WILD STRAWBERRIES

Una vita migliore is the fourth studio album by La Coscienza di Zeno and was released in 2018 on the AMS Records label with a renewed line up featuring Alessio Calandriello (vocals), Gabriele Guidi Colombi (bass), Andrea Orlando (drums, percussion), Stefano Agnini (synthesizers, Moog, organ), Gianluca Origone (guitars) and Luca Scherani (piano, synth, Mellotron, Hammond organ, bouzuki) plus the guests Sylvia Trabucco (violin), Alice Nappi (violin), Edoardo Romano (sax), Joanne Roan (flute), Daniela Piras (flute), Davide Corso (sax, clarinet), Marco Callegari (trumpet), Gaetano Galli (oboe), Melissa Del Lucchese (cello), Fausto Sidri (vocals, percussion), Martina Saladino (vocals), Nicola Sannino (vocals) and Alice Scherani (Glockenspiel). It’s an amazing symphonic rock work that draws on the tradition of the Italian historic bands from the seventies to express deep feelings shaping new pieces with an up to date sound and fresh ideas. The beautiful cover artwork, by Genoese artist Jessica Rassi, is linked to the content of the album...

 

The wonderful opener “Lobe iste calabu” sets the atmosphere. It’s an instrumental track that starts by a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio and goes through many changes in rhythm driving you to unknown, dreamy realms made of sounds and emotions...

The title of the following “Il posto delle fragole” (Wild Strawberries) refers to a famous 1957 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and depicts in a surreal way stagnant memories and dreamlike flashes, poignant regrets and the new awareness of an old man, a scientist, who reflects about his past mistakes while trying to seek for a peaceful place to rest. In the end the fog dissolves from his nightmares and he can find the place he was looking for, a place to become a child again...

The lively, folksy “Danza ferma” (Still dance) begins with a strong baroque flavour. The music and lyrics try to describe the unstoppable rhythm of Time that keeps men and women in perennial movement. You can’t help it, you have to keep on dancing as memories flow back and forward and the rhythm rises while the music goes on...

 

“Mordo la lingua” (I bite my tongue) is a tense, melancholic piece about incommunicability. The music and lyrics evoke the image of a little, hot heart that tries to find a shelter form the storms of the outside world with no result. The protagonist drowns in a sea of adverbs and useless words, he can’t properly express himself and keeps on biting nervously his tongue. Without expression skills you risk to become invisible because a man who can’t talk and find the right way to communicate with other people is like a vanishing shadow...

“L’aspettativa del bimbo scuro” (The expectation of the dark child) is an introspective track with strong classical flavours were music and lyrics revolve around the psychological gap between what a man appears to be and his hidden desires and illusions. In every man there’s a dark side, a rebellious child that struggles to emerge on the surface from the deepest shadows of the ego. A dark, blind child that seeks for immorality and slowly retreats in face of the terror of social judgement...

The long, complex title track, “Una vita migliore” (A better life), tells in a very poetic way of a horrible family crime. The new partner of a woman, a seaman, sexually harasses and rapes her young daughter. The woman tries to protect and justify her man. The psychological impact on the girl, as you can imagine, is devastating and the music and lyrics try to depict the victim’s feelings conveying a strong sense of disenchantment and inner discomfort. The girl longs for a better life but now all her dreams are broken, her innocence lost forever...

Then, the beautiful instrumental “Vico del Giglio” closes the album. It’s a track that could recall Banco del Mutuo Soccorso without being derivative and invites you to have another spin...

On the whole, an excellent album and a must have for every Italianprog lover.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

La Coscienza di Zeno: Una vita migliore (2018). Other opinions:

Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: If you're an Italian prog fan, then La Coscienza di Zeno have once again delivered an album that holds everything you could ask for. They draw from such a rich history of vintage Italian progressive music but effortlessly graft it to a modern setting, and they deliver it all with an exceptional technical proficiency and vibrant imagination. Their previous album `La Notte Anche di Giorno' may still be their defining moment to date, but `Una Vita Migliore' is another classy, luxurious and unpredictable symphonic Italian work from an endlessly skilled band, full of colour and endless personality... (Read the complete review HERE)

