A journey through the Italianprog scene

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   BETWEEN ANCIENT ROOTS AND AVANT-GARDE...

DEUS EX MACHINA were formed in Bologna in 1985 and have released six studio albums so far. Along their career the members of the band have matured a good live experience and improved their compositional skills blending challenging avant-garde passages with rock and jazz. Acoustic parts and electric ones are always well balanced and the result is a very peculiar and original sound halfway between Area and PFM. Their last work, Imparis, was released in 2008 on the American independent label CUNEIFORM RECORDS and features a CD + DVD featuring old and new stuff recorded in studio and live...

“Cinque”, their fifth album, was released in 2002, after three years of hard work and it is usually considered their best one. The line up features Alberto Piras (vocals), Fabrizio Puglisi (keyboards), Maurino Collina (guitar), Claudio Trotta (drums), Alessandro Porreca (bass) and Alessandro Bonetti (violin) plus some guests musicians. One of the characteristics of the band is the use of vocal parts in Latin. According to the band, “the use of Latin lyrics originate from the need to reconcile the melodious nature of Italian (which is difficult to transpose into rock), and the immediacy and fluency of English”. Anyway, if you don’t understand Latin don’t worry, in the booklet you’ll find the translation of the lyrics in Italian and English.

The opener “Convolutus” (Wound) starts softly with an acoustic guitar arpeggio, then violin and other instruments come in setting a neurotic and agoraphobic mood. Sometimes relations with other people and events of real life are difficult to deal with and you look for a safer exclusive inner world as a shelter... “Wound around my thought, this world meets my need for joy and simplicity / I won’t waste another drop of myself out there / This world takes away my inability to love and respect myself...”.

“Rhinoceros” (The rhinoceros) is about freedom of expression. The atmosphere is dark and surreal while music helps you to imagine a rhinoceros in a library ready to charge... “There’s a rhinoceros looking at a pile of books, you can’t imagine how many, you can’t imagine which ones, you can’t take one without making them all fall... Whatever thought is contained in them, the earth will always receive it”.

“Uomo del futuro passato” (The man of the past future) is sung in Italian. It’s a long and complex piece about the incapability to enjoy what we have because of the desire to have something more that we can’t obtain, even in love and relationships. Music features frenetic parts and calmer ones and it perfectly fits the lyrics... “I run from you and you’re the street under my feet / And I run faster and faster / Before me there’s what I never had / Behind my there’s what I’ve lost / In the middle is you, whom today I desired and tomorrow I’ll miss...”. 

“Olim sol rogavit terram I” (One day the Sun asked the Earth) is a beautiful acoustic track featuring only acoustic guitars, violin and vocals. Lyrics deal with ecological issues and depict an imaginary dialogue between the Sun and the Earth about new horizons in an upcoming future... “One day the sun asked the Earth:- How’s going? / - Better now, the cities have disappeared under thick vegetation which turned them into root drainage, nothing remains of machines and technology but a word lost in space after a radio broadcast from who knows how long ago... Life has new vigour, in fact, it’s going better now”.

“Il pensiero che porta alle cose importanti” (The thought that leads to the important things) is another track sung in Italian. Music leads you through winding alleys and dark paths inside your brain... “The thought that leads to important things is oblique / The brain hides the way with easy, close lights, excellent remedies for a tired soul...”.

“Luce” (Light) is a good instrumental  where acoustic guitars and violin are absolute protagonists. It’s full of stop and go and music every now and again reminds me of the walk of a “Pink Panther”. 

“De ordinis ratione” (The theory of order) is a dynamic and well crafted piece about the need for order and its dangerous consequences... “We order things for fear of not recognizing ourselves / We classify for fear of being different / We destroy, simplifying multiplicity to the essential / That is the only way for the world to take the forms of our ideas / Ideas born from eyes that don’t know how to see, that catch only distorted reflections of a simple denied complexity”.

Last track “Olim sol rogavit terram II” has a strong classical feeling. This time the background for the dialogue between the Sun and the Earth features a string quartet and a very peculiar and nocturnal arrangement. At the end of this piece, after a pause, you can listen to a “ghost track” featuring some sound-checks and the voices of the musicians during the recording sessions. It’s not a song but it can give you an idea of the hard work behind this excellent album...

