SUNDANCES AND HYMNS TO THE NIGHT

Tra luce e ombra (Between light and shadow) is the second album by Salentine band I Viaggi di Madeleine and was released in 2023 on the MP Records label with a line up featuring Francesco Carella (vocals, keyboards, synth bass, piano Rhodes, acoustic guitar) and Giuseppe Quarta (drums) plus the guests Marco Ancona (electric guitar), Francesco Del Prete (violin), Roberto Gagliardi (sax), Pietro Sansonetti (electric guitar), Richard Sinclair (vocals, bass) and Santi Spanna (narrative vocals). It confirms all the good qualities of their debut work with a sound drawing from seventies influences and a personal, strong emotional touch. The original art cover chosen to convey the idea of the musical content of this work was provided by OndemediE graphic studio...

The excellent opener “Migrazioni” (Migrations) is an instrumental piece that, according to the liner notes, depicts the perpetual motion of the universe. The pulsing rhythm and the hypnotic keyboards waves try to evoke migrations of people and animals, the continuous movement of waters, winds and earth, the changing of the seasons and the migration of souls and other spiritual forces from one form of life to another...

“Frequenze solari” (Solar frequencies) is a lively celebration of the power of sunlight that mixes blues with tarantella and every now and again could recall PFM. The music and lyrics conjure up a lay prayer, an invocation to the light and a kind a sun dance that makes you take off and fly on solar frequencies...

“Poker” is another good piece where wordless vocals duet and interact with the other instruments in a funny, swinging way. This piece features the contribute of the guest Richard Sinclair, former bassist and vocalist of bands such as Caravan and Hatfield And The North, who now lives in Martina Franca, Apulia...

Then the nightmarish “Bronx” describes in music and words the feelings of anguish and fear that experiences a man walking in the middle of the night in the streets of a dangerous neighbourhood. He goes on corner after corner, block after block, as if he were crossing rivers of rubbish and mud while crazy jackals chase after him in a world gone wrong where greediness, vanity and madness reign...

“L’ultima battaglia” (The last battle) is an epic instrumental track that, according to the liner notes, depicts the different stages of a timeless battle: the ritual before the clash between the two opposite armies, the attack, the battlefield scattered with the corpses of dead soldiers, the charge of the knights and a final ambush...

I Viaggi di Madeleine with Richard Sinclair, 2022

The slow, mysterious “Androgino” (Androgynous) evokes in music and words an undefined presence breaking through the veil of moral sense, crossing the limit between male and female, a joyful and coloured fantasy carried towards other worlds in the darkness, a suffering entity shaken by a storm of different forces. A blurred image of free love that comes to life from the pure desire of its own existence...

“Road Roller” is an instrumental track that, according to the liner notes, tries to tell in notes the story of a big, strong man called Road Roller who falls in love with a young, beautiful stranger he met at the fish market. The girl rejects him but he does not give up and tries to impress her by training hard in a gym. Eventually he dies for an overdose of anabolic substances...

Then “Nostalgie” (Nostalgias) closes the album: it’s a beautiful piece with the violin in the forefront that conjures up distant memories, childhood dreams, short moments of joy and vain hopes haunting the nights of an old man. According to the liner notes, this piece was inspired by the Hymns to the Night, a set of six poems written by the German Romantic poet Novalis...

On the whole, an excellent work that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/IViaggiDiMadeleine/

TRAVELLING SHADOWS

Hailing from Lecce, in the Salentine Peninsula, I Viaggi di Madeleine took shape in 2015 on the initiative of experienced multi-instrumentalist and composer Francesco Carella, guitarist Giuseppe Cascarano and drummer Giuseppe Quarta with the aim of playing original music in a progressive rock vein. After a hard studio work, some demos and an intense live activity on the Apulian scene, in 2019 they self-released an interesting eponymous debut album mixing melodies and complex structures with a strong emotional touch and good personality. The album features five long tracks, each one preceded by a short narrative introduction where you can hear the voices of two actors, Elena Selleri and Mauro Bux, describing in Italian and English the subject matter of the pieces while the beautiful art work by Simone Lomartire tries provide a visual description of the content of the album...

