UNEXPECTED CHANGES OF DIRECTION

Paths And Crossroads is the second album by Endless Season and was self-released in 2022 with a renewed line up featuring original members Lorenzo Di Prima (bass) and Paolo Busatto (guitar) along with Andrea Cecchetto (drums), Luca Ardini (sax) and Francesco Pollon (keyboards). According to the band, the title of the album refers to its particular brew of different genres and musical influences and reflects the idea behind the album’s music, which follows defined paths but at the same time crosses different instances and genres, with sudden and unexpected changes of direction. The colourful art work by Alcide Sartori tries to give an idea of the musical content... 

 

 

The opener “No Excuses” starts by an elaborated drum pattern, then the other instruments come in and the rhythm takes off. The music goes through many changes in atmosphere, there are some delicate, dreamy passages and there are frenzied rides across exotic territories but the wide and varied range of influences the band mixed together perfectly flow without weak moments in a coherent way...

“Paradox” is another good piece where you can find fiery funky rhythms and calmer parts with a soaring electric guitar that could recall Santana... The following “47” begins with a jazzy piano solo, then evolves into something different that every now and again reminds me of Area while a further calmer part with a beautiful acoustic guitar solo reminds me of Al Di Meola...

On “Moonlight Promenade” the delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio intro takes you through nocturnal landscapes of intense beauty where dreaming piano passages and soaring sax melodies fill the air... Then it’s the turn of “Do You Wanna Play With Me?” where the musicians seem to invite you to join them for a carefree and joyful jam session mixing jazz and blues...

 

For the lively “Squaring The Circle” the band shot a curious video where, with lightness and self-irony, they showcase all their musicianship and the fun they have playing together... 

 

Next comes “Exhalations” that opens with a disquieting, dark electric guitar arpeggio. Here the pace is slow and the atmosphere is that of a gathering storm. This piece is linked to “Deep Surface” that follows in the same vein and where the sax notes draw melancholic, jazzy melodic lines... After a pause, the short coda “Outro: Remembering” ends the album in an unexpected way with its poppish suggestions...

On the whole, a good album that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Endless Season: Paths And Crossroads (2022). Other opinions:
Basil Francis: So there you have it, six excellent slices of delightful fusion followed by a disappointing finale. I cannot think what made Endless Season decide to turn away from the promising style they so eagerly showcased in the first three-quarters of the album. You shouldn’t let the bad ending dissuade you from the charms of the rest of the album, however, because this is some of the most accessible fusion music I’ve heard that is still satisfyingly complex in its execution. If you suggest this for the playlist at your next gathering, no one can dismiss it as ‘ghastly prog music’; there are no excuses... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/endless.season.band 

MAD CIRCUS

Road To Planet Circus is the fourth album by Mad Fellaz and was self-released in 2022 with a renewed line up featuring Paolo Busatto (electric and acoustic guitar), Andrea Cecchetto (drums, percussion), Ruggero Burigo (guitars), Carlo Passuello (bass), Enrico Brunelli (keyboards, synthesizers), Rudy Zilio (flute, clarinet, synthesizers), and Luca Brighi (lead and backing vocals) plus some guests such as Giovanni Forestan (sax), Davide Baratto (guitar, backing vocals), Evridika Cuder (backing vocals), Fabio Trentini (backing vocals), Giancarlo Romano (trumpet) and Marcello Sambataro (additional keyboards). As on the previous album, during the recording sessions they were helped by producer Fabio Trentini (Moonbound, Le Orme) and shaped their compositions with a strong focus on the “groove” in a nice blend of prog, jazz-rock, fusion, funk, afro and even a bit of soul. The beautiful artwork by Antonio Carrara tries to depict the musical content...

 

The opener “The Animal Spell” features hypnotic atmospheres and exotic flavours that might recall the imaginary landscapes of Roger Dean. The music and lyrics in some way invite you to close your eyes and take off from the ground jumping up to the sky where life beats hard and you can find beautiful, deep colours and paint your dreams with them...

The lively, carefree “Free As A Dog” portrays a man walking on a street as free as he can be in a bright sunny day. He can run wherever he likes and no chain can stop him, all he needs is the light of the sun shining through the rain and its warming effect on his skin to feel good. The music every now and again reminds me slightly of PFM...

