musician/songwriter – one of the best-kept secrets of the music business. He likes to say, "I don't play music – I make it happen." Basically self-taught, Marco has played nearly all kinds of music, from pop to rock, from blues to jazz and fusion, to ambient and electronica, folk and gospel and everything in between.
Mainly known as an accomplished bass player, he is also a singer, guitarist and drummer. Marco regularly teams up with the Italian progressive rock band, MYTHO, and enjoys collaborating with other artists from time to time. He's had the pleasure to open shows for guitarist Adrian Belew, drummer/producer extraordinaire Jerry Marotta, fusion virtuoso Frank Gambale and guitar heroine Jennifer Batten, just to name a few. Marco also played bass for Paul Gilbert, one of the world's premier guitarists, during some of his clinic tour dates in 2009 and 2011.
In September 2009, Marco scored the soundtracks for two theatre performances scripted by actress/director Martina Sacchetti and performed at the WCA Theatre of the University of the Arts of London.
At the same time, he started working on what would become his debut solo-album – One Time, Somewhere. "I write the music I would like to hear," Marco says "…and I try to bring to life what I hear in my head. While the concept of 'unconventional music' is pretty much relative, these songs are my humble try in terms of giving new life to the overused pop song formula. Like a photographer who captures a moment in time, I wanted to convey images, memories and feelings into music. I did not focus on musicianship, but on a sense of aesthetic. The aim was to create a unique blending of sounds, which had to work as a whole."
One Time, Somewhere features the talents of Pat Mastelotto, Rob Fetters, Francesco Zampi and Mark Kostabi on most of the tracks, helping Marco to shape his unique vision of music. The result is an extremely fresh and diverse album. Critically acclaimed drummer Pat Mastelotto, who plays on the record, says: "I had a lot of fun working on Marco's upcoming record. One of the first tracks he sent me sounded like The Beatles with Tom Waits! What a band that would have been", and also adds: "I'm looking forward to hearing the final outcome of Marco's record; we have stayed in touch throughout the year as he overdubbed and mixed, so I can tell he has a keen ear for details without loosing the big picture. It's pop packed with nice surprises."
Here's what legendary guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett has to say about One Time, Somewhere: "It is really good and well crafted and I very much enjoyed it. Beautiful voice at the beginning and interesting atmospheres and contrasting moods. Days of Summertime has some fascinating sounds."