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TWO WOMEN, TWO STORIES

La notte anche di giorno is the third studio album by La Coscienza di Zeno and was released in 2015 on the Fading Records label with a line up featuring Alessio Calandriello (vocals), Gabriele Guidi Colombi (bass), Andrea Orlando (drums, percussion), Stefano Agnini (synthesizers, Moog, organ), Davide Serpico (guitars), Luca Scherani (piano, synth, Mellotron, Hammond organ, bouzuki) and Domenico Ingenito (violin) plus the guests Joanne Roan (flute), Melissa Del Lucchese (cello) and Simona Angioloni (vocals). It’s an interesting concept album, divided into two long suites, about two female characters and two different ways to face fear and pain. It confirms all the good qualities of the band’s previous works and the cover with a beautiful painting by Priscilla Jamone gives a visual form to its dark atmospheres and reflective mood... 

 

 

According to the liner notes, the first suite, “Giovane figlia” (Young daughter), was inspired by the figure of a suicidal girl, Serena Zanimacchia, and is dedicated to her memory. It is divided into six parts but, despite its complexity, is well structured and flowing. The first part, “A ritroso” (In reverse), begins with music and lyrics evoking the image of an empty, very particular swing hanging from a tree, a girl floating in the air like a kite without string. Then the music and words take us back in time conjuring up the images of an unexpected pregnancy and of a girl in a hospital fed by syringes and nurses. She feels helpless, as if she were put on trial for her sins and condemned even by her own mother... The following section, “Il giro del cappio” (The turning of the noodle), marks a change of perspective, the atmosphere is calm and reflective, the mood melancholic. The narrator tries to understand the reasons for such a tragic, extreme action. There’s pity and mourn, the memories of the deceased girl emerge from the shadows, with all her efforts to change and the sense of impending tragedy that slowly grows. What did they do to her? She lived in darkness even during the day, but who forced her to hang herself, who knitted the fatal rope? The vortex of memories becomes a hurricane in the third section, “Libero pensatore” (Free thinker), where the narrator draws the image of one of his friends and of his brilliant girlfriend, a bit crazy but friendly and tenacious, now lost forever... In the next part, “Quiete apparente” (Apparent quiet), comes back the image of the girl swinging in the air like a kite while the light chases the shadows along the walls at dawn. A short instrumental part, “Impromptu pour S.Z.”, leads to the last part, “Lenta discesa all’Averno” (Slow descent to Avernus) which attempts, once again, to investigate the reasons that pushed the unfortunate girl to take her own life. She couldn’t overcome her crises, some evil persecuted her like a slithering serpent. What follows is a long, scary journey throughout the holes of the soul, where our hell simmers, a gloomy place that only the wise or the madman dare visit. The last verses of the suite are sung in French by the guest vocalist Simona Angioloni and are taken from a traditional ballad that tells, in a very poetical form, of a terrible family crime. The ballad is “La complainte de la blanche biche”, in the past interpreted, among others, by bands such as Malicorne and Tri Yann...

 

La Coscienza di Zeno 2015

 

The second suite, “Madre antica” (Ancient mother), is divided into four parts and is dedicated to Bianca Orsi, one of the most important Italian sculptresses and to Sfefano Agnini’s father, Gregorio, who during World War II lived in the Po Delta area. Born in Salsomaggiore Terme, Emilia, Bianca Orsi trained in Milan at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and in the first half of the 1930s frequented artistic and intellectual circles. Later she experienced the horrors of World War II first hand taking part in the Resistance as a partisan relay and a profound trace of that experience remains in her works. The first part of the suite, “Il paese ferito” (The wounded country), describes fake scenes of normality in a country ravaged by war: a little girl playing in the street, an old man smoking tobacco, two lovers kissing passionately, two stray cats on the run... The second part, “Cavanella”, takes us in a village of the Po Delta and conjures up the image of the young Bianca walking barefoot on the bloodstained sand while some boys amuse themselves throwing stones with their slingshots at some corpses in uniform floating on the river waters. Mercy seems to be vanishing in war times and violence rules... The third part, “La staffetta” (The relay) depicts Bianca as a partisan messenger in Salsomaggiore Terme. In fact, the most common task for female fighters was the staffetta. The staffete brought or collected weapons and sent messages between the various fighting groups. They were women, in most cases very young, who perfectly knew the territory and moved on foot or by bicycle. The risks they faced were very high... The last part, “Come statua di dolore” (Like a statue of pain) evokes images of the concentration camps in Germany and tells of how Bianca managed to overcome that horror: now her blade cuts into the wood generating statues that recall death, statues of women pierced by pain...

