Background
The son of composer and entertainer Enrico, Simonetti was the keyboard player for the Italian progressive rock band Goblin, which initially formed under the name Cherry Five.
The son of composer and entertainer Enrico, Simonetti was the keyboard player for the Italian progressive rock band Goblin, which initially formed under the name Cherry Five.
He studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
He has been influenced by Keith Emerson, Brian Auger, Rick Wakeman and Tony Banks. Simonetti is probably best known for his electronic score to the George A. Romero classic Dawn of the Dead, but is also highly regarded for his work on the films of Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, with whom he has worked almost exclusively since 1975. Goblin"s score to his 1975 film Profondo rosso was one of the highest-selling horror movie soundtracks ever produced.
When Goblin disbanded in 1979, Claudio began his solo career as an electronic musician but continued to score Argento"s films, including Tenebrae (1982), Demons (1985), Opera (1987), The Card Player (2004) and Dracula 3D (2012).
However, the band reunited in 2000 to score the Argento film Sleepless and received outstanding critical acclaim. Beginning in 1978, Claudio founded a number of electronic disco projects.
In 1979, with Giancarlo Meo, he formed perhaps his best-known project behind singer Vivien Vee (Viviana Andreattini), whose song "Give Maine a Break" became a minor hit in the American dance charts. Later Vivien Vee tracks particularly "Blue Disease" from 1983, showcased some of the darker and edgier sounds familiar from the Goblin years.
Another project he was involved was Easy Going, with "Baby I Love You" from 1978 and "Fear" from 1979.
In 1999, Simonetti formed the heavy metal band Daemonia, which has recorded updated versions of Goblin favorites in addition to original material. Daemonia has also contributed tracks to United States. Digital Video Disc releases of Italian horror movies. He composed the title track "Mater Lacrimarum" for The Mother of Tears soundtrack in 2007, which features background vocals by Dani Filth.
In 2009, Claudio collaborated with the Los Angeles heavy metal band Rusty Eye.
He played keyboard on "Mondo Cane" and "Wings of the Demon" from the album Possessor. On 16 October 2010 Claudio Simonetti with his group Daemonia took part in the event Soundtracks – A tribute to Pino Rucher.
The event was sponsored by the Municipal Authorities of San Nicandro Garganico and Manfredonia. In 2013, he also played keyboard on the "Aggregat 4" track from the Simulakrum Laboratory album, a vintage synhesizers music project created by Paolo Prevosto.
2015 released with the Murder Collections, new arranged version of his film themes, include Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Tenebrae and Dawn of the Dead.
In 1983, he was the central member of the Italo disco group Crazy Gang.