“Jokepot” is a funny piece inspired by the character and the story of Giancarlo Pelosini, an Italian TV quiz show contestant who answered by a suggestive joke to an ambiguous question about the warlike qualities of the legendary Amazons. He lost a huge sum of money but became famous... Next comes the lively “Sips Of Confidence”, a warning against the charming, false promises of modern barkers who draw your attention to sell you illusory remedies to soothe your pains...

 

“Rise And Shine” starts by a soft, acoustic intro. Here the vocals are used just like an instrument to add a touch of colour. When the rhythm rises the dreaming atmosphere does not vanish and the music shines like the sun upon the desert producing mirages... The following “Tuareg’s Dance” evokes in music and words a long caravan of tired men and women that, step after step is crossing a hot, sunny desert. The falling rain is like a blessing for them, an injection of hope for their hard journey towards the sea... Then, “Exodus” describes their feelings, the silent cries they left behind and the difficult choices they had to made leaving their homeland to reach the shore from where diving into the unknown...

On the notes of the sarcastic “Candy Store” you disembark on a greedy world where you have to keep calm and maintain your self-control because all what you can see is deceiving and dangerous. Real happiness lies on a magic land where there’s no crime nor lies, a paradise where you can find love everywhere... A place that doesn’t exist! Next comes “Babylon” where there are some passages that might recall Gentle Giant blended with Oriental flavours. The music and words convey a sense of dramatic awareness about all what’s going around you. It’s written in your eyes that you want back your liberty...

The following “Rise Again” begins a cappella and the influence of Gentle Giant is stronger than ever when the vocals evoke the sense of freedom that can experience children plying games and climbing trees... Eventually, the long, beautiful instrumental “Tennouheika No Sakura” (Cherry Blossoms of His Majesty the Emperor) closes the album with a surreal, dreamy atmosphere...

On the whole, a very good work that is worth listening to.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.madfellaz.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/MADFELLAZ/ 

 

VOICES IN THE HEAD

Mad Fellaz III is the third album by Mad Fellaz and was self-released in 2019 with a renewed line up featuring Paolo Busatto (electric and acoustic guitar), Marco Busatto (drums), Ruggero Burigo (electric guitar, electric sitar), Carlo Passuello (bass), Enrico Brunelli (electric and acoustic piano, synthesizers, Hammond organ, Mellotron), Rudy Zilio (flute, sax, synthesizers, backing vocals), Lorenzo Todesco (percussion) and Luca Brighi (lead and backing vocals) plus some guests such as Luca Ardini (sax), Davide Baratto (12 string acoustic guitar), Jacopo Mazzarolo (oboe), Mattia Marangon (French horn), Sergio Orso (violin), Louise Antonello (violin), Elena Ceccato (viola) and Rolando Moro (cello). During the recording sessions they were helped by producer Fabio Trentini (Moonbound, Le Orme) and the result is a rich, colourful and refined sound that emphasizes the skills of the musicians. In some way this work can be considered a concept album telling the story of a man who tries to fight against his madness. All the pieces follow a thread and the artwork by Marco Tosin could give a clue of its musical and lyrical content... 

 

The opener “Es / Frozen Side” starts by a frenzied instrumental section, then the mood becomes dark as the music and lyrics evoke the inner voices haunting the protagonist, invasive ghosts tormenting him, sneaking into his dreams in the frozen side of his brain. He can’t stand it any more, he tries to escape but there’s no way out, his inner demons want to take control of him and surround his consciousness suggesting to surrender with soothing words... All in all, madness is a friend!

 

The melancholic “Leaf” describes the protagonist wandering around like a leaf lost in the wind, a broken man waiting for his chance but with no master plan to escape... Then the following “Liquid Bliss” with its Latin rock influences and an electric guitar solo that could recall Santana conjures up subtle, diabolical temptations... Have a drink and relax! But alcohol addiction or the use of other chemical substances can’t save the protagonist from his inner ghosts...

