L'inferno
dei musici (The hell of musicians) is the fourth studio album by
Oloferne, an Italian band from Chiaravalle, a little town in the
province of Ancona. This interesting album was self-released in 2014
with a beautiful packaging featuring an art cover taken from the
triptych called The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Bosch, that in some way depicts its content. In fact, according
to an interview with the band, this album represents an existential
choice: - on the album
everything - music, lyrics and artwork - symbolizes a full immersion
into the world of art, a true descent into hell, both for the
musicians who play and for the listener. The album is a poetical
manifesto of the musician's path, we portray an imaginary world
through the eyes of a musician who, by describing it, disappears...
Oloferne's
roots date back to 1999 and the
current line up features Alessandro Piccioni (vocals, flute, bass,
guitar), Giacomo Medici (vocals, guitar, percussion), Gianluca
Agostinelli (electric and acoustic guitars), Giuseppe Cardamone
(violin) and Marco Medici (drums, percussion). There are no
keyboardists involved in this project but the overall sound is rich
and all the instruments perfectly interact weaving an original music
fabric that draws from sources of inspiration ranging from Celtic
folk to classical music, from progressive rock to Italian canzone
d'autore. Well, an
album that I think is really worth listening to...
 |
| Oloferne 2014 |
The
lively opener, “Invictus”,
is an excellent instrumental track that blends elements of Celtic
folk, Vivaldi and Jethro Tull. It begins softly by violin and
percussion, then the other instruments join adding new colours and
musical flavours. The following “Danza macabra”, depicts a
strange dance under the moon where you can see skeletons and headless
bodies frantically move while sinners and saints play the dice of a
broken Fate... “Have you already heard the darkest note of such a
kind of music? / The moon will be queen of the skull that is
whistling... Stop your march, the danse
macabre is playing
for you...”. Then comes the short “We Have No Heads”, in the
same mood, where the band interpret in a personal way Traditional
Irish Folk Song by
Denis Leary.
The
title track, “L'inferno dei musici” (The hell of musicians), is
the main course of the album. It's a beautiful suite divided into
three parts that starts with a calm section based on an acoustic
guitar arpeggio... “Here with us you'll drink the music of the
spheres / On the back the sounds are shivers / It's the garden of
earthly delight that is waiting for you / Here your damnation is your
strength / Take my hands, forget your limits...”. The seducing
lyrics invite you to relax and follow the enchanted sounds coming
from a hurdy gurdy... “Cut off your ears / And wait for the raven
that will fetch them...”. In the second section the rhythm rises
while the dream becomes a nightmare and you risk to get lost in a
ring-around-the-rosey, you're surrounded by satyrs and feeling like a smiling crucifix on
the verge of madness, sentenced to the gallows with your harp as a
scaffold. An excellent instrumental part concludes the suite.
“Soldati
di memoria” (Soldiers of memory) is a folk ballad veined of
electricity that conjures up the ghosts of unknown soldiers, victims
of useless battles, slaves of blood and glory. They're the forgotten
children of a dream that the music brings back to life... “Fragments
of mud, fragments of history / Drops of dew wake the memory up... Now
they're dreaming dancing stars / They are drops of air tightened in a
single note...”.
Then
comes “Impressioni di settembre” (Impressions of September) a
PFM's cover interpreted with good personality where violin and electric
guitar play in turn the role of Moog. The last track, “Profezie del
tempo” (Prophecies of Time), is a sweet acoustic ballad, a kind of
timeless prayer celebrating music and harmony... “Don't ask me why
/ My God is the wind / Do not heed Time's prophecies... Caress the
string of that fiddle / An ancient sound will show us the way / Time
and space are trunks and chains / That a flute can lift up and
transform into snow...”. Well, a splendid finale for a very nice
piece of art!
