Alberto Ezzu
Quaderno delle Poesie Elettroniche Ultraterrene

To fully understand Alberto Ezzu's new album Quaderno delle Poesie Elettroniche Ultraterrene, it is necessary to frame his figure. Ezzu was the founder, along with Salvatore D'Urso "Ursus", of the psychedelic group No Strange, and has been the electronic soul of the group since their first LP in 1985, Trasparenze e suoni, where synthesizer sounds somehow make their way among guitars, bass, sitar, and organ. The Turin musician studied (after piano) the synthesizer itself by attending electronic music courses. After purchasing a Teac four-track recorder, his ideas on creating electronic music took shape using what could be found at affordable prices at the time: Korg and Yamaha monophonic synths. He participated in some book presentations of the poet Camillo Pennati, soundtracking them with recorded and live electronic sounds: the CD is dedicated to his memory and poetry as he was the first to believe in Ezzu's work as an electronic musician. He then began to create music for documentaries and theater through his production company, Music Garden. He then became interested in the study of harmonic singing and founded the Alberto Ezzu Lux Vocal Ensemble in 2000, in which he explored the world of overtone techniques, sometimes incorporating medieval or Indian instruments. In 2006, together with the Centro Musicoterapia Benenzon Italia, he released the CD Consonanze armoniche, Ostinati Ritmici e Veri Bordoni Immobili, which was later reissued on vinyl, as a double LP, with some additional tracks, by the label Psychout Records. In 2013, for the label of Alio Die, Hic Sunt Leones, he released Il Fuoco del sesto Armonico sulla Luce della Dominante partendo dalla Madre Fondamentale (con in mente Zarathustra). Again with the Alberto Ezzu Lux Vocal Ensemble, he released in 2017 the CD Le Litanie di Râ (also for Hic Sunt Leones) and in 2019 the vinyl L’Uscita delle Anime verso la Luce del Giorno for Psychout Records. The work with two classical musicians, Anna Siccardi as soprano and Stefania Priotti on the vielle, in 2019 led to another project—which also included contralto Paola Scatena, later with No Strange—named Alma Mantra, with which they released a CD, again with Hic Sunt Leones. It consists of rereadings of medieval pieces in a meditative key, with some original compositions and a three-voice arrangement of an Alleluya by Popol Vuh.

After the long period caused by Covid restrictions, Ezzu came up with the idea of bringing to CD Quaderno delle Poesie Elettroniche Ultraterrene, an anthology of his electronic work from its beginnings (1985) to the present, with the addition of two tracks that belong to a broader work. Many of the tracks on the CD had appeared on YouTube since 2013, while In prossimità di un buco nero and L'antro dell'eterno ritorno are part of L'antro dell'Eterno Ritorno del Diverso, an installation where the audience can linger, sing, sit, and do whatever they wish in front of thirteen canvases painted black with some fluorescent colors, placed in a dark room illuminated only by UV-A light. During this period, the track L'antro dell'eterno ritorno is played continuously. The music contained on this CD is an electronic sound that could be compared to the cosmic German style of early Klaus Schulze and the first Tangerine Dream or Cluster, although, in reality, one can feel a strong influence of Stockhausen, but considering that Stockhausen has also been somewhat regarded as the father of many kraut musicians, the circle closes.

The record is released on the Rubber Soul Records in Turin.