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Rating:
Italian music for export.
One of those albums for which we could boast abroad and pretend to once again have a thriving and inspired rock scene. “A World of Wonder” as the English speakers would say listening to the first heartbeats of this multi-headed mostrum swimming up the Mediterranean in big strokes.
On its own, the exponential climax of “Building Society – Renovation” gives an idea of what to expect when placing the record on the turntable.
Even wanting to define it as an afrobeat album would be an overstatement. The influences are felt (Fela Kuti approved?), as well as those of Ethiopian jazz (above all the great Mulatu Astatke) and certain psychedelic threads like Sun Ra, but here, it must be said, there's much more.
What I hear is absolutely modern, aligned with the times but at the same time cradled within an ancient, never nostalgic, poetry.
During the recording, often itinerant, the tiger made use of local musicians, making this work a listening journey, before a physical one. A universal human and artistic experience.
The sound is sparse and aspires to plant deep roots. A few organ notes and some guitar picks are enough to remember that too warm December, lost waiting for good news from the world.
But even a simple guitar, if well “textured,” as in “Life As a Preened Tuxedo Jacket”, can still make us dance in odd time.
Their music is sharing (an aspect that is very noticeable on stage), and contamination. It must be listened to slowly, there is no rush in the instrumental introduction “Rabat” or in the progression of the seductive “Fan For a Twenty Years Old Human,” which takes its necessary pauses and weaves leisurely horn melodies.
Even visually, it expresses itself in a very personal manner, with Gianluigi Toccafondo who curated and drew frame by frame the single “Federation Tunisienne de Football”.
Does it serve any purpose to hint at the fact that the two main members of the project prefer to keep their identities hidden? Could it tickle your imagination to tell you that the late Enrico Fontanelli (main composer of Offlaga Disco Pax) participated in the recordings?
In my opinion, no. This is information that doesn't enhance the perception of the value around this project, the songs grow with each listen, endowed with a life of their own.
Perhaps it is live that they showcase all their abilities, taking you on a journey along the Mediterranean, navigating by sight, at least until the Pillars of Hercules, then who knows.
Tracklist
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