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Rating: And we're at four. In the span of three years, the brilliant initiative by Federico Fiumani, known as Diaframma, has already reached its fourth chapter, as punctual as ever. A peculiar character, Fiumani. Known for his Diaframma (at the time a real group and not just a pseudonym of their leader) in the "neo-Renaissance" Florence of the eighties thanks to historic chapters of Italian rock, like the well-known "Siberia" (1984), for the past twenty years he has become a kind of hero of the Italian independent scene, so much so that last year, a tribute CD, "Il Dono", was dedicated to his creation, featuring groups like Marlene Kuntz, Il Genio and Le Luci della Centrale Elettrica.
Why, you might be wondering? Well, considering the conditions of the music market over the years, it must not be easy to consistently say no to any offer that might even minimally distort the "project Diaframma", nonconformist and straightforward. When he was under contract with Ricordi, in the early nineties, they offered him a nice participation in San Remo: guaranteed money, maybe some appearances on some Mamma Rai program, and finally that fame among the mass public that never arrived. "No, thanks." And he returned to taking refuge with tiny labels, churning out at an impressive speed record after record that, in all likelihood, will never leave the narrowest niche of admirers. And all this while his former colleagues Litfiba, with whom he had often shared the stage and the recording studio in the eighties (their "choral" version of "Amsterdam" is truly beautiful) were filling sports arenas. A peculiar character Fiumani, as we were saying, to the point that he himself has come to say: "I would like people to come and see me at concerts with the same spirit with which they go to see certain animals on the verge of extinction at the zoo." And truly an animal on the verge of extinction Fiumani must be. If others (who said Vasco Rossi?) come out with "rarity" records, promptly praised by the Mollica of the moment and presented as essential pieces, but then sold for 20 euros (with plenty of people buying them without even asking themselves "if this stuff had never been published, there must be a reason"), what does he do? He makes them available for free download from his Myspace: they're there, available. "Christmas Gifts," he calls them.
And the Gift in question is so far the latest in the series, a recording of a concert in December 2009, during the tour of "Difficile da trovare", an album that sees him accompanied by a competent rhythm section, with Lorenzo Alderighi on bass and Lorenzo Moretto on drums. It returns to a sleeker style, no second guitars or keyboards. Fiumani performs (or off-key?), as only he can, about women and lost love, in front of the usual hundred strangers who, however, know everything about him. The evening unfolds among the more recent pieces, "Fine di una relazione", "Io sto con te (ma amo un'altra)", "L'orgia", up to the "usual" "Verde" and "Gennaio". Sometimes the more nostalgic ones accuse Fiumani of having strayed too far from his initial style, but upon closer inspection (or rather, listening) there aren't that many differences between the new-wave Fiumani of '84 and the punk singer-songwriter of 2009. The guitar style has remained largely unchanged, certain runs, certain breaks heard in the most recent records were already heard in the early works. And even the themes addressed are always the same: women, women, women. And love: sometimes conflicted, sometimes salvific, sometimes over. But always present. Like the unavoidable "Siberia", strategically placed at the end of the setlist, almost to say, after a good hour of concert, "you see? I didn't just do that one.”
Setlist:
1. Io sto con te (ma amo un'altra)
2. Vita grigia
3. L'orgia
4. In una finestra nera (Xaviera Hollander reprise)
5. Labbra blu (Fiore non sentirti sola reprise)
6. Oceano
7. Neogrigio
8. Verde
9. Blu petrolio
10. Gennaio
11. Libra (Libra reprise)
12. (Caldo intro) Le Alpi
13. Manca l'acqua
14. Giovinezza
15. Vaiano
16. Fine di una relazione
17. Siberia
Musicians:
Federico Fiumani: vocals and guitar
Lorenzo Moretto: drums
Lorenzo Alderighi: bass
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