Next comes “Fumes From The Ruins”, an excellent short instrumental track with a melancholic, dreamy atmosphere that leads to the folksy “Under These Clouds”, a beautiful piece that begins by a soft acoustic guitar arpeggio, then soaring vocals and a good flute work depict a growing inner emptiness that makes the protagonist cry and feel terribly bad... He’s stuck under grey clouds of sadness, his world seems nasty, he left behind his memories, he lost everything, and now there’s no one that can rescue him... 

 

The dramatic “Frost” begins with a mysterious mood and an Oriental flavour, then the pace accelerates as anger blurs the sight... The protagonist wants to escape but he can’t. A softer, dreamy middle section follows but the dream soon turns into nightmare and the rhythm rises again, faster and faster, he’s falling down, breaking down. When the rhythm calms down he realizes that we’re all passengers on a train that somebody calls life. Now he feels cold, he can’t tell anguish from happiness, all the bridges have been burnt and now he’s alone and cries his eyes out because he doesn’t want to die...

 

Mad Fellaz on stage, 2019

“Sweet Silent Oblivion” starts by acoustic guitar and flute. The mood is dreamy, memories fade away. The protagonist got out of control, his mind opened to the evil waves and he was dragged down... Then the rhythm rises announcing a last desperate struggling to survive but a spectral marching beat leads to a finale where you can guess who the winner is... “Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win...” (quote from Stephen King, The Shining).

 

On the whole, a very good work!

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Mad Fellaz: Mad Fellaz III (2019). Other opinions:

Owen Davies: Whilst there is great variation on display in III, and many of the tunes have gratifying elements, the decision to combine exhilarating instrumental sections full of genre busting complexity, within what are essentially relatively straightforward vocal tunes does not always work fully. There were times when I felt that the vocal sections and melodies, which accompanied these sections, sounded unremarkable and in essence had traits, which identified them as just another prog band... (Read the complete review HERE)

 

More info:

https://www.madfellaz.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/MADFELLAZ/

 

MAD PRESSURE

 The second album by Mad Fellaz is entitled Mad Fellaz II and was self-released in 2016 with a renewed line up featuring Paolo Busatto (guitar), Marco Busatto (drums), Jason Nealy (guitar), Carlo Passuello (bass), Enrico Brunelli (keyboards), Rudy Zilio (flute, clarinet), Lorenzo Todesco (percussion) and Anna Farronato (vocals) plus some guests such as Flavio Brun (sax), Alessandro Brunetta (sax) and Sean Lucarello (trumpet). The artwork by Maria Todesco perfectly fits the musical content, a magic brew of different influences ranging from jazz to classical music, from Santana to Jethro Tull and many more...

 

 

The long opener “Hollow Shell” is a good mix of exoticism, jazz, folk and psychedelia evoking a dream world where time passes by through dangerous love affairs, ephemeral feelings and vain efforts to fill a life that could be perceived as empty when you get lost in a constant search for pleasure without the project to form a family or other goals...

 

The following “Blood Pressure” is a long suite divided into two parts that starts softly. In the first part the mood is relaxed, then the rhythm section begins to pump up the pressure, the tension rises and the stroke is just behind the corner as your heart seems on the verge of explosion trying to keep up the pace...

 

Mad Fellaz 2015

 

“Me Gusta” is a nice instrumental track where fiery Latin rhythm patterns are combined with hard rock, jazz and oriental flavours. Then it’s the turn of “O.V.O. (Of Virtual Omniscience)”, another long piece where you can find many changes in atmosphere and mood taking you on winding, endless roads across oneiric realms... 

 

 

Two instrumental tracks close the album. “Moslem Sabbath”, as you can guess from the title, combines hard rock and Middle-Eastern influences. After a heavy start marked by powerful electric guitar riffs and a sudden change in rhythm, it veers to more peaceful passages and represents a very strange call for a day of rest and prayer while the following “Meet The Gooroo” takes off like a glider and tries to lead you towards an inspirational source revealing the meaning of life... 

 

 

On the whole a very good work, even if the jazz trained vocals every now and again could sound a bit out of place. Anyway, have a try and judge for yourselves... 