Most of Deus Ex Machina's old albums can be legally downloaded for free from Last.fm, like Gladium Caeli (1991), Deus Ex Machina (1992), De Republica (1995), Diacronie Metronomiche (live 1996) and Non Est Ars Quae Ad Effectum Casus Venit (live 1997).

More info:
http://www.derepublica.com/ 
http://www.myspace.com/deusexmachinait
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/1559027#/deusexmachinait

Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:54

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andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 02 2010 at 10:23
	BETWEEN ANCIENT ROOTS AND AVANT-GARDE... DEUS EX MACHINA were formed in Bologna in 1985 and have released six studio albums so far. Along their career the members of the band have matured a good live experience and improved their compositional skills blending challenging avant-garde passages with rock and jazz. Acoustic parts and electric ones are always well balanced and the result is a very peculiar and original sound halfway between Area and PFM. Their last work, Imparis, was released in 2008 on the American independent label CUNEIFORM RECORDS and features a CD + DVD featuring old and new stuff recorded in studio and live... “Cinque”, their fifth album, was released in 2002, after three years of hard work and it is usually considered their best one. The line up features Alberto Piras (vocals), Fabrizio Puglisi (keyboards), Maurino Collina (guitar), Claudio Trotta (drums), Alessandro Porreca (bass) and Alessandro Bonetti (violin) plus some guests musicians. One of the characteristics of the band is the use of vocal parts in Latin. According to the band, “the use of Latin lyrics originate from the need to reconcile the melodious nature of Italian (which is difficult to transpose into rock), and the immediacy and fluency of English”. Anyway, if you don’t understand Latin don’t worry, in the booklet you’ll find the translation of the lyrics in Italian and English. The opener “Convolutus” (Wound) starts softly with an acoustic guitar arpeggio, then violin and other instruments come in setting a neurotic and agoraphobic mood. Sometimes relations with other people and events of real life are difficult to deal with and you look for a safer exclusive inner world as a shelter... “Wound around my thought, this world meets my need for joy and simplicity / I won’t waste another drop of myself out there / This world takes away my inability to love and respect myself...”. “Rhinoceros” (The rhinoceros) is about freedom of expression. The atmosphere is dark and surreal while music helps you to imagine a rhinoceros in a library ready to charge... “There’s a rhinoceros looking at a pile of books, you can’t imagine how many, you can’t imagine which ones, you can’t take one without making them all fall... Whatever thought is contained in them, the earth will always receive it”. “Uomo del futuro passato” (The man of the past future) is sung in Italian. It’s a long and complex piece about the incapability to enjoy what we have because of the desire to have something more that we can’t obtain, even in love and relationships. Music features frenetic parts and calmer ones and it perfectly fits the lyrics... “I run from you and you’re the street under my feet / And I run faster and faster / Before me there’s what I never had / Behind my there’s what I’ve lost / In the middle is you, whom today I desired and tomorrow I’ll miss...”. “Olim sol rogavit terram I” (One day the Sun asked the Earth) is a beautiful acoustic track featuring only acoustic guitars, violin and vocals. Lyrics deal with ecological issues and depict an imaginary dialogue between the Sun and the Earth about new horizons in an upcoming future... “One day the sun asked the Earth:- How’s going? / - Better now, the cities have disappeared under thick vegetation which turned them into root drainage, nothing remains of machines and technology but a word lost in space after a radio broadcast from who knows how long ago... Life has new vigour, in fact, it’s going better now”. “Il pensiero che porta alle cose importanti” (The thought that leads to the important things) is another track sung in Italian. Music leads you through winding alleys and dark paths inside your brain... “The thought that leads to important things is oblique / The brain hides the way with easy, close lights, excellent remedies for a tired soul...”. “Luce” (Light) is a good instrumental where acoustic guitars and violin are absolute protagonists. It’s full of stop and go and music every now and again reminds me of the walk of a “Pink Panther”. “De ordinis ratione” (The theory of order) is a dynamic and well crafted piece about the need for order and its dangerous consequences... “We order things for fear of not recognizing ourselves / We classify for fear of being different / We destroy, simplifying multiplicity to the essential / That is the only way for the world to take the forms of our ideas / Ideas born from eyes that don’t know how to see, that catch only distorted reflections of a simple denied complexity”. Last track “Olim sol rogavit terram II” has a strong classical feeling. This time the background for the dialogue between the Sun and the Earth features a string quartet and a very peculiar and nocturnal arrangement. At the end of this piece, after a pause, you can listen to a “ghost track” featuring some sound-checks and the voices of the musicians during the recording sessions. It’s not a song but it can give you an idea of the hard work behind this excellent album... Most of Deus Ex Machina's old albums can be legally downloaded for free from Last.fm, like Gladium Caeli (1991), Deus Ex Machina (1992), De Republica (1995), Diacronie Metronomiche (live 1996) and Non Est Ars Quae Ad Effectum Casus Venit (live 1997). More info: http://www.derepublica.com/ http://www.myspace.com/deusexmachinait http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/1559027#/deusexmachinait Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:54

