AFRAKA' ROCK FESTIVAL 2014
Naples - March 28, 2014
More info:
FADING RECORDS NIGHT
Milan - March 29, 2014
More info:
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Monday, 10 March 2014
Sunday, 9 March 2014
DREAMS ON THE EDGE OF TIME
Timeline
were formed in 2006 in the province of Bergamo on the initiative of
Davide Tasca and Claudio Albergoni. The name of the band refers to a
famous novel by Michael Crichton were the borders between past and
present get blurred and their dream was to start a new creative
experience composing original music influenced by progressive rock
and metal. After a demo in 2009 and a good live activity on the local
scene, in 2013 they self released an interesting début album titled
New Dreams... New Hopes with a line up featuring Claudio
Albergoni (guitar), Davide Tasca (bass), Daniele Cattaneo
(keyboards), Stefano Bruzzi (drums) and Maurizio Jacopo Andriolo
(vocals). The result of their efforts is a good mix of influences
ranging from the classic masters of prog from the seventies to newer
bands with a sharper edge.
The
nice opener “The Birth Of Man” is a long, complex suite divided
into three parts. It's sung in English and the music and lyrics deal
with environmental issues depicting in a visionary way the evolution
of humankind. It begins with The Creation Of The Earth, an
instrumental part featuring an excellent interaction between
keyboards and guitars that leads to the middle section, Mother
Gaia, where the Earth appears like a beautiful, colourful entity
from space, queen of the world. On account of her boredom she gives
birth to Man. The final part, The Human Singularity, tells
about the evolution of humankind: from ape to man, from fire to
writing... But things go wrong and men, blinded by greediness and
power end up tearing apart their creator.
“La
mia falsa guida” (My false guide) is a short track sung in Italian
that describes a metaphoric journey through Hell. There are some
references to Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy but there's no
dark wood here and this Hell is real, it's just ordinary life on
Earth. The protagonist gets lost and there's no Virgil to lead him
along his journey to the centre of a hell that is wilder and deeper
than you can imagine... “Where is my guide? She is invisible / The
more I look for her the more I feel her glance distant from me...”.
“Wret2”
is a dark instrumental full of energy that leads to the following
“Searching The Precious Smile”, a track featuring sharp guitar
riffs and metal influences. It describes in music and words a
frenzied, nervous quest through the streets of a big city for the
most precious treasure... a smile! Then comes the reflective “Moments
Of Life”, a kind of short mini suite divided into five parts where
the mind flies through forgotten memories and the past emerges from
some old pictures.
The
long, complex “Un gioco di fiducia” (A play of trust) is my
favourite track on the album. It's a beautiful suite sung in Italian
and divided into four parts that in some way tells about the
thaumaturgic power of friendship and trust, a power that can save you
from the threatening, raging seas of life that can submerge you and
hurt you so bad to transform you in a solitary castaway. In my
opinion it's a real pity that the band didn't exploit more their
native language since the vocalist seems more at ease when singing in
Italian and the poetical, evocative force of the lyrics here is
stronger than ever.
Then
comes the anti-militaristic “Wake up... New Black Dawn” that is
divided into two parts. The first part is full of positive energy and
describes a new day under the sky of freedom while the second part is
darker and depicts a new, gloomy day where the masters of war rule
and you're living a nightmare under a bloody sky of slavery and
contempt. The conclusive track, “The Way Of Respect”, is in the
same mood and tells in music and lyrics the feelings of a men who was
injured during a bomb attack where a girl got killed.
On
the whole, I think that this work is really worth listening to and
that Timeline have a good potential. Anyway, you can legally download
the album and the nice booklet from the official website: so, have a
try and judge by yourselves!
Friday, 7 March 2014
AUTUMNAL COLOURS
Cooperativa
del Latte were formed in the mid nineties in the province of Gorizia
and in 1998 released a beautiful début album, “Il risveglio”
(The awakening), on the independent label Mellow Records. The line-up
features Gabriele Benfatto (guitars, vocals), Claudio Farneti (flute,
drums, percussion), Sergio Contin (bass, vocals) and Pierluigi
Piccoli (piano, keyboards) and their sound largely draws upon 1970’s
influences but despite the vintage sounds the song-writing is good
and rich in ideas. I had the chance to see them live on stage,
opening a concert for Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, and I was favourably
impressed. I think that the excellent art work by Ivan Crico, a
painter and writer born in Gorizia, perfectly describes in autumnal
colours the reflective, crepuscular mood of this work...