 

The title of the opener “Kamaloka” refers to a theosophical term associated with Hades of ancient Greeks and the Amenti of the Egyptians, the land of Silent Shadows. It’s a piece that starts by dark atmospheres and sounds evoking obscure shadows moving through the gates of the afterlife. At some point your eyes open and finally you can see what the world will become after passing away... Then heavy electric guitar riffs and visionary lyrics conjure up apocalyptic landscapes. You can smell the living blood of innocent souls lost underground on their way to hell while demons and witches pour down the streets of power devouring matter and swallowing vital sap. In the air thunders the echo of the diabolical thoughts of contorted minds contaminated by sinful desires as empty men are crowding a cardboard temple to pray the feared god of the dead. The music goes through many changes in rhythm and mood always maintaining a strong Gothic flavour...

The following “Contrappunti d’autunno” (Autumn counterpoints) starts by a tense instrumental section, then melancholic vocals paint shadows hanging over you like eternal sand vortexes. Your freedom slowly melts, erased by responsibilities and daily routines, your dreams fall down like autumn leaves. But sooner or later a new sun will rise, a new life bringing on new dreams to follow and new hopes. Just like autumn our civilization dries out and dies but from its ruins a seed will grow to bring on a new humanity...

 

 

The nightmarish “Gods Of Distant Worlds” is sung in English and evokes terrifying deaf creatures coming from distant worlds threatening to cancel human evolution. Heavy electric guitar riffs alternate with dark organ passages... In my opinion, this piece could be a perfect background for the reading of a H.P. Lovecraft tale from the Cthulhu Mythos!

Then it’s the turn of “Il viaggio” (The journey) that tells in music and words of a spiritual experience, a long walk leading up to a tall mountain top looking for the real essence of things, for a possible solution of your problems and a way out from an empty life... When the silence is broken you’re lost in the darkness, ready to set off on a trip without time and space through the colours of another dimension...

I Viaggi di Madaleine on stage, 2019

The last track, “Mendicante” (Beggar), is in part sung in English and in part in Italian. It’s a complex piece that tells of the come back from a time of strict discipline and firm restraint to look for the truth in the heart of men. The music and words seem freely inspired by the character of Gautama Buddha and conjure up the image of a beggar of emotions walking the streets of the world, meeting people and trying to reach the inner source of the burning flame that enlightens the mind...

On the whole, a very good work dealing with transcendental and spiritual issues in an original, personal way. 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/IViaggiDiMadeleine/ 

MEDITERRANEAN ENERGY

Abash are an Italian band from Puglia that was formed in 1998. Looking for their own musical identity, they tried to blend African obsessive tribal rhythms and Oriental melodies with Italian traditional folklore (especially the music from Salento) and rock. The result is a very particular and atypical “Mediterranean progressive rock”. “Madri senza terra” (Mothers without land) is their third album and was released in 2006 on the independent label “Il Manifesto” with a line-up featuring Anna Rita Luceri (vocals), Maurilio Gigante (bass, vocals), Daniele Stefano (guitars), Luciano Toma (piano, keyboards), Paolo Colazzo (drums) and Luciano Treggiari (percussion, flute, teremin). It’s a really mature, interesting album, with good artwork and a paper sleeve package... It’s a kind of concept album where the character of “the mother” becomes a metaphor for love, peace, land, roots, tradition... On the cover are printed the following words: “The roots, the land, the mothers / It’s there the spirit, the truer and deeper way of living / Pure instinct, perennial love, blood and sweat / Music from the heart without borders...”.

Abash on stage

The opener “Intro (Madri senza terra)” is a short track that features only an evocative melody, sung without words by Anna Rita Luceri in a way that reminds me of Noa, and an “exotic” narrative part that leads to the “heavier” “Niuru te core” (Dark heart) where you can appreciate the contrast between the aggressive guitar parts and more relaxed moments, between the raw vocals of Maurilio Gigante and the beautiful melodic voice of Anna Rita Luceri singing the “poetry of a red sunset / red like blood... ”. The lyrics, in dialect, are about parents’ love for their children in a hard, dark world.

“Salentu e Africa” was the title track of Abash’s first self-produced album and this is a new powerful version... Here every now and again the voice of Anna Rita Luceri reminds me of Teresa De Sio while the song has a strong “ethnic flavour” with Mediterranean rhythms and “Plato and Marrakech” inside the heart. The words and music invite you to “jump and beat on the drum...”.

