Over to Sicily, and we have Salvatore Scuderi, who records as Baco Dì Silenzio. His new album, which you can obtain by popping along to https://bacodisilenzio.bandcamp.com/album/aquile-e-cieli-2 is Aquile e Cieli (Eagles and Skies). There is also a nice website at https://bacodisilenzio.com/it/musica
The album explores the theme of "inner flight" through songs that alternate acoustic with more intense moments, and from Salvatore himself, “a continuous dualism between fullness and emptiness, silence and words, and in a sort of contemplation of freedom, from the most intimate to the most violent, from the most stark to the most vivid and dazzling, from the most fearful to the most fearful and proud”.
The CD package itself is lovely, the graphics intense – well worth the outlay, I think.
There are eight tracks here, so let’s get stuck in.
We open with Vittima Carnefice (Victim Executioner), and the piano of Abramo Riti is wonderfully intense accompanying the classical Italian voice of Scuderi. I love the guitar work of Lorenzo Gianni, who provides that counterpoint of dissonance to the soaring piano & voice. He also provides the keyboards, and the synth solo is soaring before the whole piece takes a far darker tone, the rhythm section of Maurizio Antonini & Dario Gianni given the freedom to express and drive as the dead eyes of the stone faces are barefoot in the square, like ghosts. It is embedded below. A solid start to proceedings, for sure.
Assenzio translates as absinthe, that strong spirit, capable of driving one into unconsciousness. The opening effects created by Scuderi are interesting before the main track kicks in, some nice pop-rock vibes on this, a definite gentle commercial sensibility at its core, the underlying riffs solid, and by now you appreciate the solidity of the drums of Antonini, who here works with Roberto Pace, who provides for a lush bass melody.
Vertigini is dizziness, and immediately Pace hits you with a masterful bassline, Antonini creating a dark thump, the effects of the writer and the dark notes on guitar of Filippo Rosati creating a musical nightmare, effortlessly effective in describing poison, invisible disasters befalling a people. It is a very short track, but packs a great deal in, a highlight of the listening year for me which I was pleased to play on my pre-Christmas radio show.
Delfini Liberi di Volare is the wonderfully named Dolphins Free to Fly, the language used here in the lyrics’ pure poetry, thus,
“A wing of breath in the wind will dream
characters in your pocket
the marbles will be shelters
the dawn of a new ship will set sail
and after that time
the finite will be eternity”
Of course, this is a translation – I always feel that the original Italian is so much more soulful, singing to us, evoking the freedom of the sea. On this track, it is Emanuele Filippi who accompanies the vocals with deep pianoforte, and there is a treat for those of you who love that classical prog crossover, with a gorgeous oboe from Carolina Prado suggesting the playfulness and intelligence of the eponymous creatures. A lovely piece of music embedded below.
Bandiere Occulte is Occult Flags, evoking cowardly politicians causing widespread bloodshed and harm for their crumb of power. This one has almost a post punk feel to it in the thudding riffs and noise, standing in stark contrast to what preceded it, Scuderi very capable of turning the vocal mood instantly, with Riri’s keyboards stirring the passion above the harsh riffs before the bass melody leads a more introspective passage, merely an interlude, though, between riffs.
Sei translates as Six, a song, I believe, of love, wishing to heal wounds and fly deep into the horizon. It is, somewhat appropriately, six minutes long, and the harp of Neleta Ortiz against the fragile piano and vocals bring another massive contrast in mood and tone, which is welcome. There is a definite eclectic feel to this album, reminiscent, of the finest rock music tradition of the wonderful Italian musical heritage. The lightness of touch in the passage expressing love, forever mine is lovely, Pace impressing again with his bass melodies.
Ottobre is October. Another treat for those classical pastoral lovers, with Sergio Rabello providing a beautifully mournful violin against the narrative vocals, Filippi accompanying with softly played sense in the background, the subject marrying his love again, and again. Embedded at the foot of this review, this is an emotional stunner.
We close with Cosa Vorra Dirci il Tempo, What Time Will Tell Us, a paeon to our beautiful world and how the hourglass might be running out of sand & thus time. A nice jazz infused Hammond Organ kicks us off, the piano accompanying in a passage reminding one of mid-period Procol Harum, no bad thing in this reviewer’s book, the vocals attaining the full range from softly spoken to high emotive expression, the intensity of the whole piece rising ever so subtly as we move to the close.
The job of a music reviewer is one of extreme privilege. How can it be anything other when a talent you have not heard of before, but can now share with the world, contacts you to listen to and write about his music? Baco Di Silenzio has given us a lovely work in Aquile e ciele, a poet capable of translating his words into music.
Highly recommended.