The
opener “Verso i cancelli della memoria” (Towards the gates of
memory) is a kind of dive into the past for a swim against the tide,
against the doubts of an empty reality. A church-like organ sets the
atmosphere, then the rhythm takes off... “Running after myths of
wind / Looking for a living star / Overcoming a world of falsity and
appearances... Listening to the silent voice of a timeless truth...”.
“Contemplazione”
(Contemplation) is a long, melancholic track that begins softly, with
a simple, nocturnal acoustic guitar arpeggio, then a light turns on
and soaring thoughts begin to fly in the wind... A sudden change in
rhythm and the call of an ancient time rises from dreamy organ chords
inviting you to set your mind free... “Who do you think your
greatest enemy is? / It’s your own home, it’s your own body /
It’s your own mind, it’s you / Free yourself from the monsters
fed by your pride and your stupid vanity / What is the road you think
will lead you to the Right? / Even your brain is getting lost on the
paths of solitude...”.
 |
| Cooperativa del Latte |
“Notte
volante” (Flying night) begins on the dreamy notes of a flute and
of an acoustic guitar... “I’ve been walking for you / In the
nights of dream / Among breathing plants I followed the road smelling
of forest / Towards far bonfires / I was still sane...”. In dreams
you can even play with death but remember that dreams could turn to
nightmares... “Now there’s nothing but pain / Just powder shut in
a little box / You are my death / I live for you just because you
know how to make me laugh...”.
The
cathartic “Il respiro dell’alba” (The breath of the dawn) is
introduced by a delicate pattern featuring piano and flute. The
vocals are just whispered... “I would like to go down to the stream
/ In the early morning silence / When everything comes to a new life
/ To find again the warmth of life in the cool water...”. The
references to Le Orme are strong and in the second part of this piece
there’s even a particular vinyl sound...
“Tentazioni”
(Temptations) is more aggressive and complex and also features some
jazzy passages. Love can be deceitful and cruel, your unfaithful
lover could make you fall into the breath of an icy abyss... “Your
hand pushes me in the mud / Setting your thighs free for a new
trick...”.
“Maggio”
(May) is a short instrumental introduction to the beautiful last
track, “Indagazione strutturale” (Structural investigation). This
piece has a strong Renaissance flavour and starts “a cappella”...
“Like a tree in the forest of time or a cloud living in the sundown
/ I’m looking for something I feel I belong to...”. The lyrics
are about the eternal search for knowledge while the music could
recall some works of Angelo Branduardi with some “deep red”
acoustic passages... “I feel the weight of my pride / But I’m
walking with the curious pace of man... Before all knowledge I feel
my heart pulsing...”.
You can listen in streaming to the complete album HERE
Thursday, 6 March 2014
LATTE E MIELE
+
IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE
Live in Genoa
IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE
Live in Genoa
April 4, 2014
More info:
www.teatroverdigenova.it
www.teatroverdigenova.it
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Monday, 3 March 2014
HOPE AND TIME
I
Marchesi Scamorza come from Ferrara and began life in 2009, mainly
influenced by Premiata Forneria Marconi and Fabrizio De André. After
a first demo EP in 2011, in 2012 they self-released a début album
titled La sposa del tempo (Time's bride) with a line up
featuring Lorenzo Romani (electric guitar), Alessandro Padovani
(drums), Paolo Brini (bass), Enrico Bernardini (vocals, acoustic
guitar) and Enrico Cazzola (keyboards). The overall sound is good and
the band showcase good musicianship and song-writing skills although
the vocal parts in my opinion are not always convincing. The
influence of the Italian prog masters of the seventies and Italian
canzone d'autore are apparent but there's no plagiarism and
the band managed to add original ideas to their musical fabric.
According to an interview with the band, La sposa del tempo is
a concept album sui generis where all the tracks are linked by
a common thread: Time. The lyrics are hermetic and their meaning is
open to many interpretations but the album cover by Giulia Pasetti
and Jacopo Regulti tries to offer some clues.
