THE SECOND SUN

Alias is a project that took shape in Naples in 2019 when some talented musicians, with previous experiences in bands such as Orchestra Multietnica Mediterranea and Napoli Centrale, teamed up to experiment an original kind of progressive ethno-rock blending different styles ranging from classical music and folk to jazz and classic rock. In 2020 the band self-released an interesting debut album entitled "The Second Sun" with a line up featuring Romilda Bocchetti (vocals, piano, keyboards, darbuka), Giovanni Guarrera (classical guitar, backing vocals), Ezio Felaco (bass) and Fredy Malfi (drums) plus the guest Max Fuschetto (oboe) on one track. Although among their sources of inspiration they mention King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Tangerine Dream or Terry Riley in my opinion these names could be misleading since the folk-jazz vein tends to prevail. The whole album is dedicated to the memory of Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, so the art cover by painter, writer and poet Raffaele Bocchetti represnts a psychedelic version of the Wardenclyffe Tower, an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901-1902...

The instrumental opener "Red Six" sets the atmosphere. It's a beautiful piece that blends classical music, melody and jazz and leads to the following "Pitch Black", a complex track that tries to evoke in music and words the dreams and hopes of some migrants travelling on a fragile boat and looking for a better future in a foreign land. Soon dreams turn into nightmares in a black night on a raging sea that seems on the point to swallow them at any moment... What's left is just a hint of regret and the need to breathe to survive.

"Mediterraneo Prog" is a charming instrumental track blending jazz and Middle-Eastern influences. It starts softly by a piano solo passage, then the rhythm takes off and music veers to exotic territories: try to imagine a Cantalupe Island lost in the Mediterranean sea and let the notes show you the way... The following "Around The Universe" is a dreamy piece freely based upon a poem by Raffaele Bocchetti that tells of an oneiric journey through planets and stars in the sidereal silence while the instrumental "Danza dei due mondi" (Dance of the two worlds) is a wonderful celebration of Mediterranean colours that starts by a nylon string guitar solo pattern and gradually turns into a prog tarantella that could recall PFM...

The long, complex "The Second Sun" tries to evoke in music and words the visionary experiments of Nikola Tesla. There's a subtle aura of mystery, dark notes reflect the light as tension rises and time stands still, then you get lost in a labyrinth of magnetic fields with thousand echoes thundering in your mind at the dawn of a second sun... The instrumental "Samsara" every now and again reminds me of Noa and Gil Dor and closes the album with a burst of positive energy. The title refers to the endless cycle of life through birth, death and rebirth and the music flows cheerfully, blending prog and folkloric influences...

On the whole, a successful experiment!