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

Mad Fellaz: Mad Fellaz II (2016). Other opinions: 

Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: The addition of vocals (and English ones at that) to much of what was a thrilling instrumental act is going to be a difficult thing to accept for some earlier listeners of Mad Fellaz, particularly when the group was doing so well already with the kind of music they were offering on their debut. However, if you pay proper attention, all the same instrumental skill and flair of the first album is always present here, just that it's sometimes in the background behind the vocals, or taking prominence in and out around the voice. Perhaps the group might have considered releasing a two-CD version of the album that included a purely instrumental mix of the main album, or even adopting a different name for this vocal-driven project… (read the complete review HERE) 

 

More info:

https://www.madfellaz.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/MADFELLAZ/ 

TEA AND TREASURES

Endless Season came to life as a trio in 2014 in Bassano del Grappa, a town in the province of Vicenza, with a first line up featuring Lorenzo Di Prima (bass), Marco Busatto (drums) and Paolo Busatto (guitar). Later they were joined by Alessandro Brunetta (sax) and Marcello Sambataro (keyboards) who contributed to enrich the sound bringing new colours to the musical palette of the band. In 2016 the quintet self-released an interesting eponymous debut album with their original compositions full of freshness and energy. According to their website, Endless Season’s influences range from jazz/rock and fusion/funk artists such as Scott Henderson, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl Band, Oz Noy, Alain Caron and others to jazz musicians like Avishai Cohen and more progressive sounds. The final result, in my opinion, is really good: ten instrumental tracks with different atmospheres and moods that should be able to stir your curiosity...

The effervescent opener “Scott Noy” starts with a lively rhythm pattern, then frenzied passages alternate with calmer sections… Next comes the dreamy, relaxed “Misty Morning” that leads to the bursts of energy of the following “Mark Funk”. The mysterious “Sherazade” brings Oriental flavours and hypnotic atmospheres while on the following “Doctor Jelinek” the rhythm takes off again for a musical journey across the Ocean, towards American starry skies. Then it’s the time of the dark “Treasures For Teatime”. For this beautiful piece the band shot a video where you can discover the dangerous effects of the treasures of the title...

The slow “You Talk So Loud” could evoke a dance of big reptiles coming out like ghosts from the pages of an old book by Charles Darwin about evolution... Well, as you can guess, this piece vaguely reminds me of BMS and is one of my favourite tracks on this work. It leads to the frenzied, nervous “Elastic”. Then, the oblique funky of “The Big Crunch” and the long, complex “Zenith” close an album that in my opinion is really worth listening to.

Have a try! You can listen to complete album HERE

At the moment the band are working on new compositions with a renewed line up and I’m looking forward to listen to it...

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/endless.season.band

MODERN EXPLORERS

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.

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!

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)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MAD-FELLAZ/130416753704789 

VENETO (part 2)

North of Venice lies TREVISO, which in the past gave us prog bands such as Capsicum Red, Asgard and Apryl (from the nearby town of Conegliano). Today here we can find Faveravola (Official Website), a band formed by some veterans who have been active since the seventies and who in 2007 released the beautiful concept album Contea dei cento castagni.

Interesting contemporary bands from this city are also Aphelion (MySpace), an instrumental project featuring metal influences, and Magnetic Sound Machine (MySpace), highly recommended to jazz-rock lovers. Other bands from Treviso that deserve mentioning are Antilabé (MySpace), Geo’s (MySpace), Epoca (Reverbnation), Lyn (MySpace), Safarà (MySpace), Quarto Vuoto (Facebook) and Synderesi (MySpace). In Treviso there are also the headquarters of the independent label specialized in prog Lizard Records. Then, from the nearby town of Montebelluna comes bass player and composer Alberto Rigoni (MySpace), from Asolo come Il Labirinto di Alice (Facebook) while from a beautiful place north of Treviso, Cison di Valmarino, comes an interesting melodic prog band called Ephemeris (MySpace). Another town north of Treviso, Vittorio Veneto, is home to an interesting band called The Former Life (Facebook) and the little town of Motta di Livenza is home to a talanted band called Il Fedelissimo Bracco Branco (Facebook).

Leaving Treviso, still heading north we enter the province of BELLUNO and the amazing alpine area of the Dolomiti, where we can listen to Idea Ostile (MySpace), Crazy Valves (Facebook), Sirgaus (Facebook) and Campo Magnetico (Facebook), born in 2014 from the ashes of a band called John Silver Band (MySpace).

