Here are some releases by the venerable European label Slam. Who says there’s nothing new under the sun?
Vocalist Erika Dagnino delivers poetry with Ken Filiano’s bass and effects along with Satoshi Takeishi/s percussion on a fascinatingly free form collage and collision of sounds and moods. Sometimes the bass is picked as on “ Preludio” and sometimes you get bowed sounds with percolating percussion as on “Secondo Movimento” that sounds like you’re in a beatnik club in subterranean Rome. Edgy effects are on “Quarto Movimento,” and if nothing else, I was able to brush up on my Italian, while the necessity of learning numbers being recited on a song with a military beat was more quizzical than practicing a romantic language.
Drummer Mark Holub joins together with violinist/electronicist Iren Kepl for a dozen free form conversations. Chimes mix with fingernails on the chalkboard bowing on “Planetarium…” while the scratching continues with scrambling percussive effects during “On The Carousel.”Eerie moods similar to a Hitchcock movie climax creep up on ”Dancing Beetles” and “Arachnoid.” Some of the tunes such as “Emergency Broadcast System”have a direction, but at other times you feel like instruments are used for simply throwing around the room as on “A Day At The Beach.” What do they do in concert?
Most cohesive of all is the band Clockwork Groove which consists of Alessia Seria Pinto/ts-ss, Ferdinando D’Urso/as-bs-p, Marco Pometti/g, Davide Giovanni Pometti/b and Luigi Pertocone/dr. All of the tubes are cohesive and coherent, filled with warm moments of lyricism. A New Orleanish funky grooves provides cheer on “ Dave Blues Bass Groove” whie a boogie blues gets rocking with Pometti’s guitar on “Texas Groove.” Lovely acoustic guitar floats with baroque reeds on “The Black Waltz” and some plaintive piano flows on “Turbolenze” The two saxes hover like cumulous clouds on “””Cupido” and “Ginestra” while some electronic wizardry veers in and out of some of the tunes like a cameo actor. Well played!
Violinist Luiz Moretto leads a wide ranging team of Alipio C Neto/ts-ss, Frencesco Lo Cascio/vig-perc, Gianfranco Tedeschi/b and Marco Ariano/dr through a collection of brooding and moody originals. Dark sounds from reeds and vibes create spooky atmospheres on “Rio Vermelho do Desterro” and eerie violin pitches will make you look over your shoulder on “Espiral do Tempo.” Modern classical modes step up to the bar on “Refracoes Geometricas” while the shadows great long and stark on “Saturnia” and “Terras de Arroz e Acucar.” The interplay between the lurking vibes, ominous violin and harrowing reeds are good for some imaginatively melancholy moments.
Slam Records