 

On the whole, an excellent work!

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

La Coscienza di Zeno: La notte anche di giorno (2015). Other opinions:

Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: Considering La Coscienza di Zeno is comprised of musicians who've been involved in the Hostsonaten project and Il Tempio delle Clessidre, it's no surprise to find the music here is so rich and exotic, and the glossy production gives the album a sleek and comforting sound. The fact that the vocal passages are instantly melodic and easy to enjoy, weaving excitedly around the sumptuous instrumental aspects makes it even more of a winner, and once it's been given several replays, the music truly soars with a flowing grace and sophistication. If you don't mind the more polished and slick RPI works in the manner of the symphonic vintage style, `La Notte Anche di Giorno' may just be one of the loveliest RPI releases of 2015! (Read the complete review HERE)

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/lacoscienzadizeno.ge 

DARK FRAGMENTS

Sensitività is the second album by La Coscienza di Zeno and was released in 2013 on the independent Altrock - Fading Records label with a renewed line up featuring Alessio Calandriello (vocals), Gabriele Guidi Colombi (bass), Andrea Orlando (drums, percussion), Stefano Agnini (synthesizers), Davide Serpico (guitars) and Luca Scherani (piano, synth, Mellotron, accordion, bouzuki) plus the guests Joanne Roan (flute), Sylvia Trabucco (violin), Melissa Del Lucchese (cello) and Rossano Villa (Mellotron). The musical palette is extremely rich and refined, inspired by seventies sounds but not stuck in the past. The overall atmosphere is a bit dark, as you can guess from the art cover by Paolo “Ske” Botta and the images that you find in the booklet...

 

The title of the opener “La città di Dite” (The city of Dite) refers to an imaginary infernal city described by Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy. According to the sommo poeta, Dite is the place where the heretics, buried in red-hot stone graves, pay for their sins. Here the music and words deal with the inner hell of the protagonist. The piece starts by a dramatic piano solo intro then the other instruments come in as the vocalist plays the role of a disturbed man, one who fears climbing the slippery stairs that lead from the heart to the brain. If you fall from that damned staircase you’ll land with your broken spine where the devil’s tail lies...

The long, complex, “Sensitività” (Sensitivity), is an amazing track that evokes in music and words the effort of transmuting and sublimating the energy of a person in an inner alchemy to improve the ability to feel, to have sensations, to perceive stimuli through the senses with the aim of finding the way towards truth and self-consciousness. Here the lyrics are like brush strokes of colour quoting holy scriptures and philosophical works, literature and obscure, esoteric rites focused on the reaffirmation of the human connection with the supernatural world...

Then comes the ethereal, melancholic “Tenue” (Tenuous). There are no liner notes to explain the lyrics of this track but they seem to be inspired by the life of Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, Russian astronaut known for being the first and youngest woman in space, having flown a solo mission on the Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. Later in her life she got involved in her country political life, when there was not much left of the Red Russia and its application of real socialism. The dreams and ideals of the old Soviet Union turn to ashes on the sounds of distant radio frequencies, fading away like memories soon destined for oblivion...

The following “Chiusa 1915” evokes a beautiful, dizzying landscape and memories of war soaring from the woods. This beautiful piece is about the construction of the Val Gardena Railway or Klausen-Plan, a narrow gauge railway operating in the Dolomites. It was constructed during the first World War, when the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The works begun in September 1915 and the line was completed and opened on 6 February 1916, thanks to the conscripted labour of some 6,000 Russian prisoners of war, here depicted as sad living shadows pushed by the steam of a crazy gear. The railway was 32.5 km long and was the highest line operated by the Italian Railways with a summit of 1,595m above sea level. It closed on 28 May 1960 and now a long section between Santa Cristina Val Gardena and Ortisei is a beautiful public footpath, the Val Gardena Railway Trail...

