Alice
Samsara

Fourteen years separate "Exit," the last album of original songs, and "Samsara." During these years, there has been a different kind of activity focused on other musical ideas that concretely produced a series of thoughtfully considered works such as "God Is My DJ" ('99) and "Viaggio In Italia" ('03), which later culminated in the live celebration with "Lungo La Strada Live" in 2009.

Carla Bissi thus has returned, picking up from that line in "Exit" where it was said that "the only way out is inside", and with that work, the composer from Forlì declared a halt to the rules of mainstream music. This "Samsara" is by her choice a return to more pop music in which, however, different experiences from the contributions of various authors in Italian music can be sublimated. The new pop of Alice is nonetheless sophisticated music that requires a strong willingness to listen above all; the minimal sounds blend with refined lyrics that we had already become accustomed to with her work from the '90s. She pens the beautiful "Orientamento" herself, offering a wonderful introduction enhanced by the percussive arrangement of the inseparable Steve Jansen, and the more restrained "Sui Giardini Del Mondo". "Samsara" is, as the Sanskrit term from which it takes its name suggests, a record of becoming and change, a natural summary of a part of life in which the religious texts of Mino Di Martino coexist fully. His "Morire D'Amore", dedicated to Joan of Arc, is splendid, and the more naturally pop song surprisingly penned by Tiziano Ferro, "Nata Ieri". Her lifelong friend, her mentor, Franco Battiato gives her the ethereal "Eri Con Me", a track that, after many listens, starts to reveal itself in its subtle melodic architecture and the pleasure of listening.

Alice demonstrates with this album that she has never lost the thread of her musical exploration, rightly defined by critics as one of the most courageous pursuits at these latitudes, the years that have passed have not in the least bit affected her personal vision of music, and the tour that will begin in late autumn will surely be an emotionally intense experience with "Samsara" as its central pivot.