•
Rating:
Music and painting, notes and colors, instruments and brushes.
They are the same thing, yet born from different inspirations. But there is always someone who manages to paint notes and make their brush sing...
"Endless Way" (2007) is a painting of melodies, a staff of watercolors, and a succession of fairy-tale sounds marked by floral and damnably varied brushstrokes. The Iridio by Valentina Buroni and Franz Zambon, authors of the work, offer genres such as medieval folk, gothic, neoclassical, and Middle Eastern ethnic that range from the sublime to the melancholic to the festive and radiant.
"Endless Way" can be listened to as a musical work, viewed as an exhibition of paintings of all kinds, and enjoyed like a delicious dessert. There are pieces that should only be contemplated for their celestial, sumptuous and diaphanous nature ("Golden Skies"; "Shadows and Fears") while we are cradled among the petals of a piano, the whispers of a flute, and the spring drops of a harp; there are simple and refined tracks by guitars, violins, and other string instruments ("Time to Leave"; "Sunrise Dancers") which oscillate between medieval and Celtic; other tracks should be observed and sculpted with our imagination on the suggestive notes of ethnic percussion and sitar ("Enchanting Lights"; "Heavenly Spark") that flow warmly and envelopingly between sunsets on desert sand and nights of scents and passions under the glow of an oriental moon.
Dance moments are granted to us with "At One with the Universe" and "My Home," the former contaminated by a penetrating and elastic electronic, while the latter is an explosive anthem of festive bagpipes that take us back to ancient times of courts, banquets, and minstrels, times that are now dreamed of for their romantic remoteness. The remaining tracks, namely "Stepping Westward" and "New Stars, New Ways," remain at contained and charming levels, maintaining the formula adopted in the album as a whole, but one of the most atypical tracks is indeed the outro "La Via Infinita": only Valentina's voice stands out vibrantly accompanied solely by a monolithic and deep keyboard hint, suspending the sparkling fantasy now condensed into two brief minutes of pathos and latent energy.
In this regard, I would like to say a few words about the singer's voice: throughout the album, it remains at good levels without, however, exceeding in masterful high notes or remarkable vocal extensions. Her goal is not to amaze the listener but to involve them softly and sinuously, to cradle them with simple and enchanting melodies, to guide them hand in hand throughout the journey without drifting away with too many vocal virtuosos. In a few words, it is refined in its simplicity.
No compromises, then. "Endless Way" is an album crafted with monastic attention to detail and enlivened by a lively and precious taste linked to the most enchanting and picturesque sounds that can be found. Applause to this new tricolor reality, and we hope they return soon to delight our ears, eyes, palate, and everything else...
Tracklist and Videos
Loading comments slowly
