QUIGYAT (WITH BORDA)

Claudio Milano has remained one of the most intrepid musical alchemists of the Italian progressive and experimental scene of the 21st century and has seemingly collaborated at one time or another with everyone who has touched upon the explorative underground of music where rock, modern classical, jazz and the avant-garde meet in dark alleys awaiting a future discovery. NICHELODEON has been one of Milano's primary projects since 2007 where he has forged some of the most cutting edge musical statements with a humungous number of other like-minded vocalists and musicians who have also propelled the world of experimental music into new realms.

It's only been three years since the last NICHELODEON release "Incidenti - Lo Schianto" which featured a whopping 44 extra musicians collaborating to craft the most unclassifiable music to exist in the 2020s. The best thing about Milano and his projects is that you never know where he's going next and to only expect the unexpected and with the newest NICHELODEON release QUIGYAT, Milano throws yet another curveball with a leaner lineup of only three musicians and Milano on vocals as well as a more accessible stripped down approach that serves somewhat as a little breather after the massive complexities that Milano typically fortifies each and every release with.

While QUIGYAT is a less ambitious affair than its predecessor, Milano delivers yet another slice of strange musical statements and expressive vocal performances with a little help from pianist Francesca Badalini, bassist / electronic wizard Andrea Grumelli and a special appearance by percussionist and live electronics master Theo "Borda" Ravelli. QUIGYAT features five tracks and is the Greenlandic Inuit words that refers to auroras that appear in the sky after children either die a violent death or suffer a death on their birthday. The album exudes a darkness that laments these themes with haunting performances as well as the NICHELODEAN staple of taking you on a musical journey that you weren't quite expecting.

These tracks were basically recorded live at A.N.F.O.R.E. which stands for "A New Form Of European Recital." The band presented a multi-discipline artistic statement that featured various elements including monologues, miming, visual arts such as painting and of course music. While recorded in a live setting the music was processed, edited and given additional sounds to make this a unique live / studio hybrid. The event itself took place in September of 2023 and after mixing it all together the final product resulted in just over 39 minutes of crafty experimental musical mojo that really only features one new track.The other ones consist of three reworked tracks from earlier NICHELODEON releases as well as a surprise reinterpretation of Astor Piazzolla's "Lòs Pàjaros Perdidos."

The only original score, the title track begins this set and is more of a formless series of progressive electronic experiments that finds bizarre atonal piano rolls and Milano's vocal additions popping in and out of the electronic freakery. Milano delivers declarative expressive vocal performances reminding me a lot of Catherine Ribeiro's approach with her most experimental moments with Alpes. The fretless bass also adds an air of mystique and although the track drifts on for nine minutes never totally declares itself as rock, jazz or classical but rather offers a very surreal pointillistic approach that will evoke the works of 20th century classical masters such as John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen or Györgi Ligeti. Milano ends it all with an indigenous chant.

After the avant-garde adventurism of the bizarre introductory track the rest of the album feels tame in comparison relying on the piano as the primary melody maker although the electronic wizardry is always a key ingredient in offering the dark atmospheres and icing on the cake. "All Statua Dei Martitri Di Gorla" tackles the theme of the district of Gorla in Milan that was bombed in October 1944 accidentally killing 184 and serves as a eulogistic memorial of sort to commemorate the senseless atrocities that plagued much of Europe during World War II. The following interpretation of Astor Piazolla's "Lòs Pàjaros Perdidos" is a bit moire light-hearted and Milano leaves the comfort zone of his native Italian to sing in the Spanish language. Primarily piano based with a vocal accompaniment, this track delivers a unique take on the world of tango forged into an avant-garde oddity.

The closing two tracks are stripped down minimalistic reworkings from the 2010 avant-prog release "Il Gioco Del Silenzio" and follow suit as piano-based songs that focus on Milano's lyrical delivery and distinct vocal style that offers both traditional singing and his usual or should i say unusual voice experiments. While the music is very structured, the band offers moments of avant-garde freakery such as the closing sequence of "Malamore E La Luna." "Ciò Che Rimane" offers a more abstract ambience and mixes the avant-garde electronic nebulous sonic storm of effects with the more structured piano based vocal accompaniments. Likewise it offers some extremely bizarre deviations from the primarily melodic piano and vocal performances.

Admittedly i was underwhelmed by NICHELODEON's latest release. Let's face it, Milano has spoiled us with an excess of riches on the last two albums and pushed the limits of progressive music in just about every conceivable way. I had to let this one sink in after a few listens and suspend any expectations or comparisons to previous efforts and simply accept it on its own terms. After all, change is the only constant in the universe so more of the same for NICHELODEON is rightfully unacceptable. After a few attentive listening sessions though, this one has gotten under my skin and has emerged as another delicious morsel in the ever-changing world of Claudio Milano's sonosverse. While i can't honestly say it tops NICHELODEON's previous efforts in any way shape or form, it's still a worthy set of five deliciously delectable tracks that offer a nice respite from the all weird all the time methodologies on previous efforts. A delayed light bulb moment for me on this one but ultimately one where the switch was turned on!