Val Gardena Railway Trail

Then it’s the turn of “Tensegrità” (Tensegrity), a reflection about child abuse and the way the monsters of childhood contribute to shape a mature person with the floating compression of his emotions and feelings. This piece ends with an invocation to Hecate, a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology with domains in sky, earth, and sea that is variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, witchcraft and more. The protagonist, to have his real nature revealed prays the goddess to take him with her in a long journey across the three worlds...

The title of the following “Pauvre Misère” refers to a 1953 song by French singer-songwriter Georges Brassens evoking the situation of agricultural workers and small landowners who toil on small farms and go on, modestly, without complaint. Here the music and lyrics update the concept and draw a bleak tableau of urban desolation conjuring up the image of a country that devours his inhabitants, a city full of lights and fake smiles where a poor man, an underclass worker, can only look at the show of consumerism. The face of Che Guevara printed on the tight tee-shirt of a young woman, stretched under her bosom, becomes the symbol of a faded revolution turning into something else...

The long, complex “La temperanza” (The temperance) ends the album and refers to the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. Temperance is usually depicted as a winged angel pouring liquid from one cup into another to represent the dilution of wine with water, a symbol of moderation. Here the music and the hermetic lyrics draw disquieting images where you can find obscure symbolism and floating memories to describe the fragments of a life spent with too much moderation and without enthusiasm...

On the whole, and excellent work that grows spin after spin!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

La Coscienza di Zeno: Sensitività (2013). Other opinions:

Raffaella Benvenuto-Berry: While sounding thoroughly modern thanks to Udi Koomran’s priceless mastering work, Sensitività is also firmly rooted in the great Italian prog tradition of the Seventies. Although, as I previously hinted, at times the synth sounds may be a bit too reminiscent of neo-prog modes, the Italian flair for exquisite melodies and dramatic yet remarkably un-cheesy atmospheres shines through the album, and makes it essential listening for any self-respecting RPI fan. A supremely classy work, Sensitività is a grower, and even fans of more left-field fare may find a lot to appreciate in it... (read the complete review HERE)

INNER CONFLICTS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

La Coscienza di Zeno began life in Genoa in 2007 on the initiative of three experienced musicians: Gabriele Guidi Colombi (bass - previously in other bands such as Trama, Narrow Pass, Armalite, Il Tempio delle Clessidre, Hidebehind), Andrea Orlando (drums – previously with Finisterre, Malombra, Real Dream) and Alessio Clandriello (vocals – previously with Narrow Pass, Hidebehind, Klepsydra, Lucid Dream). Later the line up was completed by Stefano Agnini (keyboards), Davide Serpico (guitar) and Andrea Lotti (keyboards, guitar). The name of the band is taken from the tile of a famous novel by Italian writer Italo Svevo, Zeno’s Conscience, which is based on the psychological analysis of the protagonist, Zeno Cosini, a man who tries to find out the reasons of his emotional weakness. The musicians thought that there was a strong connection between the spirit of this literary work and what they were trying to express throughout their music and lyrics. Their first eponymous full length album was released in 2011 on the independent label Mellow Records and in the studio the band was helped by same guest musicians such as Luca Scherani (accordion), Joanne Roan (flute), Rossano Villa (strings arrangements) and Lidia Molinari (vocals) who contributed to enrich sound. The result is excellent, the strong influences of the Italian prog masters of the seventies are effectively mixed with a touch of up to date technology and an original song-writing. The original, disquieting art cover by Dario Milana (a.k.a. D Tao) probably depicts the content of the album better than many words...

The opener “Cronovisione” (Chronovision) starts with a keyboards surge and a lively rhythm but in the middle section the mood suddenly changes, there’s a thunder and the music stops giving way to a cryptic narrative vocal part... “The stones are telling a story / When you touch them lightly you become part of the story... The conscience of the matter submerges you / If it only could speak men will become insane...”. After this warning the rhythm rises again but the atmosphere becomes darker while some Oriental influences add a touch of mystery to the music.

