Through the use of their native dialect, Epifani Barbers create music that tells the stories of the ancient culture of their homeland, Puglia, Italy. Founder Mimmo Epifani derived the group's name from a special technique of playing a mandolin called "the Barber," named so because it was once taught in barber's shops. Epifani learned to play the mandolin under a barber and musician in San Vito dei Normanni, a town in Puglia. He mastered the style and mixed it with jazz, reaggae and ska, leading the group's sound toward a fusion of the Mediterranean Puglia mandolin and traditional folk music. Epifani Barbers album, Zucchini Flowers, highlights the Puglia mandolin with subtle irony that tells the history and anecdotes of the band's culture.
