Takagi & Ketra

Takagi & Ketra is an Italian music producer and songwriter duo, consisting of Alessandro Merli (born October 4, 1973 in Milan ) and Fabio Clemente (born 1985 or 1986 in Vasto , province of Chieti ).

Career

Alessandro Francesco Merli started working in a music business at the age of 17 and then embarked on a career as a DJ . In 1996 he became part of the hip-hop crew Spaghetti Funk and went on tour with Articolo 31 . With the rapper theme he formed the Duo Cricca , which shortly thereafter merged with the Duo Rima nel Cuore to form the pop-rap group Gemelli Diversi , which debuted in 1998 with the first album. He later changed his pseudonym THG to Takagi , and in 2014 he left Gemelli Diversi. Fabio Clemente ( Ketra , also Mr. Ketra ), on the other hand, started out as the beatmaker of the dancehall reggae group Boomdabash , which was formed in 2002 and released its first album in 2008.

The two musicians first met in 2012 and exchanged experiences. After initial collaborations for Gemelli Diversi and Boomdabash, Takagi & Ketra debuted with their first joint in-house production Nu juorno buono for rapper Rocco Hunt . The song won the Newcomer category of the 2014 Sanremo Festival and went platinum. After Rocco Hunt, they worked as songwriters and producers with Fabri Fibra , Laura Pausini , Marracash , Mika and Briga . In 2015 they produced and wrote (together with Rocco Hunt and Federica Abbate ) the summer hit Roma-Bangkok for Baby K and Giusy Ferreri , which became the most successful song of the year in Italy and helped revive Italian pop.

After further number one hits for the duo J-Ax & Fedez ( Vorrei ma non posto and Assenzio ), Takagi & Ketra, in collaboration with the musician Calcutta, hit the charts for the first time in 2016 with the song Oroscopo . In 2017 they released their first single, L'esercito del selfie , with vocal contributions from Arisa and Lorenzo Fragola . So the duo was able to deliver one of the summer hits of the year again. The following year this was achieved with the song Amore e capoeira , sung again by Giusy Ferreri (in collaboration with Sean Kingston ), which also became a hit in Switzerland. The successor Jambo , this time with Ferreri and Omi , reached the top of the chart in Italy again in summer 2019.

Discography

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title album	IT	CH	Remarks
2017	L'esercito del selfie	IT4th × 3 Triple platinum (21 weeks)IT	CH53 (5 weeks) CH	First published: June 16, 2017 Sales: + 150,000; feat. Lorenzo Fragola & Arisa
2018	Da sola / In the Night	IT12 platinum (20 weeks)IT	-	First published: Jan 12, 2018 Sales: + 50,000; feat. Tommaso Paradiso & Elisa
2018	Amore e capoeira	IT1 × 5 Quintuple platinum (72 weeks)IT	CH2 platinum (34 weeks)CH	First published: June 1, 2018 Sales: + 270,000; feat. Giusy Ferreri & Sean Kingston
2019	La luna e la gatta	IT10 × 2 Double platinum (26 weeks)IT	-	First published: March 1st, 2019 Sales: + 100,000 feat. Tommaso Paradiso, Jovanotti & Calcutta
2019	Jambo	IT1 × 3 Triple platinum (28 weeks)IT	CH11 (27 weeks) CH	First published: May 24, 2019 Sales: + 150,000; with Omi & Giusy Ferreri
2020	Ciclone	IT9 platinum (… Where.)IT	-	First published: June 19, 2020 Sales: + 70,000; with Elodie & Mariah feat. Gipsy Kings, Nicolas Reyes & Tonino Baliardo

More songs

Acqua e sapone (2020; Francesca Michielin feat.Takagi & Ketra & Fred De Palma )

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title album	IT	CH	Remarks
2016	Oroscopo	IT80 (8 weeks) IT	-	First published: May 13, 2016 Calcutta feat. Takagi & Ketra

Awards for music sales

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Italy (FIMI)	0! G-	15 × platinum15th	770,000	fimi.it
Switzerland (IFPI)	0! G-	platinum1	20,000	hitparade.ch
All in all	-	16 × platinum16

Compositions and productions

The songs published under their own name are not listed.