“Gatto lupesco” (Wolfish cat) begins with piano and vocals in the forefront. The lyrics draw the blurred lines of a strange character, a young man whose look makes seem him much older than he really is. He’s tired of struggles, he would like to set off looking for new experiences but not in the army as his father did... Then the rhythm rises, the other instruments come in and the music becomes more complex. Along with the sunburnt body of the protagonist now you can see his tiredness and the shivering of someone who tried to overcome the remorse of his bad conscience but failed. Now his conscience surreptitiously tantalizes him like a “wolfish cat”... After an effervescent instrumental break the vocals come back commenting the attitude of the protagonist... “As if you were another man / As if you were speaking of another man / Your otherness prevents you to be yourself / And to be a different man as well...”.

“Nei cerchi del legno” (In the circles of the wood) is a long, complex track in four parts inspired by Le avventure di Pinocchio, a famous novel by Italian writer Carlo Collodi that tells the adventures of an animated puppet who eventually becomes a real child. The lyrics, by means of some short poetical flash-backs, try to investigate the roots of the conscience that lies in the circles of the wood which forms the body of the protagonist... “In the evening you used to come back home with the burden of your truancy... In the night you secretly studied the forbidden books / To build your civil consciousness...”. An excellent track!

“Il fattore precipitante” (The precipitant factor) deals in some way with therianthropy and describes a strange character who is going through a terrible inner conflict between instinct and reason. At last the factor that inhibits the animal instinct falls apart and gives way to the wild call of an inhuman nature... “Man-beast, old theriomorphs / Leader of the pack, you were born wrong...”. Soaring vocals fly towards unexpected heights as if howling to the moon.

The acoustic, evocative “Il basilisco” (The basilisk) is introduced by the accordion of the guest Luca Scherani and features a strong Mediterranean flavour. The lyrics describe in a poetical way a land between rocks and sea, a steep coast overlooking the sea and its merciless fury. It’s a beautiful country with a glorious past but where the life is hard and from where many people want to leave... “The basilisk spits at us the heritage of the coat of arms / Then it smiles and goes back to the sea / Looking for a new master to dominate...”.

“Un insolito baratto alchemico” (An unusual alchemic exchange) is an excellent instrumental track featuring many changes in rhythm and mood where electric guitar riffs, organ waves and swirling flute notes embroider dark images and unquiet dreams...

The final track “Acustica felina” (Feline acoustic) is complex and tense. The lyrics investigate the background of a haughty woman who acts like a star and looks like the beautiful witch in the story of Snow White... “Eat your damned apple, do it! / Get poisoned with your own taste / Once in your life taste yourself...”. The music leads you through the vortex of the conscience of a bad girl. She was a disappointment for her parents but she met the wrong people and is also a victim of her broken dreams... “Words pronounced with young innocence burn inside whom can to listen to them...”.

On the whole an excellent album. It’s not an easy one but it grows spin after spin...

You can listen to the complete album in streaming. Click HERE

Read the interview with the band on Progarchives. Click HERE

A new video for a new project...

La Coscienza di Zeno: La Coscienza di Zeno (2011). Other opinions:

Chris “Seventhsojourn”: I wasn't exactly bowled over at first by the seemingly less-than-adventurous music, but then some of the best progressive music suffers from the very same perceived deficiency. And sure enough this album's initially vague landscape slowly came into perspective with repeated plays, like clouds of mist drifting away to leave a clear summer's day... (read the complete review HERE)

Jim Russell: I am captivated by the sweeping twists and turns, the heartfelt, soaring emotions, and the transitions from one interesting, lovely section to another. Even some dissonance and non-linear surprises here and there, but mostly just knockout, exceptional Italian prog... (read the complete review HERE).
Raffaella Benvenuto-Berry: Indeed, La Coscienza di Zeno is a must for all lovers of vintage Italian prog, adding the band to the growing list of excellent “traditional but modern” acts that already includes their fellow Genoese Il Tempio delle Clessidre and La Maschera di Cera, as well as the revamped Delirium. Highly recommended to symphonic prog fans and anyone who is not put off by foreign-language vocals... (read the complete review HERE).

More info:

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