Deadburger are an avant-rock band from Italy. The core members are Vittorio Nistro (keyboards, electronics), Alessandro Casini (guitars), Simone Tilli (vocals) and Carlo Sciannameo (bass). Often the band is joined by other musicians. The triple album La Fisica Delle Nuvole (Cloud Physics) is their fifth release. This time the band used the name Deadburger Factory to make clear that the guest musicians on this 3CD have a significant contribution in the writing of the music. Deadburger like to explore the blending of opposites: electronics with acoustic; classical instruments, such as violins and flutes, and written scores with free improvisation; realism with mind trips, and traditional rock and pop with experimental music. Apart from the CDs, this box set contains a booklet, an insert drawing and a cartboard box to keep it all together. Even though these discs have been released together, they can be listened to separately because both musically and thematically there's no connection. In fact they're quite different. CD1 and 2 are solo projects and collaborations, but they share the same vision and were recorded around the same time. Each album has a total playing time of about thirty minutes. The first CD called Puro Nylon 100% is a collaboration of Alessandro Casini, Vittorio Nisto and Tony Vivona of whom the latter is an old friend who wrote the lyrics for this album. The title Pure Nylon 100% emphasizes the symbiosis between organic (pure) and synthetic (nylon) music. Musically it's a very diverse album. The opening track starts as a regular rock song and ends in a string arrangement for eight violas. A few tracks have been built around a sample from Erik Satie's Socrates. The album also contains a psychedelic track and ends with a very jazzy piece. The second album containing Microonde by Vittorio Nistri and Vibroplettri by Allessandro Casini is by far the most experimental and abstract one. The idea behind this record is to demonstrate that it's not necessary to use expensive and sophisticated (electronic) musical instruments, but you can use random objects as well. Nistri used a microonde (=microwave) and he sampled all kind of sounds from it like cooking food, slamming the door, etcetera. All these sounds were edited, looped and tuned and the result is a rather industrial sounding track. Casini went into the bedroom and used all kinds of sex toys like a vibrator to play his guitar with (Vibroplettri means vibrating plectrums). The vibration provides the sound an additional depth. The result may not please all listeners, but he had a lot of fun recording it. The third album La Fisica Delle Nuvole, credited as a Deadburger album, is the most accessible and the most melodious of the three. This record is mainly acoustic. Hardly any electronic or electric instruments were used, but instead they used violins, flutes and acoustic guitars. The music is gentle and softly floating somewhere between folk music, avant-garde, lounge and even pop music. It was taken from improvised jams that were later on orchestrated. The idea behind this third album was to create a collective work as a counterpart to the first two albums that were mainly individual. As a whole the music covers many styles and is very diverse, but at the same time there are some common elements that somehow provide the music a specific sound. Moreover, the music is open and it kind of breathes. With so many people involved and so many instruments it would have easily become a wall of sound with lots of details and solos, but they kept it simple and minimalistic. Furthermore there's a kind of melancholy that echoes through all three discs. It's like a journey by train seeing all kind of landscapes passing by: the blue sea, the green mountains, grey suburbs, dark industrial areas and yellow fields. You feel exited for the new destination, but at the same time you feel sorry for the loved ones you've left behind... The artwork is really beautiful. The three covers together form a drawing in the vein of a cartoon by Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's a bit bizarre and psychedelic, but it fits the music perfectly. Just like the music each cover can be seen as a picture, but they can also be combined into one bigger picture. The booklet of 72 (!) pages contains the lyrics, pictures of the band during the recordings and an extensive description of the philosophy behind the music. The artwork was made by Deadburger in collaboration with Paolo Bacilieri, a real pleasure in a time that the music industry becomes more and more focussed on digital releases. This triple album is clearly made with love, dedication and pleasure. The music can be heard and ordered in digital format from their band camp website, but I think you should order the physical box set. ****+ Erik Gibbels (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