And now back south, to PADUA, the city of Saint Anthony, 40 km west of Venice. Padua is also the birth place of the famous architect Andrea Palladio, whose XVIth century villas in the area of Padua, Venice, Vicenza and Treviso are amongst the most beautiful of Italy, and of Giovanni Battista Belzoni, adventurer, engineer and Egyptologist to whom is dedicated a new concept album by the prog band from Turin Arti e Mestieri, Il grande Belzoni. In the past Padua gave us bands such as Eneide, Mellonta Tauta (Bandcamp), Daphne (Bandcamp) and Audio (Bandcamp) while the contemporary prog scene features bands such as the promising Empirical Time (MySpace), the folk jazz Calicanto (Official Website), the theatrical Lamanaïf (MySpace) and Maieutica (Facebook), the psychedelic Astralia (MySpace), Laatia (MySpace), Hypnoise (MySpace), and Collettivo Androgino (Reverbnation) or the metal influenced Centrica (MySpace) and Twinspirits (MySpace).

In the seventies one of the very few bands linked to the right wing movement, La Compagnia dell’Anello (Official Website), also began life here. The band is still in activity and they’re working on a new album. According to some interviews with the band, it will be a self produced double album in two parts. The first will be heavily prog influenced and will feature a concept inspired by the work of the poet Ezra Pound. The second will feature some new tracks and old unreleased stuff re-arranged. At the moment a new track is available, a piece dedicated to a pilot of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, Giovanni Battista Boscutti, who died in 1944 fighting against the Allied forces that were bombarding the city of Padua.

South of Padua lies ROVIGO where we can listen to a good contemporary band called Anfiteatro (MySpace) and to the metal influenced Eloa Vadaath (Reverbnation). Rovigo is also home to composer and multi-instrumentalist Marco Ragni (Facebook) and Alessio Trapella (Facebook) who collaborated with Le Orme and in 2022 released an interesting solo album entitled La ricerca dell'imperfezione. Here there started an interesting band called A Piedi Nudi. Their guitarist, Nicola Gardinale, has changed musical direction and has formed a blues-rock project called Nic-G And The Mogsy (MySpace).

Leaving Rovigo, we head now back north to VICENZA, which in the past gave us bands such as Abissi Infiniti and Top Left Corner. Now it’s the time of Absenthia (Official Website), an excellent band that combines tradition with heavier sounds and in 2009 released an excellent self produced debut album, Tenebrae Vincunt. Other local bands that in my opinion it is worth mentioning are Malus Antler (Facebook) and the jazz-rock Vertical (MySpace) and Mandela (Facebook). Not far from Vicenza, in a town called Bassano del Grappa, which in the past gave us bands such as Antephonia and Slogans, you can find a very good CD shop, Pick Up Records and listen to an interesting band called Glincolti (Official Website), the jazz-rock Endless Season (Facebook) and to Mad Fellaz (Facebook) while Schio is home to Sticky Brain (Facebook)

We conclude our visit to Veneto in VERONA, the city of Romeo and Juliet, also known for its landmark ancient Roman amphitheatre, the Verona Arena, which is internationally famous for its large-scale opera performances. You can find here a good contemporary prog scene featuring excellent bands such as the jazz rock D.F.A. (MySpace), Logos (Official Website) and Astrolabio (MySpace), a new band born from the ashes of Elettrosmog (MySpace), a band that in 2007 released an interesting album entitled Monologando.

Other prog bands from Verona are the neo prog Marygold (Official Website) and Iperuranio (Official Website), the young and very promising Gran Torino (MySpace) and Side C (MySpace), the experimental Reqviem (MySpace) and Le Maschere di Clara (MySpace), then Il Rumore Bianco (Facebook), Rosenkreutz (Facebook), Calia (MySpace), D’Anima (MySpace), Moto Armonico (Reverbnation), MonnaLisa (Facebook), Alchemy Victory (Facebook), Oltremare (MySpace), Castelli in Aria (MySpace), Masons (MySpace), Il Fauno di Marmo (MySpace), The Oneira (Facebook), the metal influenced Methodica (MySpace) and the folk-oriented Domus de Janas (MySpace). A good venue for prog lovers in this area is the Club il Giardino.