Lino Capra Vaccina
Antico Adagio

Four Tet loves this work. I'm not kidding.

Lino Capra Vaccina is one of the prominent figures of Aktuala, one of the few Italian bands to have ventured into the art of world music and raga. After disbanding the group, he begins various collaborations on albums such as "Vietato Ai Minori Di 18 Anni?" by Jumbo and "La Finestra Dentro" by Juri Camisasca.

In 1975 we also find Telaio Magnetico with Battiato, and he also plays at Parco Lambro with the bases of the compositions that would end up in his solo work.

We are in 1978, a tense and cautious year from a social and political point of view. There is a greater awareness compared to the blind fantasy of ‘68. One is almost disillusioned, angry, disenchanted, but the hardcore of the creative fringe persists for a while longer.

Lino is undoubtedly part of the proud and dark underground jazz, folk, prog, experimental scene of the mid/late seventies. Along with the more abstract works of post-"Clic" Battiato, "Antico Adagio" falls into the sector of the unknown and the underrated.

Unfortunately, one doesn’t hear much gossip, especially on the web, about this work, which follows, updates, and personalizes the concept of raga and experimentation. Riley, Hassell, Popol Vuh, and Third Ear Band are the treasures from which ideas and sensations are drawn and expanded.

But Lino Capra Vaccina is not one of those musicians who do not add originality to their work, he does not settle for signing a new album without bothering to curate it. The six tracks have an interesting, enchanting, and never boring ambient. There are no dead spots, which are risks for kraut and experimental albums.

The ears are fed with minimalism, obsessive rhythms, repetitions, sequences, and crescendos. The bucolic plays of the title track, placed as the closing piece, and the mantric beginning of "Elegia" showcase the two sides of the project.

We find soft melodies everywhere, accents always made at the right moment and with the foresight and knowledge of foreign masters. Stylistic elements, therefore, that have nothing to envy, and in this case, we are not saying the usual phrase to entice the blind excited ones.

In short, this 2015 reissue wisely offers us a delight with an archaic flavor. It’s a generous gesture because we cannot fail to mention the geometric plays of "Voce In XY". One refuses to understand music as a constraint, that is, with the obligation to package a track into two fixed rules, thus throwing away the avant-garde that could be explained.

Because when you become aware of these works, the standard song format will seem like a childish and senseless memory. We cross the finish line of the unlocking that the soul of each of us requires. That change that from the next day will make you live and see things in a completely different way than yesterday.