Sunday, January 12, 2020

percussion and effects



another recent release from Intervallo


release rationale:

As often happens in the case of library music albums, even in Leonardo Marletta's one and only record in his career, the titles serve above all as sound indications, as if they were listening guides. In Percussioni ed effetti (Percussion and Effects) we find a vast array of atmospheres, well explained and illustrated by titles such as Violenza (Violence), Guerriglia (Guerrilla Warfare), Allucinazioni (Hallucinations), Compulsioni (Compulsions), Battimenti (Beats), Sospensioni (Suspensions) or Apocalisse (Apocalypse). All these nouns perfectly fit the mood of the record, which is entirely built on a painstaking work of acoustic and electronic percussions, deep reverbs, drums, cymbals, and hints of piano and organ scattered here and there. Contrary to what one might think, the final result is anything but scant or primitive and shows a spasmodic rhythmic and instrumental research, similar to those we can find in some avant-garde jazz works. As Valerio Mattioli remarks in his book Superonda, quoting Marletta's Percussioni ed effetti, "the moment when library music becomes more interesting is when it abandons any descriptive intent and decides to talk about nothing but itself: a sort of metamusic or 'music in music', an imaginary soundtrack for nothing."

credits

released December 2, 2019

check out the label's fab back catalogue - which includes one of my favorite reissues of the 2010s, this one - 
release rationale:
Ichthyology [ich·thy·ol·o·gy] noun The branch of zoology that studies fishes: their physiology, history, economic importance, etc.
First reissue of Ittiologia, the second of Intervallo's seven reissues of the amazing nature-themed series of library LPs released in the first half of the '70s by Cardium, Chic, Nereide, Musical, Rhombus, Spring, and Weekend labels. These are seven albums that have never been reissued until now -- real collectors' items that have acquired a minor cult status in the decades since they first appeared. Ittiologia, released in 1973 on Cardium, features music by composers Alessandro Alessandroni, Amedeo Tommasi (both under his given name and his Atmo alias), and Franco Tamponi, and is a rare and delicate experiment in the art of balancing experimental music and classic Italian library music of the '70s. The underwater and liquid atmosphere of each track was conceived to bring to call to mind "romantic algae," "threats on the sea bottom," "deep water," and "abyssal mountains" (to paraphrase translations of some of the track titles on this small masterpiece -- "Alghe Romantiche," "Minaccia sul Fondo," "Acque Profonde," and "Fascia Abissale"). Some compositions appear in two alternate versions (with small variations, different orchestrations, and additions), showing that the three musicians were always looking for new ways to express themselves; each track was a work in progress, part of never-ending research. With its perfect equilibrium between experimental and classical atmospheres,Ittilogia is a complex portrait of a fragile and always changing ecosystem.
one of the dudes on which also made this

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