SOUNDTRACK FOR AN UNRELEASED HERZOG MOVIE

I haven't listened to IL BALLO DELLE CASTAGNE before this album, which is very far from the R.P.I. style. The liner notes reveal that the Eastern influence so crucial here is not a new thing for the band. "In every album you can recognize the importance of the Middle-Eastern element and how this deliberately conflates with European Cosmic Rock music."

The compositions and initial demos had been made during recording the last two albums. The group was inspired by German film director Werner Herzog, whose "influence on our music has been constant over the years and now we finally pay homage to his genius and his vision." Strangely the liner notes don't mention POPOL VUH who made music for several Herzog films and who must be an enormous influence musically. Gratefully the opening track is called 'In the Garden of Popol Vuh', and it strongly reminds me of albums such as Hosianna Mantra (1973). The hypnotic music containing harpsichord, percussion and choral samples is truly celestial.

The rest of the album is not quite as spellbinding but the whole work has a special, unique atmosphere. The best occasion for listening to this music is after having gone to bed and waiting for sleep. The more or less spacey arrangements are always exciting and elegant. Angelic female vocalese is used a lot, and some tracks feature also male spoken word in Italian, which is not a bad thing. Sometimes I just feel that the tracks are a bit too extended and it would be time to move on. But there's no doubt about it: if you appreciate ethereal and ethnically & classically flavoured soundscapes, introspective music for the inner visions, this album may turn out to be a rare discovery. Especially if POPOL VUH is among your musical delights.