PLURIMA MUNDI

The excellent opener "Eurasia" is a long, complex instrumental piece that starts with a drum solo part, then the sound of the violin lead us from Venice to Asia and back through the Silk Road. You can hear strong classical influences with the shadow of Vivaldi looming large, but this particular journey goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere and all you have to do is set your imagination free and let the music drive...

The following "E mi vedrai... Per te" (And you'll see me... For you) every now and again reminds me slightly of Opus Avantra and tells in music and words of a burning, sensual passion and of a lost love that the protagonist would like to take back. A dream that could turn to nightmare. In fact, in my opinion, the operatic, theatrical vocals of Grazia Maremonti conjure up the image of a crazy, hysterical, dangerous woman...

The disquieting "L. ...Tu per sempre" (L. ...You forever) tells of another tormented love story. The atmosphere is dark, the music is closer to Goblin's horror soundtracks than to dreamy emotional landscapes. Here the music and lyrics evoke a love that burns like a raging fire in the heart of the protagonist, but her lover is missing. She runs to the border of the night, her lover now is like a haunting ghost with an icy look. The wind is blowing, time passes by but in the darkness the memory of a lost summer dream shines on...

"Male interiore (La mia età)" (Inner disease - My age) starts softly, by an acoustic guitar arpeggio, the atmosphere is hypnotic and tense. The hermetic lyrics and operatic vocals express the need to open your heart to the universe and follow the rhythm of its notes while the music takes rough trails with sudden accelerations and unexpected turnarounds... Then a shortened version of "L. ...Tu per sempre" closes the album.

On the whole, an interesting work that is really worth listening to.

The opener "Ortus confusus" is an instrumental piece that starts softly, with a dreamy atmosphere and a strong classical flavour. Then the rhythm rises for a short passage that recalls a folkish dance led by the violin that turns into a swinging jazz part with the piano in the forefront. Finally the violin returns to drive back the music in a classical world following other directions...

Next comes "Nei ricordi del tempo" (In the memories of time) that starts by a calm section veined of nostalgia. The music and lyrics evoke the memories of a lost love emerging from an inner sea of emotions, then the rhythm rises, the memories turn into a vortex and begin to dance in circles, hand in hand with time. Everything turns around like in an eternal come back...

The long, complex "Laboratorio 30" (Laboratory 30) is a dreamy piece that goes through many changes in mood and rhythm. The music and lyrics evoke new forms and colours coming to life as darkness falls down, tableaux painted in vivid colours, an illusory world of modernity and brilliant night entertainment where every novelty becomes a fatal attraction. Pictures of a vanity fair where you can get lost between temptation and deceit...

The last track, "Aria" (Air), features the guest vocalist Lino Vairetti interacting with Grazia Maremonti. The music and lyrics evoke the sense of freedom that you can experience by breathing fresh air after escaping from the prison of your daily grind. Mediterranean influences conjure up an enchanted, mysterious atmosphere as a new emotional world opens its gates and invites you to come in. The night hugs and protect you...

On the whole, a very good work.

How much to say about an album and the music of a band will always be a key issue for any writer. In this case the key aspects of this album are fairy easy to identify however, despite this production being rather expressive. Vintage era progressive rock is the name of this particular game, in this case art rock with a liberal amount of impulses from classical music in particular and quite a few from jazz as well. Explored within a progressive rock context, with the violin as the key and dominant instrument. An album to seek out for those who find such a description to be intriguing.

The album opens with the instrumental ''Ortus confuses'', a good mix of Classical-based violin drives and piano-led Jazz/Fusion with a nice amount of energy.''Nei ricordi del tempo'' will soften things.Driven by the symphonic violin passages of Monopoli, the dreamy and crystalline vocals of Maremonti and the overall dramatic atmosphere with some great guitar and piano work, this tracks comes like cross between OUTER LIMITS and CONQUEROR.''Laboratoria 30'' is the longest and more complicated track of the EP by far, featuring a fair amount of sudden breaks and dramatic interplays, alternating between fiery and calm atmospheres and highlighted by the ethereal voice of Maremonti along with the adventurous performances on violins, piano and guitars.''Aria'' features the guest appearance of Osanna's Lino Vairetti on vocals, however the tracks is rather the weakest in here with too many vocals and confusing Funk beats among the interesting instrumental prog parts.

Plurima Mundi are definitely a band with potential.''Atto 1'' was just a door to a full-length release, which hopefully sees the light someday.Recommended to a wide spectrum of fans, including Fusion buffers, Symphonic Rock followers and Classical Music lovers.

This is an EP full of memorable melodies, intricate songwriting, and excellent musicianship. And above all, the feeling I have after listening to the four songs (roughly based on the four elements, earth, wind, fire, and air, respectively) is that all of the essential elements are there (pun intended, sorry) for incredible growth in their future releases. This album, though short, is outstanding and well worth seeking.

The band is fronted by virtuosic violinist Massimiliano Monopoli, and the violin is definitely the lead instrument in every song. The keyboards are handled by Francesco Pagliarulo, whose choice of timbre is usually electric or acoustic piano, and the effect is usually one of coloring and atmosphere. Guitarist Vincenzo Zecca plays a similar role, often taking lead but usually contributing to texture. The rhythm section is excellent, with Massimo Bozza on bass and Pierfrancesco Caramia on drums. The beautiful voice of Grazia Maremonti pulls everything together and provides many magical moments, especially when serving as a foil for the violin. I should note that Lino Vairetti from OSANNA guests on the last song, "Aria," trading vocals with Grazia in a fabulous interchange of ideas and contrasting tones and styles.

