Gigi de Nissa will release his second album, ‘Ric coma la mar’, on 23 October 2026 (CD, digital and vinyl) via Manivette Records / Baco Distribution. The album will be presented on Friday 11 December 2026 on stage at La Péniche Anako (Paris, 19th arrondissement) during a special launch concert.
The first single “Luna fortuna” is already available on all platforms
As a singer-songwriter and performer, Louis Pastorelli continues to forge a unique artistic path with Gigi de Nissa, a journey that began in 2010 with a self-titled debut album acclaimed for the way it weaves together tradition and modernity, Occitan and French, folk heritage and a contemporary perspective.
A committed figure in the Occitan cultural revival spearheaded in particular by Massilia Sound System and the Fabulous Trobadors, founder of the independent Nice Carnival and leader of the band NUX VOMICA, Louis Pastorelli has never ceased to create a dialogue between the history of Nice and the present. Under the name Gigi de Nissa, he explores a more intimate and narrative vein, in a spirit that is at once carnivalesque, satirical and deeply human.
Line-up:
Louis Pastorelli: vocals, rajão, guitars; Milena Pastorelli: diatonic harmonica, percussion, vocals, backing vocals; Alexandre Auria: guitars, espina, banjo, bass, backing vocals; Jérémy Couraut: guitars, espina; Félix Liperi: guitar; Leo Corrêa Merand: rabeca; Cédric Le Donne: drums; Frédérick Lacroix: bass; Artistic advisor: Moussu T
Gigi de Nissa returns with this second album, which is more collaborative in nature but still driven by the same desire to make a popular heritage resonate with today’s realities, and to give a voice to everyday life, celebrations, frustrations and joys that still permeate the neighbourhoods of Nice. And for this venture, he has surrounded himself with a loyal and close-knit team.
The record label, Manivette Records, invited Moussu T (alias Tatou, François Ridel, leader of the bands Moussu T e lei Jovents and Massilia Sound System) to support the project as artistic consultant. A key figure on the Occitan and Marseille music scenes, his vision and high standards shape a warm, sophisticated sound that is deeply rooted in popular Mediterranean music.
This new repertoire further affirms Gigi de Nissa’s uniqueness: music that draws as much from the streets of Nice as from the shores of the Mediterranean, where traditional repertoires interact naturally with contemporary sounds, music that is festive but lucid, intimate yet collective.
Blending traditional elements, contemporary rhythms and social poetry, he paints a sensitive portrait of Nice and the world, as seen from home, the street and everyday life. Musically, this second album broadens the horizons. Alongside its Occitan and Mediterranean roots are Brazilian and Portuguese influences: swaying rhythms, rajão guitar, organic percussion by Jam Da Silva, and the rabeca played by the Brazilian Leonardo Côrrea… All these elements infuse the whole with a warm and personal vibe.
In these new songs, Louis Pastorelli continues his creative work in the Occitan language, and more specifically in the Nice’s variety of Occitan (niçois), which he places at the heart of his writing. Combining social commentary, the poetry of everyday life and sensitive portraits, Gigi de Nissa sings of Nice in its living language and affirms the niçois as a fully contemporary language
of creativity.
From autumn 2026 onwards, Gigi de Nissa demonstrates that popular culture is not a relic: it is a living movement, a space for joyful resistance and sharing.
