Progenesi
are a young prog band hailing from Milan and formed by four musicians
coming from different musical backgrounds. In 2013 they released an
interesting début album titled “Ulisse l'alfiere nero” (Ulysses
the black bishop) with a line up featuring Omar Ceriotti (drums,
percussions), Dario Giubileo (bass), Patrik Matrone (electric guitar
and acoustic guitar) and Giulio Stromendo (piano, Hammond,
synthesizers, keyboards) plus two guests, Eloisa Manera (violin) and
Issei Watanabe (cello). Their aim was to blend progressive rock, jazz
and classical music and among the influences they boast you can find
Premiata Forneria Marconi, Le Orme, Emerson Lake & Palmer,
Genesis, Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree along with jazzists as John
Coltrane and Dave Brubeck or classical composers as Bela Bartok and
Chopin.
According
to the band, “Ulisse l'alfiere nero” is a concept album freely based
on Homer's epic verses about the fall of Troy in the Iliad. The album
is completely instrumental and the story is told just through the
music and the nice pictures that you can find in the booklet. Your
imagination has to fill all the gaps but I'm sure it won't be
difficult since the overall sound is rich and full of evocative
colours that will help you.
The
opener “La gioia della pace” (The joy of peace) recalls PFM and
is a lively piece celebrating the end of the siege. The picture
describing this piece portrays a chessboard with a black knight in
the forefront that is facing alone all the white pieces. Now imagine
the joy of the inhabitants of Troy dressed up in white dancing around
the deceiving, threatening black wooden horse on the beach at a
tarantella rhythm while in the sky a light bird goes...
The
music of the following track, “La strategia” (The strategy), was
inspired by Béla Bartòk's “Suite op. 14”. It features more
aggressive passages, some jazzy touches and a martial marching beat
in the middle section. The picture describing this piece portrays a
chessboard with a black bishop in the forefront that is observing the
battlefield and planning a subterfuge to defeat his white enemies.
Well, if you like an album such as “Il passo del soldato” by
Nuova Era I'm sure you'll be delighted by this amazing piece.
“Il
blue della notte” (The blue of the night) begins softly, with a
delicate passage for piano and strings. The city is asleep and there'
no one but the wind who is talking in the streets. Then the rhythm
rises bringing a sense of impending tragedy. In the picture
describing this piece you can see a black bishop in the dark leading
his pawns toward the chessboard while the knight is in the rear.
“Il
rosso della notte” (The red of the night) is divided into two
parts. The first one begins in an aggressive way with dark chords and
frenzied organ rides. The slaughter begins and the city is put to
fire and sword while the dreams of the inhabitants turn into
nightmares. The first part ends in a surreal dirge. In the second
part the sound of a gong introduces a more relaxed passage with a
mysterious flavour but then the rhythm rises again while the raging
fire still paints the night in shades of purple and other deep
colours.
The
last track, “Un grande eroe” (A great hero), is a long, complex
celebration of the victory. In the picture describing this piece you
can see the black bishop observing from a shelf a heap of black and
white pieces scattered on the ground. The war is over but home is
still far and the music seems to suggest that the journey will be
long and full of surprises.
Progenesi:
Ulisse l'alfiere nero (2013). Other opinions:
Todd
Dudley: In what is becoming a banner year for Rock Progressivo
Italiano, another excellent entry is new band Progenesi. Their debut
is a concept album centered around Ulysses, entitled "Ulisse:
L'Alfiere Nero" (the Black Bishop). This ambitious album is
entirely instrumental, but surprisingly the narrative stays strong
throughout the work, even without words... (read the complete
review HERE)
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