Folk isn't exactly a genre and it isn't always an aesthetic, it's the lore that'scurled around the roots of myths, ballads and anecdotes, burying itself justinches beneath the surface of contemporary culture. On their debut album,Canzonieri brush away some of the dust from Western civilization, excavatingforgotten sonorities, philosophies and motifs to figure out what impact thisknowledge might have on a chaotic, apocryphal modern reality. Processingfamiliar acoustic instruments and utilizing an arsenal of idiosyncratic self-builtdevices, acclaimed artist Emiliano Maggi and musical artist Cosimo Damiano -both members of Italian surrealist quartet Salò - survey the uneven,challenging landscape that surrounds them, calling attention to the conflictsand illusions that underpin art in all its forms. They take a widescreen view ofcenturies of musical evolution, juxtaposing simplicity and complexity, past andpresent, city life and the pull of nature to distill the essence of folk - emotionalhistories that are whispered from person to person.It was while they were working together as Saló that Emiliano and Damianorealized their deep musical affinity and shared interests, so the duo decided toapply that to new music, drawing on different influences and ideas. Theypresented this work for the first time at an exhibition focused on the life ofArabo-Sicilian poet Al-Ballanūbī; Emiliano had used Al-Ballanūbī'sfoundational love poems to inform his sculptures, and invited Damiano tocollaborate on a soundtrack. The experience drew them further into the historyof verse, leading them towards Sayat-Nova's Armenian songbook and PierPaolo Passolini's 'Il Canzoniere Italiano', and Canzonieri was born.Improvising and bending their performance to whatever space they haveaccess to, Canzonieri fuse electroacoustic experimentation with classicalminimalism, neofolk, prog rock and surrealist chamber pop, using thesevarious concepts to guide their lyrical, free-floating ruminations.'All Creature' opens with 'Golem', and listeners are welcomed to Canzonieri'ssonic universe with a snippet of their 2024 performance at Berlin's AtonalFestival. Here, Maggi walks across a wooden platform fitted with contactmicrophones while Damiano processes the footsteps electronically, turning thepercussive knocks into disquieting alien pulses. It's a fittingly theatricalintroduction that pulls back the curtains on their methodology, preparing thestage for 'Haunted Blue', where their themes begin to take shape. Writtenwhile the duo were isolated in Sabina, a mountainous, rural region north ofRome, it's dedicated to the restless spirits that remain unwilling to pass on tothe next world. Damiano and Maggi imagine their soundtrack using theRhodes Chroma, a rare microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer, singingand whistling to offset the electronic sounds with layers of vulnerability.And after linking up with Daniele Guerrini (aka Heith) on 'The HearingTrumpet', and forming a coarse ritual with saz, various hand drums and a toypig, Canzonieri pack years of research and development into the epic 'Soft By,Soft Slow', drawing their inspiration from classic '70s progressive rock.Ambitious and dramatic, it's music that's indebted to Goblin's giallosoundtracks and Ennio Morricone's visionary compositions, and uses thesecues to cultivate a meditation on the Akasha - the aether in Hindu cosmology.Playing distorted guitar riffs and Mellotron themes against dizzying gamelanstyle percussive sequences and light-headed synth pops, Canzonieri create asoundscape that renovates a beloved Italian style, muddling its hallmarks withdigitally altered textures and glitches. Its complexity makes 'Animal Poetry', arelatively straightforward song for ukulele, Rhodes Chroma and voice,something of a palate cleanser.A fragile, electronically weathered voice sings over dry, backyard plucks andreminds of the unpretentious beauty of not just people - or folk - but ofnature itself. Canzonieri realize that connection with the natural world canunlock expressions that have guided art for centuries, and beg the modernworld to rediscover this truth, disturbing their gentle arpeggios with sci-fishaded synth drones. And they augment this thought with emotionalresonance on 'It'll Shine When It Shines', teaming up with Rome-basedelectro/punk outsider Maria Violenza to link the animal kingdom to thehuman world. Playing carnivalesque organs and sinister woodwinds overrattly live percussion, Canzonieri blur the timeline, using a ghost town in thenorth of Lazio as the subject matter for their seething ballad.1. A1. GOLEM_x000D_2. A2. HAUNTED BLUE_x000D_3. A3. CROWN YOURSELF WITH THE STARS AT NIGHT,_x000D_4. SORROW COMES EVER WITH DELIGHT._x000D_5. B1. THE HEARING TRUMPET_x000D_6. B2. SOFT BY, SOFT SLOW_x000D_7. C1. RANA LOCUSTA FEAT. LARA DÂMASO_x000D_8. C2. ANIMAL POETRY_x000D_9. C3. PASTORALE_x000D_10. D1. IT'LL SHINE WHEN IT SHINES FEAT. MARIA VIOLENZA_x000D_11. D2. MY NIGHTLY DREAMS