“Madri” (Mothers) is one of my favourite tracks on this album... The beautiful voice of Anna Rita sings “I’m your strength, your spirit, your memory, your coherence / I’m your mother, your root, your shelter, your comforter... With my voice I sing a war anthem to the world / That does not listen to me and dies / Swept away by the waves...”. In the beginning the melody reminds me a little bit of Mecano’s “Hijo de la luna” but then the music develops in an original way and the band showcase a great musicianship with keyboards and guitars in the forefront.

“La corsa di Assan” (Assan’s escape) is about an African boy running away from his land animated by a “thirst for hope and justice”. Tribal rhythms and evocative keyboard passages here are intertwined with a sweet lullaby giving the image of a desperate dream... “Here I am / Flying over the sea / Like a black angel / With outspread wings / Over your cities and your dirty miseries / I will blow my wrath / I’m the black power / Africa won’t lend its hand anymore / And my dream will be a land / Saved by the cry of God...”.

“Canto alle nuvole” (Song to the clouds) is a song of universal love and hope, hope that “poetry and love will change the world”. On an evocative musical carpet the voice of Anna Rita sings “I will be the music for your song to the clouds / Fire that melts the snow-fields / With words that nobody will never listen to anymore...”.

“Oltre” (Beyond) is delicate and sweet, featuring good harmony vocals inviting you to listen to the dreams and the silences of the night... “Beyond this moment, elsewhere / Beyond the mountains, beyond the heart... Beyond my destiny, to the East / Beyond my colours, beyond my mind...”.

“Otranto 14 agosto 1480” is another great track with strong traditional influences... The lyrics, in dialect, are about an attack of the Saracen pirates against the city of Otranto in 1484 and the music tries to describe it... “I can see some ships coming from the East / I can see faces painted black...”.

“Maràn Athà” (Come, Lord Jesus) features a delicate guitar arpeggio and flute... “From the scream and the cry of History / My praise shall rise up to Thee...”. The lyrics are an Aramaic prayer. Excellent the instrumental finale...

“Non gridate più” (Do not scream anymore) was inspired by “Il dolore”, a poem by Giuseppe Ungaretti. It’s a mix of modern sounds, heavy rhythms and dreamy vocal passages... “Stop killing the dead! Do not scream anymore, do not shout if you want to listen to them / If you hope to avoid death!...”.

  

“Scale fino al cielo” (Stairs to the sky) is another great song of peace and hope with a strong Oriental flavour featuring a good “heavy” guitar work... “Please, Mother Earth, cradle all the songs that were born from freedom...”.

On the whole “Madri senza terra” is a very good album, without really weak moments. Abash are not stuck in the past and their personal way to blend progressive rock and ethnic influences is very interesting... By the way, the album was re-released by the independent label Immaginifica in 2010 with a different art cover. Do not miss it, this work is a must have if you want to experience something musically fresh, full of poetry and an amazing female voice.

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

Abash: Madri senza terra (2006). Other opinions:

Tarcisio B. Moura: A great promise in the already strong italian prog scene. Very original and still very familiar. Great tunes and nice perfomances... (read the complete review HERE)

Henri Strik: This album contains a mixture of prog metal and Arabian and African musical influences. It has been done in a perfect way and I loved it at once... As far as I’m concerned Abash deserve international acclaim. Their music has many characteristics that might appeal to many people especially those with an open mind who like prog rock and are willing to listen to new, not quite common attributes in the genre... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.abash.it

http://www.myspace.com/abashband

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Abash/38769493814

PUGLIA

Heading east now, for the next leg we go back to the Adriatic coast, to PUGLIA. We go first to FOGGIA, where we can listen to a young band called Moon Eclipse (MySpace). Then we turn south to BARLETTA, best known for the Disfida di Barletta, a battle between French and Italian Knights that took place on February 13, 1503. It consisted in a mounted tournament and was won by the Italians. Here we can listen to a psychedelic prog band called Orient Express (MySpace) and to the young, interesting Il Canto della Città Ibernata (Facebook) while the near town of San Ferdinando di Puglia is home to Geologica (Facebook).