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 04 2010 at 15:27
	ANOTHER COME BACK... Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno will play live in November at Prog Exhibition... Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno were one of the many bands of the Italian prog scene of the early seventies. The line up featured Luciano Regoli (vocals, acoustic guitar), Nanni Civitenga (guitar), Stefano Piermarioli (keyboards), Damaso Grassi (flute, sax), Manlio Zacchia (bass) and Francesco Froggio Francica (drums, percussion). They were from Rome and they released only one album before split up. Anyway, the musicians where involved also in other projects, for instance singer Luciano Regoli had a previous experience in a band called Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray (that never released any album) with future Goblin’s leader Claudio Simonetti and, after RRR disbanded, he and guitarist Nanni Civitenga played together in another band called Samadhi... “Per... un mondo di cristallo” is a concept album based on a story by Marina Comin, who wrote the lyrics. Music and words try to describe the feelings of an astronaut who comes back to the Earth and finds only desolation and ruins... The planet where he had lived before his space journey does not exist anymore, around him there’s nothing (“Nulla”). The first track is a short introduction dominated by a church-like organ then, on the second track, acoustic guitar and flute greet the astronaut’s awake. The protagonist climbs on a rock (“Su una rupe”) and realizes that he’s living a kind of nightmare because everything around him is dead by now... The music is complex with shifting tempos... “Men, if you could climb on this rock and see what you have done... You would have thought more about what you were doing...”. Then anguish and fear, it’s like if the world was falling down and the protagonist remembers the happy days of his past “like a tree that is using its roots”. Here the music is uneasy and it reminds me of Il Balletto di Bronzo’s “Ys” (“Il mondo cade su di me”), then turns into a “jazz mood” (“Nel mio quartiere”). The second part of the album begins with a dramatic atmosphere, a threatening shadow without a smile is rising on the horizon. When the protagonist realizes that the merciless shadow is the “humankind” the rhythm turns into tarantella... The lost world was nothing but a puppet show, a stage where men were acting like marionettes (“Un palco di marionette”). The music here describes the madness of the humankind perfectly mixing a wide range of moods and rhythms. The final track is dreamy, with acoustic guitar and flute in the forefront... Now the protagonist has nothing in his mind but crystal dreams (“Sogni di cristallo”) that melt back into the mist... On the whole a very good album, with a beautiful art cover. Perhaps it’s not flawless (lyrics are a little bit naïf and vocal parts are not “impeccable”) but it’s really worth to listen to... If you like bands like BMS, Le Orme or Il Balletto di Bronzo this album will be an excellent addition to your collection! In 2008 Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno, came to life again on the initiative of singer and guitarist Luciano Regoli and in 2010 they released a new album on the independent label BTF, “Il pittore volante” (The flying painter). Along with Luciano Regoli the line up on this work features the veterans Roberto Gardin (bass, guitar), Nanni Civitenga (bass, guitar, keyboards), Walter Martino (drums) and some prestigious guest musicians like Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, Lino Vairetti, Nicola Di Staso, Maurizio Pariotti and Carl Verheyen just to name a few. Anyway “Il pittore volante” is mainly the brainchild of Luciano Regoli who wrote music and lyrics and conceived it as a concept album inspired by a book with the same title, a kind of travelogue that he wrote and published some years ago and that he dedicated to the late Iginio Gonni, a painter and a friend, dead in 2003. The basic idea was that of an old painter who flies and look at his life from above. On the booklet you can find not only the lyrics but also a picture for every piece painted by Luciano Regoli himself. As for the music, the overall sound is not stuck in the seventies and on this work you can perceive even metal influences along with a more typical Italian progressive style. Well, during the nineties Luciano Regoli had been a member of the prog metal band DGM and he don’t disown this experience... The opener “Il cambiamento” (The changing) tells of a spiritual metamorphosis. It starts softly with a mystical atmosphere, then hard guitar riffs and harmonica introduce the changing... “It happened in those days / Something revolted inside me / Fast as a blizzard... Alone in that room I fell asleep / Dark dreams / Alone in that room I woke up in discomfort... Ah! I was changing and I didn’t want it / But I was coming to life again / Yes! I was coming to life again...”