My favorite track is the longest, the almost eleven minute "Laborotorio 30." On this track you will find the essence of what I think PLURIMA MUNDI is trying to do. There is an excellent juxtaposition of styles, including classical, jazz, folk, funk, and straight symphonic prog, with interesting rhythmic ideas and melodies. The song begins with furious, angular themes being doubled by violin and keyboards, then by the guitar, always with the bass and drums providing propulsive texture. This segues into beautiful soaring melodies, highlighting the violin and then Grazia's beautiful voice. Back and forth goes the transition, creating an overall wonderful pastiche of sound and emotion.

I'm very enthusiastic about this band! This album is excellent and offers a taste of what we can expect in the future. 4.5 stars, rounded down for now, because I look forward to some growth coming over the horizon.

Plurima Mundi is a band with a knack for effortlessly jumping from style to style, with an equal part of good fun and serious skill in the compositional department to make it all work in the end. Ortos Confusus, the first track, is a perfect example of it. Melodramatic melancholia grows into a sunny, kind of Irish violin melody that falls into a sprawling, "É Festa"-propulsive theme that truly makes me think of the greats in Italian prog. Once you come back from the comparisons the music is now in jazz territory with walking bass and a nifty, playful piano beefing up the soundscape. And after that there's even more - symphonic, spiralling whirls of violin-saturated up-tempo sympho-rock that eventually concludes this song in a fashionably abrupt way. And that's just four minutes of music.

Nei Ricordi Del Tempo has a tender, slightly lounge-infused sound with soft-spoken guitar and the ever-present violin accompanying the emotional presence in Grazia Maremonti's vocals. Bordering on the sugary mediocrity of many Italian ballads, it's salvaged by some more of that tasteful, subtle intricacy and a strangely Kansas-esque excursion towards the end. Nice!

The "epic" Laboratorio 30 is definitely the high-point here. Initially busy and nervous and with that slightly disturbing touch of stressful paranoia that makes Dedicato A Frazz and Ys such gems. This is a powerful showcase of the band's assembled talent. Classy, classic and clever RPI played with passion. A pleasant return to more mellow and melodic territory serves as a welcome, under-stated break before the frenzy takes over again. For some reason though, there's a jarringly sweet middle-section where the violin instead shows an uglier side as sappy "string arrangement" backing. Rambling on for a bit too long that one, but soon forgotten during a jumpy, intense display in a calculated pseudo-Gentle Giant type of section. Great fun with mathematically applied guitar and fabulous, edgy solo runs from piano and violin (again reminding me of early Kansas). Vocalist Maremonti truly blossoms here, taking command of the song in a powerful and emotional display of why Italian is such an operatic language.

In the last song Aria, vocal duties are shared with Lino Vairetti from Osanna, in the most crossover of all the songs. A driven composition, with symphonic sensibilities and a twitchy, nervous atmosphere to it. Seamlessly, it sometimes grows into a funky rhythm pattern which works strangely well even in this more symphonic territory. A fine song, but somewhat failing in living up to its full potential.

At large, that's how I feel about the album as a whole. Plurima Mundi at this point in time tries to do so much at once they sometimes just don't feel focused. There's a bit of an unpleasant tension between the different parts. Not truly musically disjointed, there's too much talent involved for that. It's just not proper crossover potential, but rather quick jumps from one part of the spectrum to another. With so much capacity, it seems like a waste to me, especially since the complex, proggy parts are what they do best.

Some trimming could take this band to great heights.

3 stars.

//LinusW

"Atto I" is the debut EP by the Taranto based Plurima Mundi, a new 6-piece outfit delivering lavish and elegant compositions that should thrill many RPI fans. They sound markedly different than many other current entries on the RPI scenes, different than the heavy-rock proggers, folkier entries, or those infused with metal or neo influences. As mentioned in my Bio, this band has a feisty compositional attitude and grabs every style in the book in the search for a unique sound?.and it works! Blending so many styles could be a disaster in some cases but not here.

The band is led by violinist/composer Massimiliano Monopoli with lyrics by vocalist Grazia Maremonti. The base sound is very modern fusion of jazz, rock, and classical music with dabblings in about every style. If the description is beginning to remind you of Quella Vecchia Locanda it would be understandable?but not very accurate. Plurima Mundi only occasionally recalls QVL via the violin/classical emphasis, most of the time the sound is more contemporary and light-hearted. There are pop sensibilities running through these tracks even as they are satisfyingly complex and daring. Sophisticated and mature in their talents, yet the attitude is playful and bold?this band is throwing everything at the wall here. The lead violin is backed by electric guitar, often funky bass, and energetic drumming, all of these lads delivering some monster chops. Alternately tracks will be led by Francesco Pagliarulo's furious piano runs. Another secret weapon is the soaring female vocals of Grazia Maremonti. While there are long and jamming instrumental sections, Grazia's vocals serve welcome change-ups throughout and give the songs some real balance and variety. The opening instrumental moves with mean dexterity from a Celtic flirt to some swift jazzy runs before a crazy violin rush to the finish line. "Nei ricordi del tempo" is more romantic and soft. "Laboratorio 30" is where things get pretty nuts, a 10-minute feast of progressive rock: dueling violin and electric guitar runs, a sweet vocal mid section before another chaotic ending. The closer "Aria" features an arresting duet between Grazia and special guest Lino Vairetti of Osanna. Both are superbly talented and the Italian vocals have that zest and life that fans expect. This is one of many examples where modern RPI is fully realized, building on the traditions that made the genre great, but morphing it into a new branch on the sound tree. They manage a difficult balancing act of birthing a sound that is satisfying to progressive fans while actually having more commercial crossover potential than many.

We were delighted to approve this band to RPI as they are fresh and full of potential, offering a different sound than many genre fans are used to. I'm really psyched to hear where this band goes with a full length release, but don't wait. Get this fine introduction while you can through MaRaCash's or BTF's website. The brief booklet does include full lyrics printed in Italian.