Watcher of the Trees
Fireflies in the Wood

Ismael, the narrator of Herman Melville's «Moby Dick», goes to sea to see the part of the world covered by water, to chase away sadness and keep his circulation in check: perhaps, if he had been a land animal, he would have gone through the woods; that's how it is for me.

But then it depends on the season: spring and summer walking in the woods, autumn and winter watching the sea, that's enough for me; although I would like a forest and an ocean, so I make do with fantasy, every time circumstances force me to enjoy a garden and a lake.

And if, for Ismael, water is the substitute for the gun and the bullet, for Henry David Thoreau, roaming through the woods fulfills the desire to live wisely, giving importance only to what is essential in life and trying to learn what it has to teach, so as not to discover at the point of death that one has not lived.

In short, everyone chooses their own life teachers: among mine, «Moby Dick» and «Walden» have earned their full place.

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It is possible that some of those who read my little debaseriot pages remember Dario Marconcini: many years ago he was in a band called The Electric Shields playing garage-punk.

Exactly 30 years ago, the Shields released a stunning EP, «Cry Baby Cry»; for me, it's among the best things to come out of that scene. I thought so back in 1988, believed it in December 2017, and I confirm it today.

However, the paths of Dario and the Shields soon diverged, and he dedicated himself to other music.

I wouldn't call him one of my life teachers, but it is undeniable that he gives me great sensations and evokes truly pleasant memories: I think that's something important.

At least it is for me.

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It seems like I'm going in circles, but now I'll get out of it.

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So, the latest musical project of Dario, chronologically, is Watcher of the Trees, and a few months ago the album «Fireflies in the Wood» was released.

It is what is called a concept album, with trees and humans and their lives divided into seasonal movements at the center of the scene, thus metaphorically representing the circle of life; lives so interwoven that it is difficult to conclude whether it is the man who is the guardian of the tree or the tree the guardian of the man.

Antonio Vivaldi already thought of something like this and composed «The Four Seasons», one of the first concept albums in the history of music; and even then, the concept was not revolutionary. But who said that a concept must necessarily be revolutionary to be?

The important thing is that Dario conveys this centuries-old concept in a simple and straightforward manner, understandable and accessible.

Like when a teacher in school has the ability to make you understand the Pythagorean theorem, which is centuries old, but not all teachers can explain it: for example, I understood the Pythagorean theorem and never forgot it since a few years ago when I visited the Science Museum in Paris; there is a three-dimensional glass triangle with colored water inside that spins and spins, and the Pythagorean theorem sinks into the minds of people like me.

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I am not typical and cannot conceptualize; at most, I can conceptualize the garage-punk that Dario played in the time of the Shields.

Now Dario no longer plays garage-punk but ballads with strong psychedelic and even progressive accents: for the very little I know, it has sent me straight to Porcupine Tree.

However, I feel like saying one thing; and that is that «Fireflies in the Wood» is an evocative album, I can’t find another way to describe it.

Yesterday afternoon I loaded the ghetto blaster onto the Cortina, jumped in, and sped off to the Manziana woods; I parked, got out, and picked up the boombox; I entered the woods, sat with my back against a tree, and for a couple of hours I listened to Dario's album; and what remains are the impressions.