year	title	Interpreter	function
2013	Original Badman	Boomdabash	Composers
2014	L'importante	Boomdabash
	Cerco la fidanzata	Denny LaHome
	Ragazza semplice	Denny LaHome
	Nu juorno buono	Rocco Hunt
	Ho scelto me
	Vieni con me
	L'amore eternit	Fedez feat. Noemi
2015	Anna Wintour	Baby K	Producers, composers
	Chiedi alla luna
	Dindi
	Hipster love
	Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
	Lasciati le sneakers
	Super mega iper
	Venerdì
	Chiudo gli occhi e salto	Baby K feat. Federica Abbate
	License of uccidere	Baby K feat. Fred de Palma , DJ 2P
	Roma Bangkok	Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri
	Fakeness	Baby K feat. Madh
	Un attimo	Boomdabash	Composers
	Mr. President	Boomdabash	Composers
	21 grammi	Fedez	Producers, composers
	Beautiful disaster	Fedez & Mika / Mika	Producers
	Un altro viaggio	J-Ax with Valerio Jovine	Producers
	In cerca di un senso	Madh	Composers
	In radio	Marracash	Producers, composers
	Un mondo piccolo so	Moreno	Producers
	Qualcosa di strano	Rocco Hunt	Producers, composers
	Stella Cadente	Rocco Hunt feat. Annalisa	Composers
	Vein e vvà	Rocco Hunt	Producers, composers
2016	Portami con te	Boomdabash	Composers
	Baciami	Briga	Producers, composers
	Mentre nasce l'aurora	Briga
	Il cielo guarda te	Fred de Palma
	Me gusta	Jake La Furia feat. Alessio La Profunda Melodia
	Messi male	Marianne Mirage	Composers
2017	Nel male e nel bere	Briga	Composers
	Fenomeno	Fabri Fibra	Producers, composers
	Fa talmente paint	Giusy Ferreri	Composers
	Allergia	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Loredana Bertè	Producers, composers
	Anni Luce	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Nek
	Assenzio	J-Ax & Fedez
	Comunisti col Rolex	J-Ax & Fedez
	Cuore nerd	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Alessia Cara
	Fratelli di paglia	J-Ax & Fedez
	Il giorno e la notte	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Giusy Ferreri
	L'Italia per me	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Sergio Sylvestre
	Meglio tardi che noi	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Arisa
	Milano intorno	J-Ax & Fedez
	Musica del cazzo	J-Ax & Fedez
	Piccole cose	J-Ax & Fedez feat. Alessandra Amoroso
	Senza pagare	J-Ax & Fedez / feat. T-Pain
	Tutto il mondo è periferia	J-Ax & Fedez
	Vorrei ma non posto
	Pieno di Stronzi		Producers
	Fiori sui balconi	Federica Abbate	Producers
2018	Non ti dico no	Boomdabash feat. Loredana Bertè	Producers, composers
	Mille lire	Marco Mengoni
	Italiana	J-Ax & Fedez
	Final elements	Federica Abbate
2019	Per un milione	Boomdabash
	Tequila e San Miguel	Loredana Bertè
	Tijuana	Emis Killa	Producers
	Ostia lido	J-Ax	Composers
	Mambo salentino	Boomdabash feat. Alessandra Amoroso	Producers, composers
	Una volta ancora	Fred De Palma feat. Ana Mena	Producers, composers
	Camera con vista	Federica Abbate feat. Lorenzo Fragola	Producers
	Margarita	Elodie & Marracash	Producers, composers
	Turbococco	Ghali
	Il tuo profumo	Fred De Palma feat. Sofía Reyes
2020	Mainstream (La scala sociale del Rap)	J-Ax	Composers
	Pericoloso
	Real
	Supercalifragili	J-Ax feat. Annalisa & Luca Di Stefano
	Una voglia assurda	J-Ax	Producers, composers
	Quiéreme mientras se pueda	Manuel Turizo	Producers, composers
	Ma il cielo è semper blu	Italian Allstars 4 Life	Producers
	La isla	Giusy Ferreri / Elettra Lamborghini	Producers, composers
	Karaoke	Boomdabash & Alessandra Amoroso	Producers, composers

Web links

Takagi & Ketra at Rockol.it
Takagi & Ketra at Discogs (English)
Takagi and Ketra at hitparade.ch

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b Takagi: Alessandro Merli. Mediaset, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).
↑ Paola Calvano: C'è anche un vastese a Sanremo. È Ketra autore per Giusy Ferreri. In: IlCentro.it. February 2, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).
↑ Alice Castagneri: Takagi e Ketra: “Così abbiamo reinventato i tormentoni estivi e svecchiato il pop”. In: LaStampa.it . June 26, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017 (Italian).
↑ Takagi & Ketra, intervista al duo che ha svecchiato il suono del pop italiano. In: Rockol.it. February 27, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).
↑ Takagi & Ketra, “Lʼesercito del selfie” pronto a conquistare lʼestate 2017. In: Tgcom24. Mediaset, July 10, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).
↑ ^a ^b
chart sources (singles):
- Archivio classifiche Top Singoli. FIMI , accessed July 2, 2018 (Italian, IT).
- Songs by Takagi & Ketra. In: hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on March 26, 2018 (CH).
↑
Awards for music sales:
- Certificazioni. FIMI, accessed August 2, 2020 (Italian).
- Awards Takagi & Ketra. In: Hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on December 18, 2018 (CH).

[merli-1] Takagi: Alessandro Merli. Mediaset, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).

[2] Paola Calvano: C'è anche un vastese a Sanremo. È Ketra autore per Giusy Ferreri. In: IlCentro.it. February 2, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).

[3] Alice Castagneri: Takagi e Ketra: “Così abbiamo reinventato i tormentoni estivi e svecchiato il pop”. In: LaStampa.it . June 26, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017 (Italian).

[4] Takagi & Ketra, intervista al duo che ha svecchiato il suono del pop italiano. In: Rockol.it. February 27, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).

[5] Takagi & Ketra, “Lʼesercito del selfie” pronto a conquistare lʼestate 2017. In: Tgcom24. Mediaset, July 10, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017 (Italian).

[Singlecharts-6] rt sources (singles):

Archivio classifiche Top Singoli. FIMI , accessed July 2, 2018 (Italian, IT).

Songs by Takagi & Ketra. In: hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on March 26, 2018 (CH).

[7] Archivio classifiche Top Singoli. FIMI , accessed July 2, 2018 (Italian, IT).

[8] Songs by Takagi & Ketra. In: hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on March 26, 2018 (CH).

[ausz-7] Awards for music sales:

Certificazioni. FIMI, accessed August 2, 2020 (Italian).

Awards Takagi & Ketra. In: Hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on December 18, 2018 (CH).

[10] Certificazioni. FIMI, accessed August 2, 2020 (Italian).

[11] Awards Takagi & Ketra. In: Hitparade.ch . Hung Medien, accessed on December 18, 2018 (CH).