. “Il vecchio” (The old man) begins with a piano solo introduction. It’s a tense and melancholic track depicting the meeting with an old friend who has just had a stroke... “They had cut off his hair / That old madman was trudging up the hill / Marked by the paralysis that had darkened his mind, his limbs, his fingers / I remember him just a few months before / Enormous, disdainful, with a magnificent beard...They had cut off his hair”. “Il fuoco” (The fire) features a duet with sweet and dreamy female vocals and an ethereal and suggestive nocturnal atmosphere. Lyrics and music depict fire as a metaphor of fear in front of a natural impending event, a fire burning false fairy tales, pains, fears, desires and thoughts... “The night was over there, in front of me / Some rocks were burning / Above me gentle wings were flying away / They were flying high, they moved the air with a deaf noise / So I followed them, with the light behind my shoulders / Towards dark clouds...”. “Eagle Mountain” is a long and complex track that tells about a journey through the desert in North America. A good acoustic guitar intro by Nicola Di Staso (former member of Libra and in the line up of Daemonia) leads to new horizons and spectacular panoramas where two friends enjoy the quiet and strange atmosphere of the desert until, in the middle of a magnificent and silent landscape, they find an old truck. There’s a sudden change of mood. The truck stands still but the engine is running, the driver is naked and... dead! “He let us staring at him while the night was falling in us / They day after in a café people were whispering about him / But the air was clear / We went out / I switched the engine on...”. “La mente” (The mind) features a dark and nervous mood. It’s a kind of dive into madness and lyrics draw images that seem coming out from a Stephen King’s novel. An enormous wasp trying to enter the room, an agoraphobic scene in the subway... “My God! What is happening to me? I’m alone, with my only enemy / I’m alone, with my ego...”. “L’uomo nuovo” (The new man) is another beautiful track. It features the arrangement by Claudio Simonetti and it seems conceived as a thriller score. It is about fear, the fear that a man has to overcome to reach knowledge. “At the beginning of the tunnel, under the subway / That noise of water running, under the subway tunnel / I paid attention but I couldn’t understand the origin of that noise...”. “Le anime” (The souls) features a slow pace and a haunting mood. It depicts a nocturnal landscape. It’s midnight on Elba Island and while the protagonist walks back home along a narrow street he can see the people that used to live there when he was a child and that now are nothing but shadows. “They can’t see me / But I recognize them all...”. “Raoul” is settled in Paris. It’s a complex piece that starts as a strange mix of hard rock and Italian melody (a peculiar blend between Aerosmith and Quartetto Cetra I dear say), then rhythm calms down and the atmosphere becomes dramatic. Music and lyrics depict a drunken clochard who’s sleeping under a cardboard... “What made him still appear like a man was just a name / That name tattooed on his wrist / Only that name, Raoul...”. “La spiaggia” (The beach) is settled in Portugal. It’s an amazing short ballad featuring a swirling flute and a vocal style that could remind of the Italian minstrel Angelo Branduardi. It tells of a strange meeting on a solitary beach on the Atlantic Ocean with a threatening sea that seemed like dog on the chain, desperately barking because it couldn’t go any further, blocked by the high cliffs... “I felt like I couldn’t breath on the beach / The rocks behind me and the thundering sea in front of me / All night long with that deaf noise...”. A good finale for an excellent album, one of the best releases of 2010 so far. By the way, a special box set edition containing the album and the book was released for collectors and die hard fans. You can read the book (in Italian) also on the official website of the artist. More info: http://www.lucianoregoli.com/ Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:27

