Delta V
Le Cose Cambiano

Since 1998, the year of the release of “Spazio,” their debut album, Delta V has been crafting cinematic scenarios, delivering albums one after the other with a steady rhythm, telling life stories in a compact, fluid, coherent manner, without interruptions.

The discography of “Spazio” began with the success of Mina's cover “se telefonando” in a drum’n’bass version, remixed multiple times (never blandly) by various DJs of the period... the cover is the tip of the iceberg, which, on one hand, revived a historical piece from the '60s, giving it a new splendor, a sparkling crystal chandelier in the center of a ballroom, on the other hand, it served to draw attention to this emerging group, which had a lot to say from a musical standpoint.

At a certain point, however, things change... With this album, in 2004, the protagonists of the tracks narrate, talk about bonds and dis-connections, about communication and non-communication, about difficult interpersonal relationships, about relationships that crash into everyday banalities, about more or less painful separations (“prenditi due giorni al mare, non pensare a me, non importa dove, fai come ti pare”), about gloomy-gray-lonely-timeless-and-time-free days (“è giovedì e il cane mi ricorda che sono giorni che non usciamo”)...
The melodies are still, as in previous albums, “cinematic”, potential & probable soundtracks for adventure, action films, of people on the move, but with psychological twists; the arrangements range from reggae to dub, brushing with trip-hop sounds, electronics cleverly dominates, deceives you, seems to quietly slip away leaving space for strings and classical instruments, but it’s always there, crafty, not letting go, and, I must say, thankfully… the singer G Kalweit, also present in the previous “Monaco ’74” (while in “Spazio” the voice was Francesca Touré, in “psychobeat” Lou Heredia” – a peculiarity of Delta V is to change female vocalists almost with each album) is perfect for the atmospheres of this album, dark vocals streaked with rays of light, an eclectic and over-the-top artist.

Another subtle thread of the Milanese group is the ritual cover present in every album, and what could be the ‘70s hit that better reflects the difficulty of carrying on a relationship (“Lasciami giù qui, è la solita prudenza loro senza me, mi hai detto, è un problema di coscienza”)? The extraordinary “Prendila Così” by the great Lucio Battisti!
Delta V captures the subtle anguish and relational rupture, repositioning the two lovers in a car under a thin and tedious early winter rain... An album, to finish and then I’ll leave you in peace (!), very beautiful, lush with unique and detailed sounds, never banal, never boring, perhaps just a bit melancholic (strange that it was released in spring…), possibly the best in the production of this line-up that for about a decade has been churning out always different productions, in motion, hunting, seeking the new and the right track to follow at that moment...

Rating? I'm biased...