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Paolo Angeli - Nita: L'Angelo Sui Trapezio (An Imaginary Soundtr
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Year :: 2005
Label :: ReR
Cat No :: RER PA2
Genre :: Avantgarde
Tracks :: 23
Size :: 70,6 MB
Source :: CDDA
Bitrate :: VBR / Lame 3.96 V2 --alt-preset standard
Rel. Date :: 06/09/2005
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The idea of the 'invisible soundtrack' has been
around for some while, but often it's turned out to
be little more than a marketing ploy; a convenient
peg from which to hang a bunch of disconnected pieces
and give them some kind of conceptual unity.
That's definitely not the case with this offering
from Italian composer and guitarist Paolo Angeli.
Nita, (The Angel on the Trapeze). Though it's
stylistically pretty diffuse, it all hangs together.
It's difficult to imagine listening to just one track
in isolation; this is an album to be listened to all
the way through, with the eyes firmly closed.
Angeli has worked with Fred Frith on occasion, and
shares a similarly eclectic approach. Like Frith's
Gravity, Nita borrows from folk music (mainly Italian
of course), Zappa, and from God knows where else
(Ennio Morricone, Soft Machine and Van Dyke Parks
spring to mind to name but three). Snatches of
conversation and sound effects stitch the whole thing
together; as a result there's a strong sense of
narrative, from abrupt emotional scene-changing to
gradual shifts in focus.
Not that it makes much sense, despite the explanatory
sleevenotes - the lyrics (in a melange of languages)
are a fragmented mix of first person stream of
consciousness, vaguely surreal poetry, a spot of
politics, banal error messages from automated
telephone systems; it's all a bit Cocteau-esque, in
short.
But if you don't want to bother decoding all that,
you can just enjoy the music. And there's a lot to
enjoy. Angeli's guitar playing is deftly virtuosic,
but applied sparingly. Everything from accordions,
hyperactive brass bands, doleful male voice choirs,
childrens voices, celestial harps and theremins drift
in and out of the mix, but there's no kitchen sink -
Angeli knows when to stop.
Bewildering and beautiful by turns, this is one of
those records that I can imagine still offering up
new pleasures ten years from now. And any record
that's got close-harmony whistling on it has to be
good. Highly recommended.
-BBC Experimental Review
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[01] Nita [05:04]
[02] Lenti Appannate [01:08]
[03] Specchi D'Arancia [05:03]
[04] Cicli E Ricicli [00:30]
[05] Bando [02:42]
[06] Pari O Dispari [04:32]
[07] Sonni [01:55]
[08] Diamo I Numeri [00:39]
[09] Cussi No' La Cridia [02:22]
[10] Quello Sguardo [00:34]
[11] Miserere [01:59]
[12] Tibi [03:11]
[13] Idee Confuse [02:39]
[14] La Mulina Parlando [01:42]
[15] La Mulina Da Pepa [02:40]
[16] L'Agnostica Dell'Amore [02:28]
[17] Sorbetto [01:14]
[18] Nita Timida [02:02]
[19] Ritagli Di Tempo [02:00]
[20] Pascoli [02:01]
[21] L'Uluone [01:37]
[22] Fragili Totoli Di Coda - Salve Regina [01:09]
[23] Fragili Totoli Di Coda - Biga [01:55]
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UK Independent