Krisma

1976-1979

In 1976, Maurizio Arcieri and his wife Christina Moser formed the duo under the name "Chrisma" in Milan. The name was a combination of their initials. The very same year, the couple moved to London to record "U" and "Amore" with the producer Nico Papathanassiou and his brother Vangelis under the management of Anthony Fawcett. Their collaboration with Papathanassiou and Vangelis continued through 1978 with the album Chinese Restaurant and the single "Lola", who entered the UK Top 10.

During the promotional tour for Chinese Restaurant, Arcieri was known to perform a trick onstage in which he appeared to cut off his finger with a razor. The trick, referred to as "finger job," attracted considerable press coverage.

In 1979 Arcieri and Moser released their second album, Hibernation.

1980-1989

In 1980 the band officially changed its name from "Chrisma" to "Krisma". Their third album, Cathode Mamma, featured Hans Zimmer on synthesizer. The single "Many Kisses" was met with great success in Europe. Around this time Krisma developed the first minisequencer, known as Krismino. Krisma left Polygram for CGD, then part of the CBS group, in 1981.

In 1982 Krisma released Clandestine Anticipation, an experimental album dealing with water in all of its forms (liquid, ice, vapor, fog, snow and rain) supported by a series of videos filmed in tropical locations. The clips were first shown on Carlo Massarini's Mister Fantasy TV program on Rai 1.

Krisma moved to New York City in 1986. They directed three videos for MTV, and soon after they began to work for France 2. In Italy they often appeared on the program "Be Bop a Lula" hosted by Red Ronnie for Italia Uno. The single "Nothing To Do With the Dog" (retitled "Fido" in international markets) and "Iceberg" were released during this time.

In 1988 Non ho denaro was released. It was their last album to be released on vinyl, and today it is one of the hardest-to-find Krisma records.

1991 to present

During the 1990s Krisma's early records were remastered. They continued to do freelance work for the Italian state broadcasting company Rai 3, and they were credited for crafting the special effects on the Marco Ferreri film Nitrato d'Argento (1996). Krisma also designed several video-art installations and worked as consultants for Benetton's Centro Ricerca Comunicazione. On July 22, 1998 the couple launched Krisma TV, which was broadcast through the Skyplex satellite service (and later Eutelstat) to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

In June 2000 the band opened their website, www.krismatv.net. Arcieri made a comeback attempt with Re-Birth, a solo project, around the same time. The single "Kara" was released in 2001 in both Italian and English versions. In 2002 Krisma collaborated with the Turin-based band Subsonica on the track Nuova Ossessione.

Discography