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 08 2010 at 14:57
	A CHALLENGING ALBUM... Nichelodeon define themselves as a “chemical laboratory engaged in performing audio-visual crafts”. Indeed, this project is mainly the brainchild of Claudio Milano, vocalist and composer who started to work on it 1997. In 2007 he gathered around him a first line up for some live performances and in 2008 a first self-produced live album was released, “Cinemanemico”. In June 2009 the line up changed and now features Claudio Milano (vocals), Francesco Chiapperini (sax, clarinet, flute), Andrea Illuminati (piano, melodica, bombarda), Andrea Murada (percussion, didgeridoo, noise effects, flute, vocals), Max Pierini (electric counterbass, ocarina) Luca Pissavini (viola, synth, toys, field recordings, duduk, theremin) and Lorenzo Sempio (guitars, synth). In September 2010 was released on the independent label Lizard Records “Il gioco del silenzio” (The game of silence), the first Nicheodeon’s studio album. It features many guest musicians and the overall sound is extremely rich and colourful. Sources of inspiration range from John Cage to opera, from Kurt Weil and Bertold Brecht to jazz-rock and psychedelia. Well, experimental music is not everyone’s cup of tea but in this case the result is a well balanced concoction of styles that gives strength to the poetical content of the lyrics and Claudio Milano peculiar vocal style and theatrical approach help to convey emotions. The opener “Fame” (Hunger) features a troubled mood and an uneasy atmosphere. Music is obsessive and discomfort seems leading to madness, then tension melts in a desperate invocation... “Light that knows the secret of my name, just tell me you exist, that life is too short to repress myself / Light that shines at the recall of my name, let me discover where you are, for I feel like sleeping / Let this hunger be quenched...”. “Fiaba” (Fable) is one of my favourite pieces on this album. It’s a kind of surreal and poetical description of a bombardment... “Lying like lizards, we suddenly were ballerinas dancing between the seeds that thundered / With the tails, souls never grew again, with a shout:- War! / The sun darkened us...”. The mood is almost dreamy and vocals soar like a prayer... “Free me from the hate inside of me / Free me from the hate that is me...”. “Claustrofilia” (Claustrophilia) is agoraphobic and tense. Sometimes is difficult to keep up with the frenzy rhythm of a busy life and the desire to find an artificial shelter and shut out the troubles is strong... “Like many dolls at the window on a plane that sooner or later will fall / Freer than ever, freer than ever, freer than ever, freer...”. “Malamore e la Luna” (Evilove and the moon) is melancholic and haunting. A romantic tango turns to nightmare depicting an ill and evil love... “Rare, thieving and greedy for life recklessness, our eyes, black holes looking through each other / What connects them is the alien frame that scares and bares and all the rest is waiting, deceit and cannibalism... Proud pantomimes of insane superstructures, we defend a mosaic of lies that we no longer distinguish from our skin / Behind our face only a blind emptiness is left to be kept / Ashen moon, shine! / Without hiding your veil / Let me be the rain to wash you and don’t hold your breath / Drop of glass, reflect now each of your longings for light / No longer scared of knowing how to shatter into a thousand drops of wrath...”. A great track! “Amanti in guerra” (Lovers at war) is a touching reflection about love and hate. Two lovers try to find a shelter while it’s raining confetti of stone and in a nocturnal background you can hear a soaring dirge... “Mute silences have warmed hate as a child / But the shooter’s children, neither you nor I have ever mourned / Ah Israel! Ah, Israel! / Tomorrow we’ll find the courage to tell ourselves:- I don’t know what I want, who am I, who are you? / Fear for a stroke of gunpowder is too cheap / No, it’s not worth your I love you / Will we ever be able to surrender and fly through the wrinkles that life is giving us?...”. “Ombre cinesi” (Chinese shadows) is a surreal experimental track. It could remind of some Area’s experiments but in my opinion the result is not completely convincing... “I’ve dug galleries in long unfocused dreams between warm sheets of guilt at my wakening...”. “Apnea” (Apnea) is another experimental track featuring an uneasy atmosphere and breathless passages... “Never suggest answers, not asking questions, it’s like building yourself a prison / Not acknowledging confines and limits is not the way out... You have to be in peace with yourself to learn how to love...”. “Il giardino degli altri” (Other people’s garden) starts like a mantra. It’s a kind of psychoanalytic journey back into childhood where you can listen to nursery rhymes veined of a psychedelic and dark mood... “I put my dreams in a well / Then when evening comes secretly I look down on them from above and I feel fear / Fear of seeing them in the dark, drowning slowly / They are so deep, they are so far away...”. “La corsa dei trattori” (The race of the tractors) is a short instrumental credited as a ghost track that leads to “Se” (If), an experimental piece featuring lyrics taken from a famous poem by Cecco Angiolieri (1260-1312). Well, in my opinion the experiment was not successful and I think that this is the weakest track on this album. “Lana di vetro” (Glass wool) is definitely better. It features folksy passages and pungent reflections about life and education... “How can we surrender to the recklessness of a child and invent ourselves mothers not to acknowledge our failures / If those who never die... Kill?”. Last track “Ciò che rimane” (What’s left behind) is long and complex. It begins with a delicate piano solo, then music takes different directions... “Let your reality explode, then swim in the depths of what’s left behind / Let the truth explode, then rush to drink what’s left behind...”. A beautiful and unconventional epic piece... On the whole a few weak moments don’t waste this interesting and challenging work that lasts about 78 minutes. Along with the CD comes also a DVD including the live version of some tracks from the album and a “cine-concerto” featuring music inspired by the last episode of “Twin Peaks”. Well, I’m sure this will be an excellent addition to your prog collection... You can listen in streaming to the complete album... Just click HERE More info: http://www.myspace.com/nichelodeonband http://www.facebook.com/pages/NICHELODEON/106225016084707

