Sul confine is the second studio album by Aliante and was
released in 2019 on the independent M.P. & Records label with a
consolidated line up featuring Jacopo Giusti (drums, percussion),
Enrico Filippi (keyboards, piano, Moog) and Alfonso Capasso (bass)
plus the guest Marianna Vuocolo (violin). It confirms all the good
qualities of its predecessor while the art cover by Jacopo Giusti and
the liner notes signed by Alfonso Capasso give us a clue about the
atmosphere and the subject matter of this work: “When you
live in a borderland, you meet different languages and cultures that
mix in a universe of contrasts and proximity. Staying on the border
is not just a geographical issue and is not always a choice. There
are people who play their whole existence with it, while others seek
refuge in safe hinterlands, made of balance and certainty, from where
they will never see the thin line that separates smile
and sadness, wealth and poverty, pain and joy, dialogue and silence,
understanding and indifference. The border does not protect those who
live there but opens up a range of possible
alternatives, where the night of the fear of making choices
surrenders to the breaking of the light of courage. Therefore, if
there is a place where I want to stay, it is on the border…”.
The album opens with the long, articulated eponymous suite divided
into seven parts, a kind of instrumental travelogue that takes you on
a musical journey across the world, following ancient maps. The first
section, titled “Viaggio nel vento” (Journey in the wind), sets
the atmosphere and with its dreamy mood leads you to “Metzada”
for a gaze towards the sky. The title of the second section refers to
a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert that became the
final holdout of the Jewish rebels during the First Jewish–Roman
War (66–73 AD). Here the rhythm rises while the music every now and
again reminds me of Le Orme and evokes epic rides and endless wars in
a ravaged country... The third section, titled “Ai confini del
mondo” (To the limits of the world), is dark and slow with the
notes of violin painting melancholic shadows on a desolate road while
on the following one, “La rana” (The frog), the light turns up
again and the rhythm takes off. Then it’s the turn of the section
titled “Il cigno nero” (The black swan) where you can hear echoes
of classical music suggested by delicate piano parts, Mediterranean
flavours with moments reminiscent of the Concierto de Aranujez
and jazzy passages. Th title of this section refers to the figure of
Odile, the Black Swan, a character of the famous ballet Swan Lake who perfectly embodies seduction and deception... Next section, “Il
quadrato” (The square), is a frenzied spacey ride through the dark
latitudes of the universe and leads to the final beautiful section,
“Tenente Drogo” (Lieutenant Drogo) whose title refers to the main
character of Il deserto dei Tartari (The Tartar Steppe) a
novel published in 1940 by Italian writer Dino Buzzati that tells the
story of a young officer, Giovanni Drogo who spent his life guarding
the Bastiani Fortress, on the border with a desolated desert.
After the long, complex 48 minutes suite, a shorter track closes the
album. “Nel cielo” (In the sky) begins by a delicate, dreamy
piano solo passage, then synthesizers and rhythm section take over
and gently lift you up to the sky as a prelude to a new musical
journey...
On the whole, an excellent work!
You can listen to the complete album HERE
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