Maurizio Curadi
Phonorama

LA RECENSIONE

There are niche artists who, nonetheless, should not be considered minor but who, while anchored to the stylistic traits of musical tradition, know how to chart new paths. Maurizio Curadi belongs to this category. Curadi has made history in Italian psychedelia by playing guitar with the legendary Birdmen Of Alkatraz and Steeplejack.

Now Curadi has released his first solo album titled Phonorama for Area Pirata Records. The album was composed over years of solitary research and reveals the influence of musicians from the avant-garde and minimalism like Keith Rowe (founder of the historic AMM), La Monte Young, and Steve Reich but also of the bluesman John Lee Hooker and the guitarist John Fahey and Leo Brouwer. Curadi explores new techniques using guitars and echoes, venturing into experimental territories where avant-garde and tradition coexist. We are faced with a visionary work rich in arcane suggestions. Musically, it is a remarkable album: as if the primitive blues of Robert Johnson met the minimalism of La Monte Young, giving life to a subliminal and psychedelic journey. It all sounds like a visionary mantra, cosmic and transcendent. The album is divided into 2 sequences of about 20 minutes each. The first part begins with Red Kite which introduces us to the subliminal and evocative "mood" of Phonorama. The following N.O.D. is an evanescent piece for acoustic guitar and echoes while in Cicadas, we can hear the embroidery of the acoustic guitar accompanied by the recording of cicadas singing. Water Well is an homage to primitive blues played on an early 1900s banjo. The second part starts with the short, "bluesy," and intense Windmill Blues. Variazioni I-VI + Twig is instead the longest track (over 16 minutes) and reaches significant musical peaks, evoking—with its atmospheres suspended in time—ancient landscapes beyond time and space. There is also room for a bonus section, a sort of "live" electric session. After the brief "vision" of Meridiana, it is the turn of Hidalgo—for slack strings and objects—characterized by epic settings. The closure is entrusted to Piano: the sound of the piano in this piece is something unique and spatial, as I have rarely come across, and it is truly difficult to define.

Phonorama confirms Maurizio Curadi as a great artist outside the box and, perhaps, even beyond genres. It is not an easy album but nevertheless reveals the talent of an eclectic musician who loves to research and explore new sound dimensions. Available on Bandcamp: https://areapiratarec.bandcamp.com/album/phonorama.