Passo Uno

It really doesn't get much more beautiful than dark, moody, homemade, Italian visual classically-oriented music does it? While that might sound like a headache to some, my attempts to even remotely describe this release could be written well further into a short novel rather than a few paragraphs in a review that grossly underclassify this project. However, what I can tell you from the start is that there is more passion, love, tears, and blood put into this release than 99% of even underground music today. As a journalist, we traditionally are overloaded with a great deal of underground music that is typically mediocre to thought-provoking. As far as I can speak for myself, I rarely get anything completely terrible or even remotely bad, however likewise I so rarely get something that blows me completely out of the water. The purity in relation to wyrdness, curious musical textures, comparable instrumentation and melodic lines, and arguably everything else included in this release make it, without a doubt, one of the past 5 years' most underrated, and grossly unknown releases. Il Passato Riemerso includes moments that could be compared to Six Organs of Admittance, Fennesz, Apse, Tor Lundvall, Larsen, and back to numerous truly musically experimental projects like Samarkanda and even back to instrumental trip hop influences. Its the best of the urban, the thoughtful, the melancholic, the folk, the strange, and the poetic and visually beautiful that music can at this point offer. Curiously this album was released in 2006, but regardless of time frame, this release deserves continuing exposure.

Il Passato Riemerso starts out modestly, with the traditional clicks and noises that one would come to hear from the opening of a purely experimental or musique concrete record. After a minute of this though, some ambience begins to build from the background and accompanies the awkward creeking until finally acoustic guitar enters and brings some gentle melody to the piece and sets the stage for the rest of the album. Alessandro Bider enters as well with cello on top of the repetitive acoustic guitar lines performed by Stefano de Ponti. Andrea Avolio's percussion brings a unique perspective to the music as, in addition to its trip hop flavor bringing a strange urban appeal to the music, Hue's mixing of the percussion brings more atmosphere to the table. Its apparent from this point on that the entirety of Il Passato Riemerso is of a melancholic and thoughtful nature rather than a violent dark one, but at the same time many passages where ambience takes over offer a more murky picture, a look into a fuzzy and grim painting. As such, the first track fades out as strangely as it started out, and includes the ominous ticking of a clock and the rolling of what sounds similar to a train or mining cart.

Track 3, Acqua come Memoria is perhaps the most striking on the entire record. The cello gently sets the stage, albeit falsely, for something destructive and immensely dark. Suddenly pouring water sounds and the deep rich tone of acoustic bariton guitar enters with a gentle melody. Its here where we're taken on this strange and depressive ride through our own memories, not so much a joyous occasion but more one of remembrance of all emotional characters. Only one other artist, Tor Lundvall, possesses this kind of powerful reflective nature in his music, so its exciting to see another artist with this kind of honest and felt music. Its the reality in itself that makes these releases so special. People wait for release after release from so many bands just to be fed the same programmed music over and over, even in the most underground genres. However, you come upon this Italian project filled with four people you've never heard of and you're completely blown off your chair – THAT is reality, THAT is beauty, THAT is passion.

You must keep in mind however, that this release is mostly of an acoustic neoclassic character. The experimentation lies in the background of the album, the pops, the production, the strange and quirky ambience that accompanies many of the tracks. There is no “true face” to the sound of this project. Much like Apse, they create haunting, surreal, and heartfelt music that crosses several boundaries and they do not limit themselves to genre definitions. Going from Interludio II to Colpi a Vuoto could make anyone question exactly what the direction of the album is, but its the bigger picture that is obviously more important with this release, so try not to look at it from a track-by-track perspective. You can, and will, go from complex acoustic melodies to primal tribal rhythms, at times in the same track. Just let go and enjoy the ride...

Equally unique and haunting is the artwork, a large, folded insert which has been printed on both sides and is housed in a plastic sleeve. The artwork itself is full of black and gold / yellow hues, murky, atmospheric and misty textures. The outside is from the perspective of the outer Italian wilderness looking into the city from across a pond or stream, while the inside is from the same perspective looking into a more rural setting, and as such having a much more haunting and older style while the outside somehow has a foreboding tendency. The band's logo resembles that of Hive Records sublabel Suspicious Records curiously enough A fittingly beautiful visual perspective from a striking, surprising, and generuinely exciting release. Though 3 years old, this release is limited to 600 copies and is STILL AVAILABLE! So please, if you love good atmospheric music, get your hands on this before its gone.