DECIMO CERCHIO (WITH "I SINCOPATICI")

As one of Italy's most daring mother buckers of musical trends, CLAUDIO MILANO has consistently released bizarre freakish musical experiences that blur the distinction between the disparate worlds of progressive rock, modern classical, minimalism, electronic music, chamber rock, jazz as well as various other nooks and crannies of the musical universe. Exploring any of the works by MILANO either solo or with his avant-garde side projects inevitably takes you down many rabbit holes of exploration as each oeuvre is meticulously designed with myriad references that demand exploration.

The year 2024 finds MILANO unleashing a combo pack of his experimental freakery with releases emerging from both Nichelodeon as well as a solo album in collaboration with fellow Italian experimentalists I Sincopatici. This trio that consists of Francesca Badalini (piano, synth, zither), Andrea Grumelli (fretless bass, electronics, soundscapes) and Luca Casiraghi (drums, percussion) has dedicated itself to the totally unique art form of composing from scores to classic silent films of the early 20th century mostly recorded live in front of admiring crowds.

The silent film "L'Inferno" premiered in Naples in 1911 and was the first full-length Italian feature film which actually found an audience internationally earning more than $2 million in the USA alone. This silent film was based on the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" and narrated the tale of Dante who was seeking a path to salvation only to find the road blocks of avarice, pride and lust thwarting his efforts. As the tale goes Beatrice descends from the higher realms and solicits Virgil to guide Dante through the Nine Circles of Hell. The film lasted a lengthy 73 minutes which was amazingly long for those days and commanded a hefty price for admission.

So add the concept of this silent film with the vocal antics of CLAUDIO MILANO and the eerie ethereal soundtrack musical freakery of I Sncopatici and you get this bizarre modern day score interpretation titled DECIMO CERCHIO (Italian for "Tenth Circle") which offers a wild modern musical ride through the darkened underground world of early Italian film. Featuring 26 tracks, DECIMO CERCHIO is a lengthy affair itself running over 67 minutes and offering a whopping one hour plus bonus track titled "In The Depth of Piacenza" for those who download the album online.

Theatrical and based in the world of modern classical music, this album features a never-ending display of avant-garde piano, electronic soundscapes, unorthodox percussive accompaniments and of course MILANO's unusually unpredictable vocal gymnastics wending and winding their way through (in the Italian language). While not a new concept, even for the film "L'Inferno" itself which can be found online with an artist named Mike Kiker delivering his own soundtrack interpretation, this album is vastly more explorative, exponentially more avant-garde and delves into bizarre complexities that may be too much for many to grasp onto.

While Kiker's organ-based version is more like a less dynamic Goblin score, MILANO and I Sincopatici embrace the darkest recesses of the psyche and plunder the sound effects to evoke the most horrific journey into the underworld. Weaving between somewhat accessible piano melodies to truly unhinged excursions into an alternate musical universe, DECIMO CERCHIO is a bizarre labyrinthine lamentation of Dante's poetry set to musical form in only a way that true cutting edge musical avant-gardists could achieve. Italy's answer to Mike Patton, MILANO is fearless in his approach to tackle some of the strangest vocal excursions in the modern area of experimental fusion music.

This goth-tinged adventure is a haunting one for sure but guaranteed to take you somewhere you never expected and coupled with the video imagery offers the perfect escape into a world imagined over a century ago in the world of the occult and esoteric. A triumphant uncluttered musical journey that offers the perfect accompaniment to the film's legacy as it not only presents a glimpse of early Italian cinematic history but a taste of the wild and bizarre world where the modern Italian underground music world has taken. Excellent!