"Aquarius" is Il Cloro’s most daring and accomplished work. This album - the third in the band's discography - sees Fabrizio Baldoni fully taking over the composer role, as (musical partner) Enzo Maria Ginexi’s contribution is here limited to some vibraphone parts. Electronic music only had a marginal role on the band’s mutant no-wave debut, "VHS Punk'n'Paste" (2016). Its use became more prominent on their sophomore effort, the avant-world masterpiece "Sponga" (2019). With “Aquarius”, Il Cloro fully transitions into an electronic project. Although acoustic instruments can still be heard in the form of samples, they are now subject to a compositional method that has its cornerstone in sound synthesis. At the same time, Baldoni’s growing interest in world sounds gives "Aquarius" a mysteriously exotic character. Rhythms, melodies and timbral choices (for instance, the use of wind instruments) refer to "other" cultures, in a game of veiled references that may indifferently quote Africa, South America or the Far East. These geographical coordinates, however, are to be understood as belonging to an imaginary planisphere. Without any claim to authenticity, the tracks on "Aquarius" evoke intrinsically "alien" atmospheres, which remain so regardless of what the listener's perspective might be. With these premises, a fascinating and complex piece of work slowly takes shape. An album as unclassifiable as Jon Hassell’s Fourth World experiments, and as enigmatic as De Chirico’s paintings.
IT
Con “Aquarius” Il Cloro firma il suo lavoro più avventuroso e compiuto. L’album - il terzo nella discografia della band - vede per la prima volta ai controlli il solo Fabrizio Baldoni, con il contributo del sodale Enzo Maria Ginexi limitato al vibrafono. Il percorso di avvicinamento all’elettronica, cominciato con la no-wave mutante di “VHS Punk’n’Paste” (2016) e proseguito poi con l’avant-world di “Sponga” (2019), trova qui il suo definitivo compimento. Seppur presenti in forma di campionamenti, gli strumenti acustici sono ora totalmente asserviti ad un sistema compositivo che fa della sintesi sonora il proprio cardine. Al contempo, l’interesse sempre maggiore verso i suoni dal mondo conferisce ad “Aquarius” un carattere misteriosamente esotico. Ritmi, melodie e scelte timbriche (esemplare in questo senso l’uso dei fiati) rimandano a culture “altre”, in un continuo gioco di rimandi velati che potrebbero far riferimento indifferentemente all’Africa, al Sud America o al lontano Oriente. Tali coordinate geografiche, tuttavia, sono da intendersi come appartenenti ad un planisfero immaginario. Senza alcuna pretesa di autenticità, i brani di “Aquarius” evocano atmosfere intrinsecamente “aliene”, che rimangono tali a prescindere dalla prospettiva dell’ascoltatore. Da tutto questo prende forma un’opera affascinante e complessa, inclassificabile come gli esperimenti quartomondisti di Jon Hassell, enigmatica come un quadro di De Chirico.
UR Suoni is an independent label based in Florence, Italy. We are interested in
promoting cross-pollinations between punk attitude, global sounds, relentless rhythms and experimental approach.
IT
UR Suoni è un’etichetta indipendente con base a Firenze. Siamo interessati a promuovere contaminazioni incrociate fra attitudine punk, sonorità globali, ritmi ossessivi e approccio sperimentale....more
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