Monday 30 November 2015

BRILLIANT CONTRAST

Adc is the third studio album by Accordo dei Contrari, a band from Bologna. It was released in 2014 on the independent label Altrock with a consolidated line up featuring Marco Marzo (electric and acoustic guitar), Daniele Piccinini (bass), Cristian Franchi (drums) and Giovanni Parmeggiani (Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, Minimoog, acoustic piano). According to the liner notes, the album was recorded live in studio in Riolo Terme, a small town in the province of Ravenna. The recording sessions took only three days with short overdubs and this work is the expression of a very cohesive collective. It reflects the positive atmosphere of the period the members of the band spent together with the aim of depicting the dynamics or the contrasts you see in everyday life through sounds... The result is an excellent instrumental album recommended to fans of bands such as Area, D.F.A or Perigeo.

album cover

The opener "Nadir" begins softly, the mood is dreamy. The title refers to a word coming from Arab that defines the direction pointing directly below a particular location... After a while the dreamy atmosphere changes, the rhythm becomes nervous before calming down again, but it's just a momentary pause before a new electric, frenzied ride towards deep underground spaces...

According to the liner notes, the following "Dandelion" is dedicated to Geoff Logsdon, the founder of Pleasant Green Records. The title refers to a large genus of flowering plants native to Eurasia and North America usually found as commonplace wild flowers worldwide. It's a tense, dynamic piece full of energy that could recall the soundtracks of Italian 70s action films...



The mysterious "Seth Zeugma" is enhanced by the contribute of two guest musicians, Vladimiro Cantaluppi (violin) and Enrico Guerzoni (cello). This piece blends with excellent results classical music elements with electric, jazzy inspirations and Middle Eastern touches of colour. There are many changes in tempos and mood and some passages could recall Area. The title comes from two words taken from the Ancient Greek. Seth refers to the god of the desert, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion while Zeugma is a figure of speech in which one single phrase or word joins different parts of a sentence...

The lively, pulsing "Dua" swings from funky passages to more obscure, disquieting moments and vice versa... The title seems to refer to an Arabic word meaning to "call out" or to "summon". According to wikipedia sources, in the terminology of Islam, dua is an act of supplication and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. Who or what is invoked here? The answer is up to you...

Accordo dei Contrari 2014

The title of the following "Tiglath" could refer to an ancient king of Assyria (in the liner notes there's no explanation). In some way listening to this beautiful piece makes think of the film The Scorpion King, even if it was set in Egypt and not in contemporary Syria. Try to imagine a mysterious, powerful king coming to life again to carry out his terrible vengeance against those found guilty of the raging war that is destroying everything, even the archaeological sites, in his former kingdom... Here the music features some Middle Eastern flavours and could recall again Area and their revolutionary energy and musical force.

The delicate, acoustic "Più limpida e chiara di ogni impressione vissuta, part II" (Clearer, brighter than any lived impression) features the guests Vladimiro Cantaluppi (violin) and Marina Scaramagli (cello) and ends the album with a dreamy mood. According to the liner notes, this piece is dedicated to a woman, Annachiara, and its atmosphere is very different from the frenzied, aggressive first part that was released on the previous album Kublai in 2011. If both parts try to describe in music the hopes and fears of everyone's life, this one is definitively more calm and optimistic and represents a perfect conclusion for a beautiful, intense work that is really worth listening to...

Have a try! You can listen to the complete album HERE

Accordo dei Contrari: Adc (2014). Other opinions:
Olav Martin Bjørnsen: Instrumental progressive rock that ranges from frail chamber rock to ‘70s jazz-rock and progressive hard rock is what ADC explores on their third studio recording "AdC". An intriguing blend of musical styles, explored with care and consideration by high quality musicians. If you have a soft spot for instrumental progressive rock and a taste for variety, this is a disc that merits a closer inspection... (read the complete review HERE)


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