Il Parto Delle Nuvole Pesanti
Il Parto

"Musicians are an adventure between land and sea"

If only we paid a little more attention to everything around us, perhaps we would realize that there is a lot of music traversing paths more or less hidden from the general public and the media. There are hundreds of artists who, with great determination, carry forward their ideas, facing a thousand difficulties, not least of which is getting themselves known, while the same songs play on the radio and the same videos air on MTV. "Il Parto Delle Nuvole Pesanti" is a band that, to me, falls into this category of musicians not sufficiently known in relation to their value, which they confirm with this album, released four years after their last studio work. In this time frame, the group participated in the theatrical performance "Roccu U Sturtu", reinterpreted their most famous album ("Ho Visto Anche Degli Zingari Felici") with Claudio Lolli, and created the soundtrack for the documentary "Doichlanda" based on the stories of Calabrian emigrants in Germany. All this work between music, cinema, and theater converges in this album, which shows many interesting elements starting from the choice of musicians involved in its creation: Claudio Lolli, Paolo Jannacci, Davide Van De Sfross, the Chichimeca, Amy Denio, Marco Messina (99 Posse).

Seventy minutes of music between Italian singer-songwriter and influences of popular music. The lyrics are often sarcastic, as in the dynamic "Onda Calabra", where one hears the typical macaronic German of Italian emigrants abroad. The music is sometimes compelling, as in "Sono Io L'imperatore" where the musicians combine a dynamic tarantella with the sounds of the Sardinian hymn "Procurade E Moderare" and the Lombard singing of Davide Van De Sfross ("Sur Padrun"). The American accent of singer Amy Denio in "Capatosta" makes one smile; the rhythm of "Banaltango" is engaging; and it is impossible not to mention the covers of "Ognuno E' Libero" by Luigi Tenco and "La Guerra Di Piero" by Fabrizio De André. Both diverge from the original just enough to make the operation not trivial, but heartfelt.

To promote this project, our heroes took a van, loaded their instruments and their souls into it, and began wandering around Italy, performing showcases in unusual places like bookstores and literary cafés, with a reduced yet highly effective acoustic ensemble. Their performances are not true concerts but a sort of open dialogue with the audience. Indeed, these are better than a concert, perhaps because the chosen medium allows for re-establishing direct contact which gives the musician the chance to look the audience in the eye, narrating themselves in a free and informal way. I had the opportunity to attend one of these performances and must say that the audience enjoyed it very much. About sixty people (12 according to the police) crowded a small bookstore that, over the following two hours, filled with laughter, irony, and a touch of melancholy. And these indeed are the main ingredients of this album, which I believe deserves more than one listen.