SoulenginE
were formed in Milan in 2007 on the initiative of guitarist Ettore
Salati (who is also a member of RedZen and of the Alex Carpani Band)
and keyboardist Fabio Mancini who had just left their previous band,
The Watch. Later the line up was completed by bassist Nando De Luca
and drummer Giacomo Pacini and the band began to work on new
compositions blending vintage sounds and new ideas with a wide range
of influences going from progressive rock to jazz, from fusion to
psychedelia. After a hard work, in 2012 they released their first
full length album on the independent label Ma.Ra.Cash Records, Mind
Colours, featuring a nice art
work by Davide Guidoni that in some way tries to catch the spirit of
this work, a variegated mix of musical colours and dizzy reveries.
The album is almost completely instrumental but never boring and the
all the members of the band showcase a great musicianship.
The
excellent opener “Polheim” begins softly with a strummed acoustic
guitar pattern and a dark organ background, then the rhythm rises
while keyboards and electric guitar begin to embroider charming
melodic lines. Polheim (Home at the Pole) is the name that Roald Amundsen gave to his camp at the South Pole when he reached it with
his expedition on December 14, 1911 but this piece was also used to
comment Dante Alighieri's immortal poetry in the Musea's tribute to
his Divine Comedy. In particular, this track is related to the verses
of Purgatory – Canto VI, where the Sommo Poeta
compares Italy to a vessel without a pilot in a storm, a country that
has became savage and unmanageable on account of the greediness and
selfishness of its political class. Anyway, close your eyes and let
the music drive! You're embarking on an adventurous musical journey
through time and space.
Next
comes the dreamy “Third In Line” featuring delicate piano
passages and a spicy flavoured finale, a kind of oriental delight. It
leads to “Rain Flower”, sprinkled with Latin rock echoes that
could recall Santana, then it's the turn of the calm, jazzy “On The
Other Side”, an evocative piece full of soft nuances.
The
atmosphere of the following “Down The Street” is nightmarish and
tense. It depicts a personal crises and features English lyrics
written by Ettore Salati and Ettore's brother Giorgio (a.k.a. Joe
Sal) on vocals. It is linked to “No Way Out”, a nervous, short
instrumental. Then comes the dark “No Rewarding”.
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| SoulenginE 2012 |
“Asleep”
is another piece featuring English lyrics and the guest vocalist Joe
Sal. It's a reflective track that draws the imagine of a man who has
to get out of his dreams to take his responsibilities... “I've been
asleep / And I never thought how could it be / To be awake / See the
light, feel the sounds...”. It leads to the beautiful conclusive
track, “Challenge To An End”, a long, complex piece featuring
another guest, Davide Gandino, on flute. Well, on the whole I think
that this is very good album that it's really worth listening to.
Have a try!
You
can listen in streaming to the complete album HERE
SoulenginE:
Mind Colours (2012). Other opinions:
Thomas
Szirmay: A magnificent and compelling debut, SoulenginE is a crew
to follow, perhaps eschewing the microphone altogether and forging an
all-instrumental future, proving once again the majestic artistic
creativity emanating form the "boot". Perhaps the loveliest
artwork cover in recent decades only adds to their charm... (read
the complete review HERE)
Jerry
Lucky: Mind Colours is a very well crafted set of tunes.
SoulenginE can clearly play, and they play well together. Needless
to say if you enjoy symphonic prog with an Italian flavor I strongly
recommend you investigate SoulenginE. Mind Colours features some
great music and some excellent playing... (read the complete
review HERE)
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