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 13 2010 at 10:32
	FOLKLORE FROM LAZIO Prog folk lovers could find some interest in a band from Frosinone called MUSICISTI DEL BASSO LAZIO that recently released an album called Terra di fuoco... More info: http://www.progettombl.it/ http://www.myspace.com/musicistibassolazio Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:31

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 14 2010 at 15:43
	FROM THE ETERNAL CITY... ENRICO CAPUANO is a committed folk rocker from Rome influenced by prog. More info: http://www.enricocapuano.it/ http://www.myspace.com/enricocapuano Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:33

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 17 2010 at 04:02
	MEDITERRANEAN SOUNDS FROM LAZIO NOVALIA were formed in Rieti in 1985 on the initiative of multi-instrumentalists Raffaello Simeoni and Stefano Saletti. Their music features strong Mediterranean influences and should be of some interest for prog folk lovers... Raffaello Simeoni has also released two solo albums. The last one, Mater Sabina, was released in 2009. He is also involved in some side projects... More info: http://www.raffaellosimeoni.it/ http://www.raffaellosimeoni.com/ http://www.myspace.com/raffaellosimeoni Stefano Saletti is also involved in another interesting folk project called Piccola Banda Ikona... More info: http://www.stefanosaletti.it/ http://www.myspace.com/stefanosaletti http://www.myspace.com/piccolabandaikona Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:39

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 20 2010 at 14:55
	ITALIAN PROG FROM SWITZERLAND... The release of “The Sanctuary”, the new album by Alex Carpani and his band, is scheduled for October 30th, 2010. By the way, you don’t know who Alex Carpani is? Well, 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, his 2007 album, “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 Tagliapietra 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... Read an interview with Alex Carpani HERE More info: http://www.alexcarpani.com/ http://www.myspace.com/alexcarpani Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:42

