Mad
Fellaz are a young band from from Bassano del Grappa, a town in the
province of Vicenza, that began life in 2010 on the initiative of
Paolo Busatto, Marco Busatto and Emanuele Pasin with the aim of
playing original music inspired by the prog masters from the
seventies but also by more recent bands such as Porcupine Tree. After
a first demo in 2012, in 2013 Mad Fellaz released an excellent
eponymous debut album on the independent label Lizard Records with a
line up featuring Paolo Busatto (guitar), Marco Busatto (drums),
Emanuele Pasin (guitar), Carlo Passuello (bass), Enrico Brunelli
(keyboards) and Rudy Zilio (flute, clarinet). The album is completely
instrumental and the band showcase great musicianship and excellent
song-writing skills. The musical fabric is extremely rich and
combines vintage sounds and modern influences with surprising
freshness and brilliant results: in my opinion there's enough
originality thrown into the mix to keep all the compositions and
arrangements forward looking and interesting from the first minute to
the last.
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| album cover |
The
album begins by a long, complex suite divided into two parts, “Il
colpevole” (The guilty), that could be the perfect score for an
Italian crime film from the seventies. There are no liner notes, so
the plot is completely left up to your imagination while the music
flows away without weak passages for more than thirty minutes, going
through many changes in rhythm and mood, from delicate, nocturnal
piano passages to fiery, nervous collective chases...
Next
comes the lively “Banda Scavejoni”, the shortest track on the
album that with its funky grooves recalls bands such as Calibro 35
and evokes more action and criminal deeds with a typical poliziottesco atmosphere.
The
following “White Widow” starts with a drum roll, then a bluesy
pace takes over while Jethro Tull's shadow looms large over the
horizon. Who is the White Widow here? Is she a wicked, dangerous
woman or just a powerful cannabis strain? The band give no clues and
it's up to you to decide what the music is about...
The
album ends with the nearly fifteen minute epic “La giungla” (The
jungle) where you can experience exotic flavours and a strong sense
of adventure. You can find here a broad palette of musical colours,
from oriental mysticism to flamenco sketches, from dark tribal
rhythms to joyful Latin rock à la Santana and while listening to
this track I'm reminded of the adventures of fictional characters such
as Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger or Henry Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain... A wonderful conclusion for a very interesting work!
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| Mad Fellaz 2014 |
In
2014, soon after the album was released, the band went through some
line-up changes: guitarist Emanuele Pasin left while Lorenzo Todesco
(percussion) and Jason Nealy (guitars) stepped in. At the moment Mad
Fellaz are working on new material and I'm looking forward to listen
to it!
Mad
Fellaz: Mad Fellaz (2013). Other opinions:
Michael
“Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: Combining everything from guitar fusion
workouts, metal, ambient, electronica, avant-garde experimentation,
jazz, ethnic flavours and plenty of Italian classical sophistication,
their atmospheric self titled album constantly showcases a band that
greatly enjoys experimenting with different genres, yet they never
over-reach or attempt anything they're not comfortable with. Even
more impressive is that they succeed in performing these different
styles effortlessly in a truly proficient manner, making for an album
that is daring, unpredictable and endlessly thrilling... Certainly
one of the most sublime, varied and exquisite instrumental albums of
recent years... A hugely exciting and talented band with a very
promising future, already playing with a grand skill well beyond
their young years... (read the complete review HERE)
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