Patrizio Fariselli
Storie Elettriche

The experience of Area is perhaps more unique than rare. Exceptionally skilled musicians, they became, thanks also to the providential encounter with Gianni Sassi, the megaphone of an era, the Italian Seventies to be precise, filled with utopias and battles, many lost, some here and there won. To think about their journey today, it's almost surprising that a group like them could have truly been born in Italy, considering not only the constant backwardness of the Italian musical/artistic scene, with its few means and always a decade behind the rest of Europe, but also a certain reluctance from the Italian audience to any "bold" or at least "unusual" proposal.

The Area, however, a case more unique than rare, as mentioned earlier, managed the feat and, at least until the disappearance of the historic singer Demetrio Stratos, succeeded in holding sway for at least a decade, making musical experimentation and political commitment their flag. Once the word "end" was decisively applied to an experience that, due to its passion and intensity, couldn't have lasted much longer, the former members continued their musical careers in the most diverse ways but always consistent with themselves. Over time, while a sort of reverential fear has been created towards Area, almost as if there were never enough means to truly recount that experience, on the other hand, it's worth noting how the historical members of the group, namely Ares Tavolazzi, Paolo Tofani, and Patrizio Fariselli, have always distinguished themselves for their availability and irony with which, on more than one occasion, they have agreed to revisit that part of their artistic history.

Those who in recent years have had the chance to attend one of the many shows of the reborn Area cannot help but notice the light-heartedness with which the three, from time to time, unravel amusing anecdotes, showing perhaps that there should always have been a "seriousness" towards them that was sometimes misplaced. I remember the sly tone Tofani used to introduce a Milanese concert some time ago: "arrived in Milan for the first time in my life, I encountered many new acronyms...Area, Cramps, Digos." Who at this point could best recount the story of Area (or rather, retrace a long history that also includes that of Area) if not one of the historical figures of that ensemble? Patrizio Fariselli, indeed, has had the merit of writing an ironic and self-ironic booklet, in which forty years of public and private adventures are recounted, but with music always at the center of attention. As Patrizio makes it clear right from the start, the tone of the narrative can only be playful and intentionally light, otherwise, who would willingly digest two hundred pages of tears spent remembering the likes of Demetrio Stratos, Gianni Sassi, Massimo Urbani? To be clear, the "tribute" is there; lifelong companions, on and off the stage, are continually mentioned, how could they not be, but always with the lighthearted tone that characterizes the entire work. So go with tragicomic sketches, with the "comrade" (in every sense) Tofani diligently accompanying Fariselli to England to try and convince the heads of Virgin to publish "Arbeit Macht Frei" and getting in return the response "and why should we do it?" or the accounts of unlikely tours in the most remote Italian provinces for the Area "cause," with concerts often organized in improbable contexts and everything that follows. "Storie Elettriche" comprises an infinity of stories, "electric" or "acoustic" depending on the case, meticulously divided by theme, from the "minor mishap" of the world premiere of "Caution Radiation Area" in Milan, to the role played by one and more generations of sparrows in Fariselli's discography, from the "mysterious disappearances" of Capiozzo during the "Gli Uccelli" tour (but who remembers that?!) of 1982 to finding themselves as the "bodyguards" of John Cage during a catastrophic Milanese concert. Fariselli's aim, therefore, is not to write a biography about Area or his career, as others have already done so exhaustively, but to propose a "book of memories," an endless series of anecdotes and accounts tied, more or less directly, to his forty-year career, from the dance halls of Romagna to international stages, also managing to show the sunny and carefree side of musicians who, given their far from accessible proposal, have often been seen as perpetually grumpy and mad at the world.

A pleasant read, therefore, that will add a new and unexpected point of view to an already extraordinary story in itself.