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 22 2010 at 08:15
	OSANNA & DAVID JACKSON: Prog Family The present incarnation of Osanna took off on the initiative of founder member Lino Vairetti, who gathered around him a bunch skilful young musicians like Gennaro Barba (drums), Fabrizio Fedele (guitar), Nello D’Anna (bass), Sasà Priore keyboards) and Lino’s son Irvin Vairetti (synth). In 2008 they were in tour, with David Jackson as an additional member, performing new versions of their best pieces. I had the chance to attend one of their shows and I was struck by the vitality and the enthusiasm of all the musicians on stage. You can watch their live show at Verona Progfest 2010 clicking on the links below: UNOTV Indie Music Web TV - Osanna live 2010 - part one UNOTV Indie Music Web TV - Osanna live 2010 - part two Osanna could have tried to capture the energy of their performances in a live album, instead... They chose to record the new versions in studio looking for the best sound quality available and the precious help of friends such as David Cross, Tim Stevens, Gianni Leone, Oderigi Lusi, Sophya Baccini and others... Well, the result, “Prog Family” is not a simple collection of old stuff and is absolutely good (far better than their previous work “Uomini e miti”). Osanna’s family tree has got deep roots and the “hot gold” of their music still glitters, although melted and reshaped with a modern taste. All the tracks are linked as in a long suite and every track merge imperceptibly into something else... The opener and classical inspired “Tema”, from the OST of “Milano Calibro 9”, melts into a fiery “Animale senza respiro” (from Palepoli) that ends into a nervous “Mirror Train” from the debut album “L’uomo”... Osanna and David Jackson perfectly work together giving new life to pieces of music that are part of the history of Italian progressive rock, the music flows for more than seventy minutes without weak moments and the sound is perfect. Less known episodes like “’A zingara” and “Ce vulesse ce vulesse” from the album “Suddance” or “Il castello dell’Es” from “Landscapes Of Life” here are brilliant and convincing like the tracks coming out from “Palepoli” or “L’uomo”. There are many changes of atmosphere and rhythm, from classical to traditional “canzone napoletana” (you can even find quotes of “Funicolì Funicolà” and “O sole mio”), from the bluesy and Mediterranean “Neapolitan Power” to the British prog of VDGG’s “Theme One” it’s like a long run “without a breath” from the start to the finish line, where you won’t stop! The packaging is very good as well, featuring a funny art cover design by Lino Vairetti and a booklet with many pictures and all the lyrics. I’m sure that this album will be an excellent addition for every Italianprog lover collection! More info: http://www.osanna.it/ http://www.myspace.com/osannamusic http://www.facebook.com/pages/OSANNA/54613905780

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 24 2010 at 08:26
	PROG FOLK FROM FRIULI LA MUNGLESA are an interesting prog folk project from Udine. I’m sure that fans of Malicorne and Pentangle will appreciate their music... More info: http://www.myspace.com/munglesa http://www.nota.it/etichette/world/la_munglesa

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 25 2010 at 14:26
	FOLK PROG FROM THE CAPITAL SEQUOIA BISQUITS come from Rome and prog folk lovers should be interested in their music. In 2010 they released a self produced debut album, Legno Liquido... You can listen to the complete album in streaming clicking HERE More info: http://www.myspace.com/sequoiabisquits Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:47

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 26 2010 at 15:15
	PROG FOLK FROM LOMBARDIA LA CANTINA DI ERMETE come from Ospitaletto, in an area of the province of Brescia called Franciacorta. They blend prog with traditional music, lyrics are in dialect... If you don't understand "Lumbard", the video below is subtitled in English... More info: http://www.lacantinadiermete.it/ http://www.myspace.com/lacantinadiermete

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 27 2010 at 11:17
	LOST TRAINS AND ACOUSTIC SOUNDS... IL CAFFE’ DEI TRENI PERSI come from Bologna. The name of the band means Lost Trains Coffee and their music is the result of a nice blend of influences, from Italian “canzone d’autore” to classical, from Django Reinhardt to Jethro Tull. So far they have released just two demo EPs that you can listen on their MySpace page... More info: http://www.caffedeitrenipersi.it/ http://www.myspace.com/caffedeitrenipersi http://www.facebook.com/pages/Il-Caffe-dei-Treni-Persi/131707426865219

