Universi
Paralleli is the last, long awaited, studio album by Arti e
Mestieri, a band from Turin that have been active, one way or
another, for more than forty years. It was released in 2015 on the
Cramps - Sony label with a renewed line up featuring, along with
founder members Gigi Venegoni (acoustic and electric guitars,
keyboards) and Furio Chirico (drums, percussion), also Iano Nicolò
(vocals), Piero Mortara (accordion, piano, keyboards), Lautaro Acosta
(violin, electric violin), Roberto Puggioni (bass, fretless bass) and
Marco Roagna (acoustic and electric guitars) plus some prestigious
guests such as Arturo Vitale (sax), Mel Collins (sax, flute) and Lino
Vairetti (vocals). The creative vein of the band has not run out
along the years and the songwriting is still brilliant, blending jazz
rock, melody and Mediterranean colours with excellent results. On the
album cover there's the picture of a sculpture by Lugi Farina that in
some way recalls their debut album Tilt - Immagini per un
orecchio, but with a touch of modernity that could give you an
idea of the musical content. According to the liner notes, the music
and lyrics of this work deal with the subject of parallel universes,
emotional contrasts that are mirrored, for instance, in double lives
or double personalities...
The
opener "Alter Ego" is a great instrumental track where
acoustic and electric instruments draw new images for you ears with
soaring melodic lines defying the gravity force flying high over
jazzy patterns... I think that it's a very introduction for a
wonderful album!
"Dune"
is a beautiful instrumental with Oriental flavours that leads to
"Pacha Mama" where we can hear for the first time on this
work Iano Nicolò's vocals. The lyrics deal with environmental
issues. In fact, the title refers to the goddess of fertility revered
by the indigenous people of the Andes. Mother Earth here is depicted
as a dying entity, poisoned by the greediness of humankind. Men
driven by gold are sucking the divine maternal sap like vampires
while deserts of sand are rapidly replacing lakes and rivers...
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| Arti e Mestieri 2015 |
A
strong, melancholic wind of nostalgia blows through the notes of the
following "L’ultimo imperatore" (The last emperor). The
title seems to refer to the film of the same name directed in 1987 by
Bernardo Bertolucci about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of
China. The lyrics do not try to tell a story but draw evocative
images about parallel universes and fading memories where distorted
and manipulated revolutions are celebrated by godless priests in
doomy cathedrals that can't hide the pervasive sense of loss and
emptiness of a faithless ritual performed by rote...
"Finisterre"
and "Johann" are two charming instrumental pieces drenched
in a kind of dreamy romanticism that lead to the heartfelt "Restare
immobile" (Remaining motionless) where the music and lyrics
depict the eternal contrast between reality and dreams. You can pin
down a fragment of reality on a blank page and anaesthetize your
memories. Poetry and dreams can set you free and when your mind
begins to fly you're able to take off on a journey across far,
extraordinary worlds, even without moving your body!
The
melancholic instrumental "Borea" (Boreas) is full of
delicate autumnal colours and soaring folksy melodies with accordion
and violin in the forefront. The music draws evocative northern
landscapes while the title refers to the god of the north wind, one
of the four seasonal Anemoi in ancient Greek mythology... It leads to
the joyful "Pandora" where the music and lyrics conjure up
strange images and cheerful dances. Here the wind takes you onwards
and you set off on a magical journey to discover new moons and better
days...
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| Arti e Mestieri on stage |
The
following "Linea d’ombra" (Shadow line) is darker and
tense. It's another beautiful instrumental that leads to the
pyrotechnic drum solo "Comunicazione primordiale"
(Primordial communication), full of savage energy and exotic
flavours. Next comes the instrumental "La luce in fondo al
tunnel" (The light at the end of the tunnel) that is more
relaxed and shines for his perfect mix of jazz and classical
influences.
The
last track "Nato" (Born) is credited as a "bonus
track" and features the special guest Lino Vairetti from Osanna
on vocals. It's a wonderful piece that deals with a strong sense of
nostalgia for a lost emotion that was born from a thought or maybe
from a kiss, or a lie, a tune, a sound, a poem, a sin, a shout or
just from a moment of madness that now your are trying to find again
between a smile and a tear, between the clouds and the stars, in an
image or in a deep, cold abyss inside you soul or... wherever you
want! It's just a magic moment that fled away and you're still
desperately running after it...
On
the whole, I think that this is wonderful album and a real must for
every Italianprog lover!
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