The
short opener “Intro” in some way sets the atmosphere with
experimental sounds and words that remind us that Time is nothing but
hope. It leads to “Sentieri di carta” (Paper paths), a ballad
that starts with a strummed acoustic guitar pattern. The lyrics
conjure up the ghost of a mysterious, proud knight without a mouth to
breath. His words get lost under his steps, ancestral fears begin to
rise while you think of flying free in the night. Dull eyes are
burning but everyone has got his cross to carry along his way...
“Words of lead, words of of flesh / Under the churches, under the
soles...”. The music is not bad but, to be honest, this track fails
to strike a chord on me.
The
following “Lo schiavo di Babilonia” (The slave of Babylon) is
better. It begins by a delicate piano intro and features many changes
in rhythm and mood. The lyrics draw powerful, poetical images of
redemption and hope. Babylon here is a metaphor for a life of sin.
What kind of sin? Maybe pride, adultery, blasphemy or perjury... But
even a damned life can be redeemed by love! A soul that burns as
paper, a lost path on the side of a huge golden tower, silent clocks
inside a church... Images can speak more than a thousand words...
“The balance is broken on the weight of the heart / Time is just a
hope...”.
“L’uomo
dall’ombra lunga” (The man with a long shadow) is reflective and
melancholic. It draws the imagine of a man lost in his thoughts,
ready to challenge his fate at every crossroad, following his
meaningless dreams while his life slides away and stretches out
behind him like his shadow.
The
following “Un passo ogni parola” (One step on every word) begins
softly with a mysterious atmosphere, then the rhythm rises and every
now and again reminds me of Premiata Forneria Marconi. The lyrics
depict an imaginary dialogue between a man and a poet about pain and
fear, shadows and lights, good and evil. It's getting dark and
they're walking along a solitary road, carried away by their
feelings... “Poet, do not cry / There's already someone who's
crying for you... Step after step you'll see the sun again along with
me...”.
 |
| Marchesi Scamorza 2012 |
“Quelle
volte” (Those times) is a simple, melodic track about hope and
dreams. The lyrics invite you to never give up when you're feeling
blue. When you're waiting in vain for a saviour, you have to open
your heart and try to imagine a better world and follow your
dreams... In my opinion this is the weakest track on the whole album.
“Il
castello delle stagioni” (The castle of the seasons) is definitely
better. It's a long, complex piece that begins with a nice acoustic
guitar passage and the sound of a storm in the background. The lyrics
tell about a young woman who lies in a castle where Time stands still
and memories run free... “In a distant place lies a bride / Golden
tears and dancing lights / Love thoughts of a thousand colours...”.
Just a beautiful, timeless dream!
“Nelle
notti più lontane” (In the most distant nights) tells of another
dream where you can see a white ship sailing across the ocean. It's a
piano ballad that fades into the more complex final track “Autunno”
(Autumn) forming a kind of beautiful suite... Very brightly did
the moon shine on the night I answered the call, and I walked out
over the waters to the White Ship on a bridge of moonbeams. The man
who had beckoned now spoke a welcome to me in a soft language I
seemed to know well, and the hours were filled with soft songs of the
oarsmen as we glided away into a mysterious South, golden with the
glow of that full, mellow moon... Well, I think that this quote
from a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, The White Ship, in some
way can help to describe the content of the last two pieces, a kind
of fairy tale where you can find madness and fear, hope and dreams...
“Who knows what's the light of the world / This purity that turns
around us / Please, take me away with these Autumn leaves...”.
On
the whole this album is not flawless but features some really good
tracks and it's worth listening to. In my opinion, this young band
have a great potential and I'm looking forward to their next album.
Marchesi
Scamorza: La sposa del tempo (2012). Other opinions:
Michael
“Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: The album is far from perfect. In some
spots there's probably too many vocal sections, and Bernardini
occasionally has a monotonous and flat range. Sometimes he nails it,
other times he's a bit strained, but it shows a refreshing honesty
and says a lot about how the band support each other. I have no doubt
he will keep improving, because on his best tracks here he's
extremely effective. Some listeners will find the mix of different
genres a bit frustrating, but most likely their next release will
hopefully focus a little more on one particular style and really
offer us more on an idea where they're headed. But I also have a
feeling some will really love the diversity and range the band has
shown here and greatly enjoy the album... (read the complete
review HERE)
http://www.marchesiscamorza.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marchesi-Scamorza/137623519608159
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