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 28 2010 at 08:48
	MORE PROG FROM GENOVA... GIORGIO CESARE NERI is an Italian prog artist from Genova, a composer and multi instrumentalist that in the past worked mainly on soundtracks for theatre plays. Logos, released in 2009 for the independent label Black Widow Records, is his debut album. Giorgio Cesare Neri composed, arranged and recorded this work in his home studio playing electric and acoustic guitars, bass, mandola, dulcimer piano, keybords, sequencer, flute and percussion. Some guests musicians like Roberto Maragliano (drums), Giuseppe Alvaro (vocals), Gian Castello (flute), Roberto Tiranti (vocals) and Vittorio Ristagno (recitative vocals) contributed to enrich the sound. The result is excellent and the album is really worth listen to. “Logos” is conceived as a spiritual path that begins with birth and leads to the final curtain of death, passing through life with sudden bursts of energy, cosmic rides, broken hopes, melancholic feelings, split ups, dreams, wars and moments of joy and quiet. Spacey guitars and keyboards can melt in a catholic mass from where soars a prayer in Latin, like in “Id & Trad”, identity and tradition. Frenzy rhythms with electric guitar and keyboards in the forefront can give way to quiet and reflexive passages where recitative vocals quote Plato or Nietzsche... The spiritual and musical world of Giorgio Ceasare Neri is full of vitality and surprises, with sudden changes of mood and atmosphere, from mystic ragas to proud marching beats, from psychedelic guitar solos to dramatic and delicate piano passages My favourite tracks are “Tuona il cannone”, a beautiful song about the absurdity of war and false morality, featuring lyrics and lead vocals by Giuseppe Alvaro, where Italian melody is blended with Celtic influences, and the long and complex instrumental “L’ultima danza” (The Last Dance”), where you can find some echoes of PFM. Anyway the album doesn’t have really weak moments and the music flows fluently for more than 50 minutes without falls of tension. More info: http://www.myspace.com/giorgiocneri http://it-it.facebook.com/pages/GCNeri-BAND/157491004269486 Giorgio Cesare Neri was also one of the founder members of a band called AGARTHI SOUND FACTORY. The band was formed in the mid nineties and had an ephemeral life. Anyway in 2008 old members joined again and the band came back to life... More info: http://www.myspace.com/agarthisoundfactory

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 29 2010 at 11:19
	NEWS FROM EMILIA TEN MIDNIGHT, a progressive Rock band from Bologna (see post #2), have just released their third album on the independent label Mellow Records, The City Of Angels. It’s a concept album inspired by a John Crowley’s novel, Engine Summer... More info: http://www.tenmidnight.it/ http://www.myspace.com/tenmidnight http://www.reverbnation.com/tenmidnight http://www.facebook.com/pages/TenMidnight/33474700915

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 31 2010 at 11:35
	FOLK JAZZ FROM LOMBARDIA DISSOI LOGOI are an open project based in Milano. They blend Mediterranean and Eastern influences with jazz and prog... More info: http://www.dissoilogoi.com/ http://www.myspace.com/dissoilogoi Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:44

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 01 2010 at 08:49
	MORE PROG FROM LOMBARDIA AD MAIORA were formed in December 2009 in Milano on the initiative of some experienced musicians in love with prog... More info: http://www.myspace.com/admaioraprogrock Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:46

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 02 2010 at 13:02
	PROG FROM THE ALPS LA GUERRIGLIERA come from Arco, in the Province of Trento. They were formed in 1982 and had been active until 1989. After a long hiatus, in 2007 the old members met again and gave new life to their project... More info: http://www.laguerrigliera.it/ http://www.myspace.com/guerrigliera

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 03 2010 at 09:03
	A NEW PROG OPERA COMING SOON... Composer Toni Verde (Myspace), former member of the prog band from Napoli SAINT JUST, is behind a new project that should be of interest for prog lovers, a rock opera called L’ARCA DI GIADA. The debut show is scheduled in Rome at Palladium Theatre on 2nd December 2010. More info: http://www.arcadigiada.com/ http://arcadigiada.blogspot.com/ http://www.myspace.com/arcadigiada

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 07 2010 at 11:28
	OF FAIRIES AND WITCHES... VIOLA DRUNKEN were formed in 2003 in Mazzarino, a small town in the province of Caltanissetta, in the heart of Sicily. They blend hard rock and psychedelia with Italian canzone d’autore and touches of seventies prog. Their second album was released in 2009 and it’s a concept one, Di fate e streghe (Of Fairies and Witches). You can listen to the complete album in streaming, just click HERE. You can also legally download for free their first album Parol, released in 2006. Just click HERE More info: http://www.violadrunken.it/vd/ http://www.myspace.com/violadrunken http://www.facebook.com/violadrunken Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:50

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 11 2010 at 12:05
	MORE PROG FROM LOMBARDIA EMMABLU come from Varese. If you like hard prog and psychedelia check their music. They have just released “Eden”, their second album. You can listen to it in streaming. Just click HERE More info: http://www.emmablu.com/ http://www.myspace.com/emmablusuperrock Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:52