Then we pass through the town of Bisceglie, birthplace of classical guitar virtuoso and composer Mauro Giuliani. Still heading south along the coast we pass through the town of Monopoli where we can listen to two interesting emerging bands, the post rock Corridoio... Con Figure e Luci (MySpace) and La Biblioteca Deserta (MySpace) that after two demos and much trouble (including the loss of all their instruments that were stolen after a concert near Naples in 2009) have finally released a first full length album on the independent label Faro Records, Travelling Without Gravity, featuring ethereal psychedelic sounds and spacey atmospheres.

Still heading south we arrive in BARI, the capital of this region. The best known artist from Bari is probably Domenico Modugno, but in the seventies Bari also gave us some good prog bands such as Festa Mobile and Il Baricentro. The current prog scene of the city is rich in interesting and very promising bands. One of my favourites is Assenzio (MySpace) that were formed in 2004 by five skilled musicians with the aim of blending influences of classic progressive rock bands such as PFM, BMS and Area with more recent sounds. 2005 marked the release of their excellent self-produced debut album, ’Avon, an interesting concept album about the seven capital sins featuring a very good sound quality although it was completely recorded and mixed in the band’s home studio. Well, Assenzio’s guitarist Gigi Lorusso is a teacher of sound recording techniques as well! By the way, Assenzio’s members are also involved in other projects such as the very interesting La Variante Chevac (MySpace), Think Tank (Facebook) and U’Papun (MySpace).

Other interesting local bands are Floating State (MySpace), Le Marionette Ribelli (MySpace), Iniqua (MySpace), Odi et Amo (MySpace), Prometheo (Facebook) that in 2019 self-released an excellent debut album entitled D'un fuoco rapito, d'un giovane uomo, d'un amore insensato, Hora Prima (Facebook), then Chiquita Noir (MySpace), AcomeandromedA (MySpace), Telenauti (MySpace), Novaetere (Reverbnation), Noise Overtones Therapy (MySpace) and the Mediterranean ethno-pop project Radiodervish (MySpace). Members of Floating State started also a side project called Folletti di Vetro (MySpace) featuring new arrangements of Fabrizio De Andrè’s songs. Before leaving the province of Bari there’s the time to have a quick look at Ruvo di Puglia, home to Alice's Mirror (Facebook) and at Gravina in Puglia, a town west of Bari in an area called Murgia. Here we can listen to some emerging prog bands such as La Quinta Essenza (MySpace) and Divinae Laude (MySpace).  

Leaving Bari, heading south we first pass through the town of Rutigliano, also known as the “città dell’uva” (the city of grapes) because of its renowned vineyards, where another excellent band, Architrave Indipendente (MySpace), come from. The band was formed in 2004 by musicians in love with analogical sounds. Their self-produced debut album, the excellent Azetium a 8 piste, was released in 2009 only on vinyl!

Then we reach Molfetta where we can listen to the psychedelic Obscure Paths (MySpace). Then we pass through the “white town” of Ostuni, where we can listen to Trimaira (MySpace) and to Silent Tears (MySpace). Our next halt is the city of BRINDISI, where we can listen to Aufklarung (MySpace) , Bolero (Facebook) and to the psychedelic Lenula (MySpace).

Then, finally, we arrive in LECCE, the main city of an area called Salento, the south eastern extremity of Italy. This area is best known for a particular dance called pizzica and for an annual music festival dedicated to this dance, La Notte della Taranta.

 This area is home to prog bands and artists such as Abash (MySpace), I Viaggi di Madeleine (Facebook), Aria Palea (MySpace), Zaq (Bandcamp), Tempu’s (MySpace), Marcello Zappatore (Facebook), Muzak (MySpace), Shedim (MySpace), RetrAvantgarde (MySpace), the folk oriented Aedo (MySpace), the hard, dark L’Impero delle Ombre (MySpace) and the metal influenced Historia (MySpace). Some members of RertAvantgarde are also involved in a side project called Melanalogica (MySpace). 

For our next stop we head north west along the coast of the Ionian Sea, to the city of TARANTO where we conclude our visit to Puglia. The city is home to some interesting prog bands such as Plurima Mundi (MySpace), Dante Roberto's project The Circle (Facebook), Ritratto di un Mattino (MySpace), Sin Terra (Reverbnation), Exedra (Facebook), Nuclide (MySpace), Il Sogno di Rubik (Facebook), Le Meccaniche Illusioni (MySpace), Samsara (MySpace) and, in the nearby town of Grottaglie, Vino Zingaro e la Sospensione del Giudizio (MySpace).