Artist

I FHOLKS
REALE ACCADEMIA DI MUSICA

I FHOLKS
Henryk (Enrique) Topel Cabanes (vocals)
Federico Troiani (keyboards, vocals)
Pericle Sponzilli (guitar)
Pierfranco Pavone (bass)
Ruggero Stefani (drums)

REALE ACCADEMIA DI MUSICA
Henryk (Enrique) Topel Cabanes (vocals)
Federico Troiani (keyboards, vocals)
Nicola Agrimi (guitar)
Pierfranco Pavone (bass)
Roberto Senzasono (drums, percussion)

Reale Accademia di Musica derived from a very popular band from Rome, I Fholks, that in their career also supported Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix (both in 1968 in Rome), but just managed to release a single. 
The origins of this group lay in a beat band, i Condors, formed in 1965 and featuring guitarist Claudio Baldassarri and bassist Pierfranco Pavone, later renamed Folks to play as backing band of singer Roby Crispiano. The name was changed again to Fholks after the entrance of singer Henryk Topel and drummer Ruggero Stefani, and it was this line-up that played those two important concerts.

With new guitarist Pericle Sponzilli (replacing Baldassarri, who went to form Crisalide) and keyboardist Enzo Volpini, Fholks recorded their only record. The good single included a reworking of an Iron Butterfly song, Soldier in our town, translated as Mi scorri nelle vene, and was produced by Equipe 84 leader Maurizio Vandelli, that brought the group to the Ricordi label.
After the entrance of keyboardist Federico Troiani the quintet had its most stable line-up, and played in many important festivals of the early 70's, like Caracalla and Gualdo in 1970 and the Viareggio Pop Festival in 1971, but split during the recording sessions for their first English-sung album. 

While drummer Ruggero Stefani (previously he had been the only man in the all-girl beat group Le Pupille) joined L'Uovo di Colombo, that also included his ex cohort Enzo Volpini, the others formed Reale Accademia di Musica, but guitarist Pericle Sponzilli abandoned during their LP recordings, being replaced by Nicola Agrimi (from Le Esperienze and early Banco del Mutuo Soccorso).

Produced again by Maurizio Vandelli, Reale Accademia di Musica is a good work, though not particularly original, dominated by the keyboards of Federico Troiani and with good vocal parts by the singer Topel. The long Il mattino and Vertigine are the best cuts of a nice album.

Soon after the album the band changed line-up, with new guitarist Nicola Di Staso (from Le Rivelazioni) replacing Agrimi, and later the drummer Walter Martino (formerly with Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray). This line-up played in 1973 in one of the "Controcanzonissima" concerts held at Rome's Piper, then Di Staso joined Logan Dwight and Martino formed Goblin.
A new line-up, including Topel Cabanes, Troiani, Senzasono, bassist Dino Cappa and guitarist Gianfranco Coletta (ex Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Chetro & Co.), worked with singer songwriter Adriano Monteduro, and in 1974 his first album was co-credited to Reale Accademia di Musica.
This is by no means, as many say, the group's second album, as they were just working as the backing band to Adriano's songs, and it's a beautiful album of songs with soft rock arrangements, not a prog album at all!

The last appearance of Reale Accademia di Musica was as backing band for Nada on her 1975 album, 1930: Il domatore delle scimmie.
Singer Henryk Topel Cabanes wrote the tracks for a second album by Reale Accademia di Musica, to be entitled La cometa, but this was never finished.

Federico Troiani had a good career later as solo artist, session musician and producer.

A new group named Reale Accademia di Musica has been formed by Adriano Monteduro with his son Antonello (keyboards), Manuel Muzzu (bass) and Giuseppe Augusto Aramo (drums and vocals).
This group has released two CD's, but their style is very different from the old Reale Accademia di Musica.

First album, housed in a gatefold cover not particularly beautiful, is not rare and rather common in Italy (but not cheap!). The Contempo reissue faithfully reproduces the cover design.
Second album is more difficult, probably it was released in a limited quantity though on RCA. It has a thin and delicate textured gatefold cover and a brown coloured lyric inner.
The first album has been reissued on CD in March 2003 by BMG with mini-LP gatefold cover and obi, as part of their "Dei di un perduto rock" series, and later repressed in October of the same year when a second batch of those CD's came out.
The same CD was announced by BMG as being also available with standard jewel case (cat.no. 74321-98074-2) but was probably never issued in this form.

Both albums have been reissued in Japan, the first on King (K22P 281), and Korea.

The Nada album 1930: Il domatore delle scimmie was released in 1975 by RCA (cat.no. TPL-1 1157) and six tracks on it were written by Reale Accademia singer Henryk Topel. 
A single was also released with two tracks from the album, Il domatore delle scimmie and È bello cantare. It had the catalogue number RCA TPBO 1134.

No counterfeits exist.

I Fholks - Mi scorri nelle vene - 7" single cover
Reale Accademia di Musica - gatefold cover
Adriano Monteduro & Reale Accademia di Musica - gatefold cover
Il linguaggio delle cose - CD	Tempo senza tempo - CD

Click on the pictures to enlarge

Fholks - around 1969

Reale Accademia di Musica - 1972 with Nicola Di Staso

Reale Accademia di Musica - live at "Controcanzonissima", at Piper in Rome, 1973. with Nicola Di Staso and Walter Martino

Thanks to Nicola Di Staso and to Claudio Pescetelli for pictures and information