He was born in Nardò on May 19th, 1978 and lives in Santa Maria al Bagno ever since, a stone’s throw from the sea. His passion for music was passed on to him by both his grandfather Carmelo Marsano, a peasant and a “mandataro” (agent), and maestro Luigi Stifani, a barber and a music therapist. Sounds, voices and colours couldn’t but increase his yearning to broaden his own knowledge of the various undertones of the folk world around him.In 1997 he founded Dakkamè (from ‘grico’ “bites”) and recorded the “Nauna” album in 2000.
From 2002 to 2004 he collaborated with “Officina Zoè”, joining in the major World Music festivals in Italy and throughout Europe. He composed the original soundtrack to Edoardo Winspeare’s movie “Il Miracolo” (The Miracle), shown at the 60th International Film Festival in Venice and recorded that same year the album “Crita” with “Officina Zoè”. In 2003 he joined as actor and musician in Maria Corti’s play “L’Ora di Otranto” (The Hour of Otranto), directed by Pamela Villoresi. He stars in the short “Porto di Mare” (Seaport), one of the seven shorts of which Edoardo Winspeare’s movie “A Levante” (In the East) is made of.
He produced for Cinemedea the soundtrack to “Jetoi”, Mattia Soranzo’s prize-winning documentary about the real and tragic event of an Albanese boat sunk by the Italian navy in Salento waters.

In 2003 he produces in collaboration with Donatello Pisanello and Cinzia Marzo the music for another documentary film, “Le bende del giaguaro” (The jaguar’s bandages), about Chile and its dictatorship, by Corrado Punzi and Marta Vignola. He appears with Enza Pagliara, Cinzia Villani, Laura Nascosto and Toni Candeloro in Enzo Scarciglia’s documentary “Odore di terra” (Scent of earth), a journey through Salento told by the poetry of its light and stones telling of ancient memories.
With Enza Pagliara he performs live the music to the documentary “Terra” (Earth), on the peasant occupation at Cirò Marina, Calabria, in 1975.
In 2004 he joins “SalentOrkestra”, a few musicians and friends of old, moved by the common wish to rediscover their own land’s musical popular traditions. The project aims at proposing original compositions and Salento traditionals in a wider Mediterranean musical context. Balkan, Greek and Albanese rhythms melt into pizzica and tarantella, combining their sensibilities. Line-up as follows:

• Marco Tuma (horns)
• Giancarlo Paglialunga ( framed drums, vocals )
• Redi Hasa (cello)
• Massimiliano Morabito (hand-organ)
• Dario Muci (vocals, guitar, bouzouki)

In 2005 he joins Valerio Daniele, Bito de Lorenzi, Giuseppe Spedicato and Raffaele Casarano to found MAYIS (May).

The band proposes an acoustic journey to the borderline between folk and jazz, through originals and new arrangements of traditional chants from the Salento popular tradition. The project combines warm Mediterranean sounds with refined stylistic features of modern origin, maintaining the fiery nature of dialectal lyrics and tender melodies from the Salento tradition. The jazzy harmonic tessiturae melt with originally melodic traditional figures, thus creating a brand new musical space, constantly on the borderline between ethnical research and imaginary suspension. Compositions and arrangements also let open space for improvisation and extemporary reworking of the songs, making live performances a unique experience, always new and absorbing, thanks to the musicians’ creativity.

In 2006 he joins the band Tirica Ukala, a project dating back to 1994 and completely set up by September 2005. The line-up:

• Maria Mazzotta (vocals)
• Dario Muci (vocals)
• Giorgio Distante (trumpet, synth, effects)
• Roberto Gagliardi (saxophones)
• Giuseppe Spedicato (electric & acoustic fretless bass)
• Marco Bardoscia ( upright bass )
• Maurizio De Tommasi ( drums )
• Vito De Lorenzi ( drums, percussions )
• Alessandro Dell’Anna ( classical guitar )

The show offers a songlist made of mostly unreleased material but also original arrangements of some among the most suggestive tunes in Salento popoular music. Turning into a sort of “contemporary chamber music”, arrangements let room enough for improvisation and take atmospheres and suggestions from Mediterranean popular music, from jazz and progressive rock; fundamental to the expressive intents of the band is the use of dialect even for original compositions. The miscellaneous mix of styles and genres comes from the band members’ different backgrounds but also from a never ending sound research, which the project is based upon.

As from this year he joined the project “FRUNTE DE LUNA” by Enza Pagliara, with whom he approaches a deeper study of the Salento oral tradition. He is at present recording with both “FRUNTE DE LUNA” and Tirica Ukala.