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Rating: Digital Trance
Time in jazz has now become one of the most important cultural events of the year in Sardinia. An event not only musical, but with a broader scope since it involves visual arts, poetry, and also a new conception of the territory. In fact, the festival was born in Berchidda, the hometown of Paolo Fresu deus ex machina of the event, but it involves other settings, often unusual, as numerous concerts and happenings take place in old train stations, on the trains themselves, at dawn in the open countryside, or, as in this case, in rural churches. Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio is indeed a medieval church, built of trachyte, erected on a rock that dominates a countryside where there is nothing but silence. An undeniably fascinating place, just as I imagined the concert of Bugge Wesseltoft and Sidsel Endresen to be equally fascinating. The Norwegian pianist and singer, in fact, are leading figures of a genre some call nu-jazz, a genre characterized by the continuous search for new musical frontiers contaminated by funk, hip hop, ambient, etc. These sonic frontiers for now seem to have settled permanently in Northern Europe, think, for example, of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and this is evident when listening to the latest album by Bugge and Sisdel - "Out Here, In There" - which has been one of the foundations on which this concert was developed.
Scheduled for 6:00 PM (unusual times too), the live show was delayed by an hour because the sound technician, coming directly from Oslo for the occasion, was significantly delayed. No problem, there is time to have a chat with friends and enjoy the view. They ask me if I know Bugge Wesseltoft and at this point, I explain that if his music has reached my ears, I owe it to debaser, or rather to a debaser, who kindly (thx) sent me one of his records a year ago: New Conception Of Jazz. They then ask if it’s a good album. "Amazzzzzzzing" I reply. Overcoming the perplexity of an unexpected multiplication of z’s, the church doors open and we take our seats. Keyboards and various electronic gadgets are proudly displayed, while Paolo Fresu introduces the artists, happy to be able to play in such a special place. Bugge smiles, Sisdel is barefoot and has an intense and fascinating look. Then music takes over. Sisdel's voice immediately reveals itself in its magnificence. It is very sweet, light or sharp and lines up a series of songs mostly deriving from pop rock, revisited in nu jazz style thanks to the arrangements of Bugge Wesseltoft, who moves continuously between keyboards, electronic drums, and a thousand other high-tech gizmos I wasn’t even aware of. Sisdel's microphone is also connected to PCs to continuously modify her voice with effects, often hypnotic. It is no coincidence that the title of this year’s festival is "Digital Trance".
The musical ensemble, combined with the unique setting hosting the concert, is therefore of undeniable charm, because the effective union between melody, electronics, and experimentation occurs in a way that seems not traumatic, but very natural. Perhaps this also happened thanks to the perfect understanding between the two. Indeed, from time to time, one could catch a glance, a smile, or a nod of understanding between them. Then, when the electronic rhythms of the cover of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon began, the emotional involvement of the audience became palpable, evidenced by the slightly intimidated applause given at the end of the performance. But there were also some, so to speak, more disconcerting moments. For example, at a certain point on the soundscape set up by Bugge, Sisdel began to play with her voice, producing an increasingly rapid whirlwind of sharp and guttural sounds, giving a disorienting sensation, transporting one to an ancestral state. In these moments, the Norwegian singer reminded me of something halfway between Mari Boine Persen and Meredith Monk just to give you an idea, albeit vague. But I must admit that the audience perhaps wasn’t prepared for something like this, and I found it very bewildered. Perhaps for this reason, the duo then developed the concert in a more "traditional" direction, offering other captivating, delightful, and suggestive covers. A perhaps more digestible path for everyone, but in my opinion less fascinating than the vocal experimentation we had an excellent taste of. Nevertheless, overall it was a very interesting, atypical concert that perhaps could have soared higher, but in the end, these are just subtleties.
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