WATERLINE

Alex Carpani was born in Switzerland in 1970 of an Italian father and a French mother. Later he moved to Italy and graduated in Musicology at the University of Bologna. As a composer and musician his activities and interests range from soundtracks for cinema and theatre to electronic and progressive rock. From 1990 to 2007 he self-produced many works without a great success, then he met with Le Orme's singer Aldo Taglipietra and his career suddenly took another direction...

According to Alex Carpani's official website, "Waterline" is a progressive rock concept album dedicated to the thin line dividing the world emerged from the water (the familiar one) from the submerged world (the unknown one). Originally conceived as an instrumental project, it has become an album with lyrics and vocals thanks to Aldo Tagliapietra. It was composed and recorded as a demo in three weeks by Alex Carpani in his home-studio, then Alex sent it to Aldo Tagliapietra, who liked the project and connected him with the American independent prog label Cypher Arts. Alex Carpani met Cypher Arts' director Dan Shapiro in Los Angeles and the album was finally refined and released in 2007 with the help of many musicians of the American prog scene and the art cover by Paul Whitehead. The result is excellent and if you like the works of bands like Le Orme, BMS, early Genesis and ELP I'm sure you'll like this work too.

The opener "The Siren And The Mariner" should be a true delight for symphonic prog lovers. It starts with a tasteful classical intro that leads to a duet between the voice of the mariner Aldo Taglipietra, who sings in Italian, and the voice of the siren, the guest singer Beatrice Casagrande, who answers in English... "Your voice shines like the sun on the sea... Come to me and hear me sing / Leave behind your hopes and fears...". Then, after an instrumental break featuring an electric guitar solo, Aldo Taglipietra concludes... "I'm losing myself into the light / Following your voice... I'm feeling like a leaf lost in the sea".

"The Levees' Break" is a beautiful and dreamy instrumental featuring delicate flute passages and shifting tempos. Next comes the darker "In The Rocks" that tries to depict with music and words the feelings of the survivors sheltered on the rocks after the wreckage of their ship, into the mist...

The solemn "Reclaimed" is another beautiful instrumental track that leads to the quiet navigation on the clear waters of "Agua Claro"... "A new direction covers the past / Take the white wave / Ride towards the sun...". "Starcurrents" is more dramatic and mystical. The navigation leads here to a path of stars without frame, a metaphysical journey into the space...

The calm instrumental "Song Of The Pond" features a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio and dreamy flute passages leading to a final joyful section... "A Gathering Storm" is more aggressive, with the sax in the forefront and a tasteful jazzy feeling while the following "The Waterfall" begins with a cascade of notes played by piano then joined by the other instruments for another musical ride...

On "Catch The Wave" the saxophone leads the dance until an acoustic break, then vocals soar... "With no more fears / I ride the wave towards the open sea / In harmony whit this sea / I can't fall / I can't fail...". An interesting arrangement of J.S. Bach's "Prelude In C Min." concludes this excellent album.

Not necessarily the vocals of Aldo Taglipietra and the art cover of Paul Whitehead make the difference between a very good album and a masterpiece. On this work in some passages Aldo's vocals seem almost "unnatural", like if he had tried to make an effort to sing in a different way and with a lower register than on Le Orme's works. Nonetheless I enjoyed the music and I'm looking forward to a new Alex Carpani's album...